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We've all read some version of the short-sighted complaints about the subsidies the renewable energy industry is receiving and the ecological damage it supposedly causes.
It is not hyperbole to say that no industry has had a greater adverse effect on our planet than the fossil fuel industry.
All over the world, wherever they have been, they have left a legacy of degraded air, land and water resources.
What's worse, fossil fuels are the driving force behind the global warming that is causing the extreme weather events, devastating communities, causing mass extinctions and making our planet unlivable for wildlife and people.
Some lament the subsidies renewables are getting. Renewables get chicken feed compared to what coal, oil and gas companies receive.
According to the International Energy Agency, fossil fuel handouts have reached a global high of $1 trillion in 2021.
Here in our country, taxpayers dole out $20 billion per year to this enormously profitable industry.
According to the latest science, we are in the midst of the sixth great extinction crisis.
Nearly every species of plant, insect, fish and wildlife is under threat from a rapidly warming planet.
They simply cannot adapt quickly enough.
In order to avoid the worst of projected ecological catastrophes, we need to transition to clean, made-in-America, renewable energy as fast as possible.
Yes, utility-scale, solar and wind do take up some land, but when you understand the catastrophes transitioning to renewables will help us avoid, we really have no choice.
Ed Perry
Boalsburg