I've been doing a lot of ranting lately, even on days that were supposed to be devoted to stats and thoughts. So, I thought I'd get off my soapbox and share a rant that a friend sent along to me. Written by James R. Udall, it was originally posted on the Eagle Valley's Alliance for Sustainability website.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Udall's rant explores the cost effectiveness of photovoltaic energy (there's lots more to the rant than just the following snippet):

…To understand why grid-tied photovoltaics are not cost effective, look at energy solutions that supposedly are. Building 110 nuclear power plants before figuring out what to do with the waste is cost effective. Drowning the Columbia River and its priceless salmon runs is cost effective. Spending $50 billion a year to defend the Persian Gulf oil fields is prudent. Strip mining pays nice dividends: Wyoming coal is literally cheaper than dirt. Acid rain, ozone depletion; many happy returns. Burning enough fossil fuel between now and 2100 to warm the Earth 4 degrees makes fiscal sense; just think, we'll be able to grow wheat in Siberia.

Conventional energy economics is a value system masquerading as mathematics. At its heart is one key assumption: the future is worthless and the environment doesn't matter. Fie on future generations, who needs `em. What have my grandchildren done for me?

For 80 years, our culture has had cheap power on a pedestal. In most contexts, cheap means "shoddy" or "second-rate." Cheap is schlock, cheap is shunned. Think of your own purchasing behavior. Do you buy the cheapest ice cream, put powdered dairy creamer in your coffee, or drive a Yugo? Of course not, but when it comes to electricity, cheap is best.

If similar thinking prevailed in the underwear industry, Calvin Klein would sell only burlap bras and boxer shorts. Scratchy sure, but cheaper than cotton. A Public Underwear Commission would ensure that he didn't try to blend some pricey silk garments with the burlap ones. If consumers complained of a rash, the PUC would say: "Quit itching. Americans want cheap undies. Burlap is best."

The cheap power paradigm is bankrupt. It's a fraud. Pathetic. Close to criminal.

If you value the future or the environment, photovoltaic energy is cost effective. If you don't, it isn't. It's that simple…

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