Is There Anything Those Oil Companies Can't Do?

Maryland Conservatarian writes:

I'm sorry but I'm still waiting for my local shale oil gas station to open up. Realistically, the only sure-fire way to make these alternative energy sources economically viable is to let the market decide if and when they come of age.

[snip]

This all makes me appreciate our oil, coal and electrical companies even more. They have to go through considerable risk and expense to bring oil and coal to the surface, transport them considerable distances to convert them into a viable energy source for delivery to us. Meanwhile, solar companies just have to throw a solar panel on the roof...and yet somehow we still find it cheaper to go the coal and oil route.

Leaving aside MC's ignorance about how solar panels are manufactured, I'll concede that solar power alone won't meet our energy needs; the same is true, though, about ethanol, wind power, and biomass. Hell, the same is true of coal, oil, and natural gas, considered individually. This is why most experts on sustainable energy policy warn against finding a "silver bullet" to solve our energy problems.

I also find MC's veneration of the free market baffling with respect to fossil-fuel industries, given the massive subsidies that the oil, coal, and natural gas companies get from the federal government every year, more so since President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act into law last year. The truth is, as in so many other areas of the economy, government is going to play a role in the energy decisions we make. Whether government is a force for good or ill in this regard will be for the American people to determine.

Tags: energy policy solar oil gas coal renewable energy