THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 277, October 26, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
SAN FRANCISCO: THE EPICENTER OF STUPID IDEAS
By Alan Caruba
SAN FRANCISCO AS THE EPICENTER OF SPECTACULARLY STUPID & JUST PLAIN BAD IDEAS: PROPOSITION H AS A
PRIME EXAMPLE -- THE SAN FRANCISCO CLEAN ENERGY ACT, THE PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE SAN FRANCISCO CHARTER
TO REQUIRE THE CITY TO (1) ABANDON THE USE OF ANY ENERGY AFFORDED BY COAL, NATURAL GAS, & NUCLEAR POWER
& (2) ADOPT & IMPLEMENT THE ENERGY POLICIES ADVOCATED BY RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS & GLOBAL WARMING
ALARMISTS
FULL STORY:
In the 1980s I found myself traveling all over the United States in the employ of a corporation’s quarterly newsletter. I
visited many cities and places, discovering the unfailing courtesy and good will of Americans everywhere I went. One of
my favorite places was San Francisco, California. It is picturesque, sits beside a bay spanned by a marvel of engineering,
and has great restaurants, hotels, and other attributes.
San Francisco is now the epicenter of spectacularly stupid and just plain bad ideas. Being stupid isn’t a crime, but
enacting stupid ideas into law comes close to being a definition of criminal stupidity.
This is a city that has been at the forefront of gay marriage. Why anyone other than a homosexual would think there was
any sense in two people of the same sex constituting a “marriage” defies the laws of nature. Webster’s dictionary defines
marriage as “The legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife.” But not in San Francisco. The rest of the
citizens of California have made it abundantly clear they oppose same-sex marriage.
On November 4, 2008, in addition to voting for the President and other legislators, the citizens of San Francisco will be
asked to vote on Proposition H, otherwise known as the “San Francisco Clean Energy Act.”
It would amend the City and County Charter “to require the city to transition from fossil fuels to clean, non-nuclear,
sustainable energy production at affordable rates.” With this vote, if successful, the City will abandon the use of any
energy afforded by coal, natural gas, and, as noted, nuclear power.
Electricity is measured in kilowatts-hours. America’s 104 commercial nuclear power reactors now provide about 20% of its
electricity. More than 50% is produced primarily by 400-plus coal-fired “fossil fuel” producers of electricity, providing
more than 2,000 billion kilowatt-hours of reliable energy. Hydroelectric and gas-powered plants constitute the rest of the
mix.
Solar and wind power constitute about 1% of the electrical energy produced from these two inefficient, impractical, and
spectacularly idiotic sources of power.
What the citizens of San Francisco and, for that matter, the rest of the nation, don’t understand is that, even in the best
locations, wind turbines produce power only about one third of the time. When they cease to produce sufficient
electrical power, a back-up coal-fired or nuclear plant has to be in place to meet the immediate needs of energy consumers.
Comparably, solar power depends on the sun shining. Occasionally, clouds obscure the sun. At night, it is shining
somewhere else on Earth.
Proposition H states that, “Nuclear (power) is prohibited from being included in the definition of clean energy.” Moreover,
solar and wind power will be mandated to produce “at least 107 megawatts” by 2012, and 75% of San Francisco’s electrical
power by 2030.
Who supports Proposition H? They include the Sierra Club, the San Francisco League of Conservation Voters, and the
San Francisco Democratic Party. I hope they get used to working by candle light, if the measure passes. For all those other
things that require reliable electrical power, they should plan on finding some means to keep them going other than the
electrical socket in the wall.
The advocates of this supreme act of madness had the audacity of promoting it by stating:
“If you and five friends could save the world, would you do it?
If San Francisco voters pass Prop H for a 100% clean energy
future, we could save the world.”
The justification for this is, of course, “global warming” -- something that is not happening.
If Proposition H passes, one assumes that views of the City will be obscured by miles and miles of wind turbines and that
the drive into the City will include miles and miles of solar panels lining the highways. I don’t plan on visiting in the future.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Marriage, Family, & Society
Morality, Decency, & Traditional American Family Values
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s most recent book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press. Books
previously authored by Caruba include A Pocket Guide to Militant Islam, The United Nations Versus the United States: The
UN's Plan to Control Planet Earth, and America: A Nation Without Borders -- A Pocket Guide to Immigration Issues.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity