Green Power Would Make Life Nasty, Brutish And Short

...Three centuries ago, the world ran on green power. Wood was used for heating and cooking, charcoal for smelting and smithing, wind or water power for pumps, mills and ships, and whale oil for lamps. People and soldiers walked or rode horses, and millions of horses and oxen pulled ploughs, wagons, coaches and artillery.

But smoke from open fires choked cities, forests were stripped of trees, most of the crops went to feed draft animals, and streets were littered with horse manure. For many people, life was "nasty, brutish and short."

Then the steam engine was developed, and later the internal combustion engine, electricity and refrigeration came along. Green power was replaced by coal and oil. Carbon energy powered factories, mills, pumps, ships, trains, and smelters; and cars, trucks and tractors replaced the work-horses. The result was a green revolution — forests began to regrow and vast areas of cropland used for horse feed were released to produce food for humans. Poverty declined and population soared.

...Already urban environmentalists are polluting city air by burning wood and briquetted paper in stoves and home heaters, and trying to prevent millions in Asia and Africa from getting cleaner energy. Other misguided nations are clearing forests and transporting low-energy wood chips to burn in distant power stations. And the high costs of green energy are already forcing some poor people to burn old books and strip parks and forests for firewood.

In addition, crops that once fed people are now making "green" ethanol to fuel cars, and native forests are being cleared and burnt to make way for more fuel crops. Our modern iron "Horses" are eating the crops again.

READ ENTIRE COLUMN