Back to the Future
Oct. 7th, 2008 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
webfarmerAn interesting if a bit one sided, imo, view of the current energy debate. At least it's asking the right questions. The soft vs. hard terminology originated with Lovin's work in the '70s. Before that, there was little serious debate on utility scale energy developments. Yet another reason to be voting for Obama, imo.
Energy Lessons From the '70s - Hard Power vs. Soft Power - NY Times - 06 Oct 08
"The presidential candidates claim to see America’s energy future, but their competing visions have a certain vintage quality. They’ve revived that classic debate: the hard path versus the soft path.
The soft path, as Amory Lovins defined it in the 1970s, is energy conservation and power from the sun, wind and plants — the technologies that Senator Barack Obama emphasizes in his plan to reduce greenhouse emissions. Senator John McCain is more enthusiastic about building nuclear power plants, the quintessential hard path."
I see the economic report being referenced here is a bit on the old side. And it could be accessed without a fee from the MIT website.
Federal Tax Policy Towards Energy [pp. 33 PDF] - Gilbert E. Metcalf - January 2007
"I find that nuclear power and renewable electricity sources benefit substantially from accelerated depreciation and that the production and investment tax credits make clean coal technologies cost competitive with pulverized coal and wind and biomass cost competitive with natural gas."
Energy Lessons From the '70s - Hard Power vs. Soft Power - NY Times - 06 Oct 08
"The presidential candidates claim to see America’s energy future, but their competing visions have a certain vintage quality. They’ve revived that classic debate: the hard path versus the soft path.
The soft path, as Amory Lovins defined it in the 1970s, is energy conservation and power from the sun, wind and plants — the technologies that Senator Barack Obama emphasizes in his plan to reduce greenhouse emissions. Senator John McCain is more enthusiastic about building nuclear power plants, the quintessential hard path."
I see the economic report being referenced here is a bit on the old side. And it could be accessed without a fee from the MIT website.
Federal Tax Policy Towards Energy [pp. 33 PDF] - Gilbert E. Metcalf - January 2007
"I find that nuclear power and renewable electricity sources benefit substantially from accelerated depreciation and that the production and investment tax credits make clean coal technologies cost competitive with pulverized coal and wind and biomass cost competitive with natural gas."
