Opinion Piece: Obama's 2035 clean electricity goal is a moving target that shifts with the political wind

Last year, President Obama called for renewed support for clean energy along with the technology and jobs that would come with a healthier environment.

There were not enough votes in Congress to support his call.

In his State of the Union Address Tuesday January 25th, President Obama again called upon the nation to support clean energy as a means of becoming independent from foreign oil and to overtake China and India in energy independence.

With the addition of Nuclear Power, "clean" coal and natural gas in the mix with Solar and Wind, there are rumblings of greater support for a shift away from conventional coal and oil.

You can read the full Reuters article on the energy portion of Obama's speech here.

There are practical issues that we have not overcome technologically with Nuclear Power. (More specifically with the waste products. See Seattle Times Article Jan 22nd.)

"Clean" coal technology is as yet unproven. (The proposal is to capture carbon pollution before it reaches the atmosphere and pump it into underground storage. The challenge is that carbon storage has not been tried on the enormous scale that would be necessary, and there are questions about costs, reliability, and sequestration site management.) Natural Gas is burns cleaner, but the drilling process for finding and tapping gas has significant environmental impacts. Like oil, gas is a finite resource.

The only thing at this point you can depend upon is that our energy future is unpredictable. The best way to minimize risk is to reduce your dependence on electricity.

A shift toward energy independence can begin with changing a light bulb and willingness to learn new ways to reduce your electrical usage. 

Wendy DiPeso

Chair Shoreline Green Business Program