Sunday, October 30, 2005

Energy rip-off

October 30, 2005

Letter to the editor/viewpoint, Submitted exclusively to the Duluth News Tribune
Submitted for publication

In September some Minnesota newspapers carried the story, “Canadian Pacific brings wind power to the prairies,” and the accompanying pictures of the train rumbling through western Minnesota carrying the equipment were very interesting. and raise a number of issues. It is unfortunate this wind power electric generating equipment is only passing through Minnesota on the way to Canada where it will be installed in Saskatchewan, rather than being erected right here in Minnesota.

Minnesotans would be further ahead if state legislators would make an investment in alternative sources of generating electricity rather than polluting our environment with coal fired generating plants and bio-mass plants. Oh yes, the claim is that these coal gasification plants are less polluting than other coal fired power generating plants. But, no one mentions that there are no smokestacks now!

The main stumbling block is that the present private-for-profit power generating industry owns our state legislators, whose influential lobby is second only to the private-for-profit healthcare industry. The Canadians got rid of private-for-profit healthcare years ago. And the Saskatchewan and Manitoba governments have successfully owned and operated huge power generating industries for many more years.

Saskatchewan is on the cutting edge of wind power technology. Why hasn’t Minnesota cashed in on wind energy rather than throw tax dollars away on outdated, polluting, natural resource wasting, power generation and on hare-brained schemes that have farmers growing corn on some of the most fertile farmland in the world to fuel gas guzzling vehicles rather than growing food to feed a hungry world and engineering vehicles to be more fuel efficient?

Former Minnesota Governor Floyd B. Olson warned Minnesotans that they would pay a very heavy price for power generation remaining in the hands of private-for-profit corporations. We are now paying through the nose because legislators failed to heed Governor Olson’s warning.

Thousands of long-term, good-paying jobs could be created manufacturing wind turbines right here in Minnesota. Why did Saskatchewan have to go to Europe to buy their wind generators? They could have purchased this equipment right here in Minnesota if legislators would establish a publicly owned power energy industry such as had been recommended by socialist Governor Floyd B. Olson. The people of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have popularly elected socialist governments, publicly owned power generating industries, and public healthcare, along with good paying jobs. Dairy farmers in Manitoba grow corn to feed their cows while making a good living milking them. While Canadian owned trains roll over tracks transporting everything from grain to taconite and now wind generating equipment, Minnesotans get poverty wage jobs mining peat out in the Big Bog or working in casinos at poverty wages without any rights.

By the way, we can purchase power cheaper from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and even Ontario than what it will cost to build these massive, polluting, coal gasification plants across northern Minnesota. There is no need for these plants now or in the foreseeable future… what Minnesotans need is low cost power that comes to us through real electric cooperatives, not through profit gouging private corporations. What the heck… we would be better off loaning Saskatchewan and Manitoba money interest free, to build more generating capacity in return for cheap electricity… rather than giving taxpayer dollars to this fly-by-night outfit that we all know what is going to happen… eventually they will declare bankruptcy, go into receivership, and the assets will be turned over to one of the huge power mega-monopolies; and taxpayers are going to be left holding the bill AND paying through the nose for electricity for homes and to run farms and businesses... these coal gasification plants are just another capitalist, get rich quick scam… Just what we need, to purchase coal from the Rockefellers after they ran away with the iron ore profits and left us with huge gaping pits in the earth that are now going to be hawked by Rockefellers’ land holdings company as lake-front resort property; Check it out; who is going to be selling off the land around Sparta, Minnesota and running people out of their homes?

Here is what we have:

Nation of sheep.Run by wolves.Owned by pigs.

Just take a look t the last legislative session… and these clowns expect us to re-elect them?

Jobs, jobs, jobs… get real. None of these politicians cares about working people. If they did, 20,000 Minnesotans wouldn’t be working today in casinos at poverty wages and without any rights!

Thank you for publishing this letter… was it printed on Canadian paper?

Alan L. Maki
58891 County Road 13
Warroad, Minnesota 56763
218-386-2432
E-mail: amaki000@centurytel.net

Also, please check out this this related Blog about saving the Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant:
http://www.fordtwincitiesassemblyplant.blogspot.com/

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http://thepodunkblog.blogspot.com/