National Economics Editorial Staff: Renewable energy advocates have claimed for decades that solar and wind power are the future. Some boldly state that the world could be powered by renewable energy sources as early as 2030, given the exponential growth of solar and wind electrical capacity. And of course, the mainstream media plays up the importance of solar and wind energy in defeating the scarecrow that is climate change. While 13.6% of world energy comes from renewable sources, the vast majority—72.8%—is just people in developing countries burning wood, charcoal, and dung for energy. That’s right: feces is a more important energy source than wind power.

Alex Alexiev, Chairman of the Center for Balkan and Black Sea Studies: There are at least three problems with renewable energy (wind and solar), which are not surmountable. First, it is intermittent i.e. not reliable. Secondly, renewable energy depends on government subsidies and is not feasible without them. Third, the efficiency of solar and wind tech, despite being heavily subsidized, is rapidly approaching the limits of physics, which means that there are no great efficiency improvements to be expected.The renewable energy emperor has no clothes and it won’t be long before everyone can see it.

Jerry Brown, two time governor of California is mandating that the state use mostly wind and solar. He promises that utility bills will drop and life will be better. No dictator of any persuasion has imposed such liability on their citizens. What will happen when the sun doesn't shine, the wind doesn't blow and the state needs lots of energy to recover from the Ring of Fire Earthquakes. Who? Jerry Brown and his voters care about reality? No, just their environmental dogma.

Roger Bezdek, President of Management Information Services, Inc. brought this Nuclear Energy Institute report to our attention: The federal government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars since WW II supporting energy technologies with large shares going to fossil fuels. Energy subsidies are drawing intense attention as policymakers grapple with a variety of incentives that are straining competitive electricity markets and driving baseload generation off the grid.