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Joe Cannon: Utah facing critical energy crossroads

It is nice to see people like Mr. Cannon, on the right, intelligently discussing the need to factor in the environmental costs of energy production.

Talk,talk talk, but we are going noiwhere.

Producing more electricity using natural gas will still produce the same amount of CO2. Our supply of natural gas is less than the supply of coal. Most people use natural gas to heat their homes around here. It would be a step backwards (when we run out of natural gas or the price is increased) if we had to heat homes by burning coal again.

Dear Mr. Cannon:

Is nobody aware of the progress of Geo-Thermal power greneration here in the state of Utah. You ought to be following the progress of a company in your own back yard. Check on "Raser" a Provo based company who has just received financing for 15 Geo-Thermal Plants from Merrill-Lynch, some to be built in Utah.

Good discussion Mr. Cannon; salient points mentioned without hyperpole. Solutions are arrived at by this process - think outside the estabished patten - no preconceptions, no categorizations - focus on the problem and the solutions. Well Done.

Coal-fired electric power only appears cheaper than alternative energy because the "externalities" or hidden costs of coal are paid neither by the buyer nor the seller but by society, including future generations who will pay higher health and cleanup costs.

I applaud Mr. Cannon and the State of Utah for planning for future energy needs. BUT any energy plan that does not include nuclear power will be inadequate, shortchanging us for decades to come. I urge the state to get some nuclear plants on the drawing boards without delay.

Utah has many good possible locations for wind farms, but people need to realize the adverse impact they have on the scenery, and they should be located accordingly in remote locations. That also means transmission losses.

Western Utah has some potential for geothermal energy, but keep in mind that the history of geothermal companies includes a healthy pattern of exaggeration. We should encourage geothermal development, but not bank on its fruition.

Before we totally write off fossil fuels, the State ought to have unshakable confidence that CO2 can cause global warming, and that recent warm years are not a natural trend. I've studied the issue since its inception and have yet to see that evidence.

Paul,

Natural gas releases only half the CO2 that coal releases for the same energy.

I seldom agree with Joe Cannon, especially when illegal immigration and his approval of amnesty are concerned, but here he is pretty much right on. The electricity shortfall over the next ten years will be produced by natural gas which will be the quickest and cheapest. This however, will cause huge increases in the cost of natural gas which is the primary fuel used to heat our homes. It is like using corn to fuel our cars and causing cost of food increases. Not the best way to go.

As for alternative sources high cost and not in my back yard for wind power, along with nuclear paranoia we will find ourselves short of electricity. Then we will have to listen to the whiners complain about the rolling blackouts in the summer.

"This forecast assumes a lower energy growth rate for the next 10 years than the previous 10 years. It also assumes a slightly lower population growth rate than has been the case in the past." This assumption is false especially since Mr. Cannon supports huge numbers of legal illegal immigration (cheap labor) which is the total cause of population growth. Can't have it both ways.