An editorial from Public Interest Institute

While the rest of the world dithers, turkey farmers in Minnesota are taking action. The first power plant in the United States to be fueled by turkey droppings opened in Benson, Minnesota, last summer. Solar and wind are other methods of generating power that some states are exploring.

The use and growth of ethanol and other biofuels is a key part of the Iowa economy, contributing to both increased corn prices and land values. Government tax subsidies help keep the price of ethanol competitive with regular gasoline. But corn doesn’t grow well every year, and many corn-based foodstuffs are becoming prohibitively expensive.

In the midst of all this confusion, the Iowa Legislature dealt with many pieces of energy legislation during the recent session. The most interesting development, though, was that 57 representatives are supporting allowing nuclear energy projects to apply for state grant money. Currently the only nuclear power plant in Iowa is the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Cedar Rapids. The new, more politically correct term for nuclear energy is “terrestrial energy,” as defined by William Tucker, the author of Terrestrial Energy: How a Nuclear-Solar Alliance Can Rescue the Planet, a new book on the issue. In producing electricity from terrestrial energy there is no air pollution, no water pollution, and no ground pollution.

“If we are to take the challenges of efficient, clean energy production by the private sector in the 21st Century seriously, the public, the environmentalists, and the government of the United States must overcome their fears, or we will all be burning turkey droppings,” said Deborah Thornton, a Research Analyst with Public Interest Institute in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. We must recognize that terrestrial energy is the “natural outgrowth” of our understanding of the universe and take advantage of it. The Iowa Legislature appears to be beginning to recognize this fact.

Public Interest Institute’s INSTITUTE BRIEF, “How shall we power our World? Coal? Terrestrial Energy? Wind? Solar? Corn? Or Turkey Droppings?” is available at www.limitedgovernment.org.

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