Plugging into the Sun

Nick R. Post #7 Plugging into the Sun by George Johnson, September 2009 National Geographic.
Plugging into the Sun is an article about the use of renewable energy, especially the use of solar power. The article looks at a number of different movements in the U.S. form historical to modern times. Nevada Solar One is the first large solar power plant to built in the U.S. in 17 years. It powers Las Vegas through the collection of sun rays, this collection is used to superheat oil that powers radiators that biol water to convert it to steam. This steam is used at night to power the lights of Vegas. Solar One is owned by Acciona which is a Spanish company. This company sells its power to NV Energy which is the regional supplier of energy. With the change in Washington a new push has come with it it go green. This push has been gaining momentum for a number of years now. It started in the 70's with the Carter administration and the oil embargo on Iran. With oil prices rising in the 70's this seemed like a logical choice. However Carter's dream of solar powered did not gain steam because the cost of oil dropped. With renewable energy gaining more momentum than ever it seems logical that the nation will move towards renewable energy. The state of Nevada set deadlines for power companies to generate 20% of their power from renewable resources by 2015. Nevada Solar One is owned by a Spanish company but was funded in part by the U.S. government. This one done to meet Nevada's state guidelines. This is not the first solar plant the Spanish have built. The article says that the U.S. is falling behind in the race for renewable energy.

This article is an example of social control in a number of different ways. I see it as a number of different control hubs all scrambling for power over power. This control hubs take a number of different looks. Some are independant companies others are state run governments along with the federal government. These new companies who are expanding and investing in renewable energy have quite a challenge ahead of them. The oil companies the "current heavy weight champs" of the power industry have deep pockets and do not want to loose control of the monoply they currently own. Solar power was squashed once in the 70's can oil companies do it again? Maybe. Times are changing and the political forcast for going green is building. Enrgy is always going to have some kind of social control aspect to it. It might not be as dramatic as a cop shooting some one but it is there. The ones who control the energy supply control much of our lives.