Greed the game
As your Feb. 27 editorial pointed out, Republicans are indeed greasing the wheels to move forward with fracking, citing job creation as their primary motive. However, we know the only winners in this environmentally unwise endeavor will be energy companies and the GOP coffers.
If Republicans and the N.C. Mining & Energy Commission were really interested in creating jobs, they would be clearing the way for renewable energy instead. North Carolina has more offshore wind potential than any state on the entire Eastern Seaboard, even after carve-outs for military and commercial use. The supply-chain jobs such as welding, machining and fabrication needed to support the offshore wind industry would be huge in comparison.
What about solar energy? North Carolina sits in the sunbelt compared with Germany, which is about the same latitude as Canada. Yet Germany generates more solar power than the entire United States.
Biomass is another renewable energy source, and North Carolina has a long and rich agricultural history that could be put to work creating jobs and energy.
So why not capitalize on our natural renewable resources instead of pushing for fracking? One word: greed.
Robert Grove
Raleigh
