My name is Aaron Little and I’ve been writing for the Press Gazette for a few months now. Before diving into my first column, I think a little background is in order. I’ve seen a good amount of this country. I visited Niagra Falls and the Grand Canyon because I lived in New York and Arizona. I was born in Pennsylvania but spent most of my youth in Texas. I saw a butterfly migration when I lived in picture-book suburban Reno. I don’t have an accent, but I say “y’all.” I grew up in a Christian home with the best parents who are still together. I have three half siblings I don’t get to see and nephews older than I am. I think I have a reasoned, open viewpoint because of this background.
In my column, I’d like to explore the truth of things. I think the truth meanders and does not always lie politically on the left, the right, or the center. I am a conservative with libertarian leanings, so while I think opening our borders would invite no small disaster, I’ll listen to Jerry Doyle over Sean Hannity any day. I certainly won’t claim to have all the solutions or know who’s right and wrong in what ways all the time. I’m sure I’ll be wrong here and there and people who are smarter than I can correct me.
So the first issue I want to look at is alternative energy. It’s not just for tree-hugging hippies. Allow me to speak in generalities for a moment. The stereotypical conservative view says alternative energy is a waste of time and money to solve the non-existent problem of man-made global warming. Wind farming is too expensive for the return and solar power is equally ineffective. So drill, baby, drill.
On the other side, the stereotypical liberal view says electric cars will save our nearly uninhabitable planet. If we don’t stop burning oil and coal, we’ll be slaughtering adorable polar animals. The left may find internal conflict when wind farm fans kill birds, but they seem to all say coal and oil will run out in a month, which is fine since those resources are killing the planet.
What I’d like to look at is what works for the largest group of people. Cars work for people. Every day we go typically go farther than a reasonable walk or bike-ride would allow. We drive and fly all over the country every day.
Since transportation will never go away, we have to look at the best ways to move ourselves with the best power sources. Heating and cooling also work for people. Floridians especially understand the value of air conditioning, while the unusual frost this year reminded us even in the Sunshine State, we need our heat. All of these are obvious, but what is not obvious is how to power our needs between this year and the next century. In my next column, I’ll look at natural gas, solar power, nuclear energy, and wind.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: An intro into my life