The Answer Is Blowin' In the Offshore Wind

Bob McDonnell and other Repugs are all for off-shore oil - drill here, drill now and all that feel good (to right wing nuts) BS. The reserves are unproven, the environmental and economic risks are very high, and even if it all works perfectly, oil/gas off the Virginia coast is a short term pipe dream having minimal impact on gas and oil prices in the Commonwealth. After all, petroleum prices are set on a global market and there is no guarantee any of it would find its way to a Henrico gas station. A drop in the bucket?

Fortunately the Commonwealth, under the leadership of Democrats like Governor Tim Kaine, is looking forward to a greener future that meets long term energy needs with clean and everlasting wind power. As the Governor said in his press release proclaiming the potential of off-shore wind in Virginia:

Wind power holds the potential to create new jobs and provide cheaper and cleaner energy to our citizens without having an adverse effect on the environment. I am looking forward to working with federal, state and local officials to begin the process of making Virginia a regional leader in clean energy.

Among the groups advocating for off-shore wind power is the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. In the video, Ivy Main, the club's renewable energy chair, explains how offshore wind turbines can help replace dirty fossil fuels as the major electric power source for the Atlantic coast states.

Bob McDonnell, Republicans, and all the drill here, drill now crowd are looking backwards and consigning Virginians to a future rooted in the past. A future of more global warming. A future of dependence on oil - most of which comes from foreign sources, many with terrorist ties. Only under the forward thinking leadership of Tim Kaine, Creigh Deeds, and other Democrats (with a strong assist from groups like the Sierra Club) is Virginia going to move forward. We either begin fixing our energy/environmental future now, or we'll leave a mess to our children's children.