Recruiter’s View

Wind Farms in Indiana won’t offset lost oil production from the Gulf.

We had dinner last week with visitors from Illinois. Very nice people. And like many residents from that area, they enthused that there’s a huge “wind farm” being built in northern Indiana. Isn’t that great?

Personally, I think the American public is mislead about cost, efficiency, job creation, and the relative productivity of various energy sources. The strategies are not perfectly interchangeable. Especially pre-Smart Grid.  

Our engineers can build anything you want, but I believe many energy decisions are swayed largely by poetry and political rhetoric. The numbers are available, but reading them is really, really boring.

In a Can’t Fail Society, any energy source the government can prop up becomes a resource worth protecting.

Compare the output of wind turbines in northern Indiana with the juice US Steel can suck up in an afternoon. Chicago is a big place. Arguably, it centers in Illinois and extends into Indiana and Wisconsin.

I’m thinking nuclear power plant, not windmills.

My prediction: When our friends drive back to Florida this winter, gas will be very expensive. And they will comment on how high their heating bill has become.

Recruiter’s View

Frankly, whatever energy sources people want to try out, nature will finally intervene. What works or doesn’t work will get sorted out for us.

I’m all for experimenting. Really.  It all contributes.

But on the jobs front, I remain uncomfortable putting people into industries that rely on government support for their existence.

In energy, there are opportunities in nuclear, oil, and natural gas that are very real.

I’d keep those at the top of your list. That’s what I’m doing.