Here Comes the Sun by Paul Krugman, (Critical Reading and Critique)
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Paul Krugman’s argument about politics and energy sources is very true because the government plays a significant role in ensuring sufficient and reliable energy sources. There has been minimal change in the sources of energy compared to advancement in technology. The government and political influence may bring success of every project to a standstill. The fact that politicians should be engaged in a country’s business may at times be very disappointing because most of them have special interest. Energy source is amongst the things that have remained stagnant for a very long time because of political influence. However, mastery of the material world has not advanced slowly as Paul Krugman claims because people have become more aware of various things. Sources of energy could have advanced but political suppression has been very dominant. Great advancement technology can only be helpful if there is political and government backing.
Slow adaptation of renewable energy may perhaps be attributed to low confidence that the public has on the energy sources. Utilization of energy sources may not just be increased by decreasing the cost of solar energy. Government agencies and the solar panel manufacturers should employ means of boosting public confidence. It seems that Krugman blames the political system so much especially on the increased use of fossilized political system that largely defends and supports fossil energy. I don’t think that political propaganda has a role to play in in the failure to adapt to solar energy. This is purely based on minimal or lack of adequate campaign regarding the use of solar energy. The public should be well informed about the benefits of using solar energy such as conservation of environment.
Just like any other good investment especially in sources of energy, fracking is also not expected to cost less. Being an impressive technology as Krugman asserts, it is expected to have very high capital investment but it is unfortunate that it is very harmful to human life. It is likely that the traditional or previous energy source extraction would cause human destruction just like fracking. With the current damage on environment I would also not support environmental degradation. I even think that compensating or paying for damages caused to the public may not be enough because it cannot be compared with human life. Development of energy sources in a safe and responsible manner is key and should not be left in the hands of politicians as Krugman claims.
I do not concur with Krugman that the issue of Solyndra’s failure is political as he portrays it. The business simply failed because of market mechanisms. Technological success is not the real cause of the business failure. The business could simply not withstand the intense competition. Paul’s argument that cheap solar panels may influence many people to turn into renewable sources is very right. Use of solar energy may be increased due to the larger environmental concern and the high cost of other sources of energy. If the public decides to adopt solar energy sources they will definitely succeed without any political influence. I think Paul blames the political system so much.
Moore’s law is indeed very evident in solar energy. The government should ensure sufficient subsidy for her domestic solar and other renewable energy sources. Brad Plumer argument that solar is being deployed on a large scale is very true and it may reach grid parity when something is done to store the solar energy and public confidence and belief is raised to a higher standard. Government policy is however a significant factor in influencing the production and the cost of solar panel. Government should institute financial policies that favor cost of solar panels. I agree with Brad Plumer that if cost elements constituting solar energy are reduced then the solar panels will have more users added to the already good number of current users. This is because the solar panels will be cheap and affordable to a good number of people.
