Alternative Energy

Peter Morici attacks President Barack Obama for pursuing an energy policy which seeks to develop alternative energy sources ("Obama's bad bet," April 3). He brings up the Solyndra debacle, begun under theGeorge W. Bush administration, as evidence that we should just "drill, baby, drill" and deal with the environmental risks engendered. The problem with Solyndra was ultimately a political one, and it certainly should not be taken as evidence that we should stop seeking alternative energy sources.

Vendors and exhibitors are wanted for Howard County's GreenFest, scheduled for April 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Howard Community College's Burrill Galleria, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. People with information on green products, ecological home cleaning and lawn care, alternative energy, water conservation and reuse, and tips for greening everyday activities are encouraged to apply. Each space includes a 5-foot table and two chairs. Cost for nonprofits is $25 per space, $35 per space for others.

THERE ARE three basic ways of improving the nation's energy situation. We can produce more oil to cut dependence on imports; we can increase fuel efficiency to conserve oil; we can develop alternative energy sources. Only the first of the three seems to interest a Senate Energy Committee evidently afflicted with tunnel vision.The national energy bill approved by the committee calls for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling (at heavy environmental cost).But the proposed requirement to raise automotive fuel-efficiency standards was dropped from the bill.

Americans feeling the pain of soaring energy costs deserve more from their leaders. Politicians, including presidential candidates, should stop pandering with proposals designed only to win votes and offer comprehensive strategies to strengthen our economy and confront the energy challenge. Amazingly, investment tax credits for America's fledgling solar and wind power industries will expire this December, unless Congress ends a futile debate in which Republicans are resisting Democrats' proposals to pay for the relief with cuts in oil industry tax credits.

It seems that Baltimore is keeping pace with the rest of the country and the world: It's getting hotter. On Aug. 1, The Sun reported that July was the hottest July - actually the hottest month - ever for Baltimore. One day later, we learned that the city's 30-year average had risen half a degree above the last average. I'm scared. I can handle a record-high temperature so long as I know that it's an exception and that it will go back down. But what is being reported here is a trend - one with no end in sight.

Though Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s prospects have brightened since it won federal approval to restart one of its long-dark nuclear power units, the continuing economic downturn may forestall a hoped-for rebound this year, company officials said yesterday.Describing 1990 as "a difficult year," BG&E Chairman George V. McGowan told several hundred stockholders that unseasonably mild weather and economic problems are expected to continue to suppress sales in 1991. The stockholders were gathered at Marriott's Hunt Valley Inn for the utility's annual meeting.

State gets $1.4 million for food stamp success The state's Department of Human Resources was officially awarded $1.4 million Friday from the federal government for increasing by 44 percent the number of people receiving food stamps. Maryland enrolled more participants for food stamps than any other state for the one-year period ending in September 2008, and has more than 527,000 people receiving the federal benefits. Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald credited the increase to targeted outreach effort by the department's workers, including a focus on the elderly and the homeless who were eligible but not receiving assistance.

Standing in the bright sunlight atop the roof of the East Columbia library yesterday, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman showed off the government's latest energy project - 24 panels of solar receptors. The panels are expected to generate about 30 percent of the building's energy and enthusiasm among residents for alternative energy, Ulman says. To that end, the executive later directed a crowd of officials and reporters to the air-conditioned lobby to see an interactive computer display surrounded by colorful signs and books about solar energy.

When Maryland signed on to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and began auctioning carbon credits to power plant owners, the state legislature agreed that the proceeds would be used primarily to promote conservation and the development of alternative energy. But because of this year's budget crunch, Gov. Martin O'Malley has another purpose in mind - powering up the fund that assists people who can't afford to heat their homes. The governor has asked the General Assembly to approve a diversion of up to 50 percent of RGGI revenue - an estimated $70 million more than what is scheduled to be set aside - for energy assistance to the poor over the next two years.