Renewable Energy- a waste of money?

The solar company Solyndra received more than $500 million in loan guarantees from the Obama administration.  This company was going to be the answer for an affordable solar panel that was cheap and convenient.  Solyndra was creating jobs of the future according to Vice-President Joe Biden.  But it didn’t quite work out like that.

The price of silicon panels plummeted making Solyndra’s product uncompetitive in its market.  The company spent all of its money trying to stay afloat and declared bankruptcy and had to fire 1100 workers.  Many think that the failure of Solyndra shows that the government isn’t investing their money wisely.  But there is little evidence that the money invested in the company was a reckless decision; there was a process that involved 3000 outside experts that led to the green light. 

Many venture capitalists say that of the companies that they fund they expect a third of them to fail and that when a failure happens it’s just a part of business.  The Department of Energy has given out nearly $20 billion in loan guarantees to renewable energy companies and the only company that has defaulted was Solyndra.  Personally, I think that that is a great statistic.  I know people are always hoping things fail in order to prove a point.  But the venture capitalists are right when they say it’s all just apart of business.  Things are going to succeed and things are going to fail.  So the fact that only one tiny part of the $20 billion has gone down the drain tells me that the people in the Department of Energy are investing their money wisely.      

Obviously global warming is coming and it's inevitable if we don't change our ways.  Many like to think that renewable energy is a waste of money and time when we could be saving the world in other ways.  But I think that this article needed to be shared to show that the money isn't going to waste.  

Stories That Stand Out

He was Mr. Cha-cha-cha.  He was my grandpa.  In the past week I learned more about him than I would have ever thought.  As we prepared to say our final goodbyes, more and more stories were brought up about his life that I had never heard.  Those stories are the ones that stand out to me.  My grandpa had a signature cha-cha-cha dance but I never knew he could tango or waltz.  I knew he was a veteran of World War II and spent most of his time in London but I didn’t know he was Agent 301 in the criminal investigation department.  He was always whistling a tune but I never knew he used to play saxophone in a jazz band.  These stories were forgotten for a very long time and never shared due to his aggressive Alzheimer’s.  Family stories should be the stories that stand out.  He wasn’t a superhero and he didn’t have a million bucks but he had a great sense of humor and was always caring and kind.  The memories I have are ones that I’ll never forget and will make great stories in the future.  The most recent memories are of playing blocks and doing coloring books together.  They maybe aren’t the most exciting of stories but those are the ones that stand out to me.  These stories are the ones that will forever make me laugh, make me cry and make me remember what a truly great man he was.  These are some of the real world stories that will always stand out to me. 

A Watchful Eye

So You Think Money Can Buy Happiness...?

Skiing or the Caribbean? Well…we went skiing in the Swiss Alps for Christmas break so how about Bora Bora for spring break. Sometimes it feels like everyone always has more than you. Many people believe that the more money you have the better, happier, more perfect life you lead. Having more money looks better on the outside. Clothes, they have the best. Accessories, so many options. They can live anywhere in any home; usually there is more than one. Being able to buy a new car at the drop of a hat, again, usually more than one. Brand names and high prices is what the rich live for. Is beauty on the outside really happiness on the inside? To the average person living a modest lifestyle, the life of the rich looks easy. Perhaps their bias comes from jealousy, envy or ignorance. From their bias comes dislike toward the wealthy that may actually be nice people. There is a tendency to make rude remarks, jokes or comments about what the rich are perceived to have. Do most wealthy people have material items? Yes. I understand that the outward appearance of the wealthy makes it seem that there are never any problems and life is perfect. I also understand that being wealthy doesn’t make someone automatically good, bad, happy, rude, etc. You can’t like everyone but you don’t know who someone truly is until you get to know them. Why let where someone lives and what he or she wears determine what potentially lies on the inside.