A Lesson In Futility

In the age of Obama. In this new, enlightened age of alternative energy. A time in history that the 'messiah' would usher in an era in which

"we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal…"

How is it, that during this brave, new, enlightened age, that we should hear about significant job layoffs in, of all places, a wind turbine plant?

Pipestone, Minn. (AP) — A wind power company in southwestern Minnesota has announced it will eliminate 70 jobs this summer with another 90 layoffs possible by the end of September.

According to a letter sent to city officials, Suzlon will make the first round of layoffs at the Pipestone turbine blade plant by Aug. 2. Another 90 job losses will likely be added to that tally.

Pipestone Mayor Laurie Ness says the news is "crushing blow" to the city.

How can this be, that a company that was literally booming during the Bush Administration, would have to actually lay off workers during the environmentally-conscious, environmentally-pristine era over which which the lord and savior Barack Hussein Obama presides?

Perhaps a quick jaunt from the small town of Pipestone, Minnesota, to the small town of Willmar, Minnesota, may give us a clue:

WILLMAR (AP) - Two wind turbines are expected to be up
and running in Willmar by the end of July.

The city is finishing up construction of the turbines, which
will each generate two megawatts of power.

Wesley Hompe of Willmar Municipal Utilities says the turbines
will keep 236,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Hompe says Willmar hopes to add more turbines in the future. The
initial project has a $10 million budget.

Let's see... two wind turbines will provide the city of Willmar with two mega-watts of power. Pretty impressive, eh? Well, hold the phone, as Paul Harvey would say:

That's enough to cover about 3 percent of the city's annual energy needs.

Two turbines provide three percent of Willmar's annual energy needs. According to Wikipedia, the year 2000 census (that was, of course, pre-ACORN estimates--no doubt the 2010 census will half; Willmar leans Republican by over 10%--but I digress) showed Willmar's population to be at 18,351. Some simple math indicates that two turbines will power the energy needs of some 550.3 of Willmar's 18,351 residents.

Of course, the story states that Willmar has plans to further their capacity by building more wind turbines. At this rate, they will need to build a paltry 30 more wind turbines to meet the needs of all of Willmar's residents, that is if they most likely power nothing but a small fan to keep cool and cook nothing but toast for their meals.

In other words, the turbine plant at Pipestone and the exercise in futility at Willmar's taxpayers' expense are but a microcosm of the empty promises laid out by the messiah lord Obama, Algore, and sadly, even Tim Pawlenty.

For no other reason than to make themselves feel better.

For in the end, folks, it's not about the environment. It's not about mother earth.

It's about them.