My wife, Lynnda and I have been trying to lose a little weight. On TV a celebrity was talking about her new diet and the weight she lost using a supplement. It sounded good. Quick weight loss without exercise or starvation. The supplement was discounted initially, then got expensive. Celebrity diets and supplements are common. The magazines at grocery store checkouts are full of them all promising quick success. They give people hope. Probably all of these diets work for some people. Diets are never a one size fits all since people are all different. People want to look better and feel better fast. I’m cautious of anything promising quick results with little work. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

We need to think logically and be cautious. Our country has an obesity problem. Obesity can cause a lot of serious health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. A simple guaranteed way to lose weight fast is to go to the moon! You will weigh 1/6 of what you weigh now. Congress could pass a law requiring each state to lower the pull of gravity with a goal to lower the weight of their people 20% by 2050. Maybe we don’t have an obesity problem. We have a scale problem. It is the evil people who make scales who are the problem. The President could have the Department of Health and Human Services require scale manufacturers to lower readings on scales by 20% lowering everyone’s weight. We would all feel better about ourselves.

Of course, this is ridiculous. A natural law like gravity can’t be changed. Lowering the number on a scale doesn’t change the actual weight. It makes matters worse because people wouldn’t know the truth about their body and would continue in their same unhealthy lifestyle. As crazy as this sounds for obesity, this is exactly what is happening in Washington regarding energy.

My purpose here isn’t to ridicule anyone or any organization. They may not be aware of technical information we have access to. They may not choose to question what seems to be common belief. They may not understand energy or think about it the way we do. The late radio host, speaker and author, Earl Nightingale, in his Lead the Field audio series believes our schools don’t teach students to think and reason. He may be right. When Nido Qubein took over as President of High Point University in 2005 one of his main goals was to teach critical thinking to his students. As an engineer I have an ethical and moral code of conduct. In my field of expertise, energy, I have an ethical responsibility to speak out when people in leadership positions ignore sound engineering principals and basic math putting us on a path that can kill or destroy the lives of thousands.

Government is finding ways to force people to buy EVs they can’t afford and will have trouble refueling. California is banning sales of gasoline vehicles after 2035 forcing people to buy electric vehicles. Americans don’t like to be told what to do. There is a national push from Washington to electrify transportation and other segments of the economy including manufacturing. I’m not for or against EVs. I believe the choice should be left up to the individual not a government mandate.

At Shale Crescent USA we are working with companies in the USA and overseas who are Interested in manufacturing in the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia Region. Some of these projects require as much as 250 MW of electricity. My friends in real estate are struggling to find sites for four or more large data centers requiring 100 MW of power each. Data storage requires 24/7/365 electricity with 100% redundancy. Companies like Google, Amazon and others developing AI need more data storage. If there is a power failure or brownout without a backup power source, data will be lost. Imagine if your bank or 401K lost all your data. Companies are looking at the Shale Crescent USA because of our abundant economical energy.

The math is simple. We can calculate current power needs and know what peak load can be due to weather. Overall power demand for homes and businesses is increasing. U.S. population is increasing. Estimates from people like Bill Gates believe power demand will increase 50% by 2050. If all vehicles were EVs government data estimates the USA would need to generate an additional 50% more power. With expected increased electricity demand, we should be planning a lot of new power generation. Some plants are being planned. Over 90% of these are renewables producing intermittent power. In the northeast USA where most people live, only a 20% solar efficiency can be expected because of cloud cover. Like diets. One size or energy source doesn’t fit all.

Instead of building more dependable baseload power the government is forcing existing coal, nuclear and soon natural gas power plants to close. What’s wrong with this picture? It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious. Soon we will need twice as much electricity without a workable plan to obtain it. Germany understands the problem. Last fall they tore down a wind farm to start mining the coal under it. SCUSA helps companies to lower emissions, reduce costs and have dependable economical energy. Thinking creatively, there are many ways to reduce emissions.

This country belongs to “we the people”. We must educate our elected representatives or remove them and their bureaucrats from office. We need to question and be vocal about allowing baseload power to be shutdown. We can’t wait for people to freeze to death in the dark to act. What kind of future can our children and grandchildren expect? Regulations contrary to natural laws and common sense don’t work for obesity or energy. We need leaders who understand math and put the needs of people first.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing and sales for Shale Crescent USA, www.shalecrescentusa.com. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and over 40 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is a professional speaker and author of four books and numerous published articles.