An Open Letter to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

An Open Letter to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is advocating a switch to 100-percent renewable energy. Here are some “back of the matchbook” calculations on the plan for her consideration. ...
Ed Hiserodt

Congratulations on winning your seat in the 14th Congression-al District of New York. You certainly made a name for yourself even before the House was turned over to the Democrats, with your activist demonstration against fossil fuels at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office prior to being sworn in. As a Democratic Socialist, we’re aware you support single-payer health insurance, free college tuition, de-funding ICE, and several other issues of consequence. But our concern here is your proposal to transition the country, including the electrical grid, to run on 100-percent renewable sources of energy. We would like to take a look at what this would entail. Excuse us for being “numbery,” but the scope of this project of the Democratic Socialists is not a matter of good feelings, but cold hard numbers. 

You back a “Green New Deal” that would, according to the U.K. Guardian, “eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from electricity, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and other sectors within 10 years. It would also aim for 100% renewable energy.” 

Since you have an educational background in International Relations and Economics, perhaps you would appreciate a brush-up on electrical terminology and what it would take to accomplish your proposal. First, let’s define which energy sources the environmentalist Left says qualify as “renewable sources of energy.”  They are:

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