The Cost Of The Iraq War
Posted by Big Gav in energy research, iraq, solar
Solar Power Rocks has a great graph comparing energy research expenditure in the US to the cost of the Iraq war.
These figures are in millions. The source for energy R&D expenditures is from the National Council for Science and the Environment.
Though the war in Iraq now costs about $120B a year, two authors (one a Nobel prize winner) estimates the total cost of this war exceeds 2 Trillion Dollars:
“Accrued liabilities for U.S. federal employees’ and veterans’ benefits now total $4.5 trillion. Indeed, our debt for veterans’ health and disability payments has risen by $228 billion in the past year alone…The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the interest payments on the money borrowed to finance the Iraq war will total $264 billion to $308 billion.”
That $2,000,000,000,000? Well, that amount of money could’ve built solar thermal plants here that would have provided energy for 2/3rds of our nation’s energy demand.
Links:
* AlterNet - How to Build a Local Energy Economy
* Houston Chronicle - Seadog: The wave of the future?
* The Morning Call - More landfills turning trash byproduct into electricity
* Raw Story - Congressman Kucinich writes letter to Judiciary Committee head supporting impeachment of Vice President Cheney
* New York Times - The Web Finds Ron Paul, and Takes Him for a Ride
* Cryptogon - Wave Power Attracts Investors
* Cryptogon - Like it or Not, $100 Oil Forces New Energy Policy on U.S.
Posts
