Free Republic

New Jersey has become a surprisingly legitimate contender for the nickname "sunshine state," with the highest number of solar energy installations of any state save California. Energy officials this week celebrated the latest New Jersey solar milestone — the state now has more than 4,000 solar installations. The installations, which range from a few panels on private homes to more than 7,700 panels on a field at Rutgers University, combine to produce 90 megawatts, which can generate power to 12,000 households. Seven years ago the state had only six solar installations. "We have had really good policies and have made...

In 1914, the U.S. Bureau of Mines predicted American oil reserves would last merely a decade. In both 1939 and 1951, the Interior Department estimated oil supply at only 13 years. "We could use up all of the proven reserves of oil in the entire world by the end of the next decade," declared Pres. Jimmy Carter gloomily in 1977. In fact, the earliest claim that we were running out of oil dates back to 1855 – four years before the first well was drilled! Still, with gasoline oil prices seemingly rocketing past the moon and towards Mars, and newly-published...