Economy of the future

The future of Baker County’s economy is already here.

We just need to start tapping it.

The term you hear most often is alternative energy, but why don’t we just delete the “alternative?”

Energy is energy.

Your light bulbs don’t burn brighter if the electricity was generated by burning coal rather than flowing water or gusting wind.

Semantics aside, energy sources such as wind and biomass bring so many potential benefits, and pose few if any pitfalls, that there’s no legitimate reason why local officials and residents should not pursue them vigorously.

The planned hydroelectric plant at Mason Dam is a good start, and the iron is quite hot now for more — the $700 billion financial bailout includes $17 billion in tax credits for renewable energy.

Wind is especially attractive because harnessing carries none of the penalties that an economist would call “opportunity costs.”

For instance, the opportunity cost of going to college is the amount of money you could have earned if you had taken a job instead.

But wind power involves no such hard choices — installing turbines in Baker County doesn’t prevent the wind from producing power somewhere else.

The only dilemma with wind farms is picking a place that doesn’t ruin a scenic vista.

Wind farms create jobs — especially during their construction — and tax revenue for the county.

The latter is vital in Baker County because the federal county payments program, which supplies about half of the county road department’s budget, will end in four years. Rep. Greg Walden, who represents Baker County in Congress, said it’s almost certain that the program will not be replaced.

Forest biomass is more versatile than wind.

Biomass can be burned to heat schools and other public buildings, or to generate electricity. It can be processed into biofuel. It can be made into pellets for home heating stoves.

Biomass creates jobs — workers are needed to harvest it in the woods and truck it to wherever it’s used.

Besides, taking biomass out of the forests reduces the risk of catastrophic fires.