Editor:

The opening paragraph of the article, “Solar experts urge more government intervention to supplant coal power,” in the July 17 issue of The Statesman, says it all. They call for a “push from local, state and federal government.” If it were such a bright idea, there would be no need to push it down the throats of the public.The experts cited all stand to profit from such a push with more taxpayer-supplied funding. The so-called cost drop of 80 percent since 2012 is a subsidy program (at taxpayer expense), not a real drop in cost, and the per-kilowatt cost is still about twice that of other commercial forms of power (even low-sulfur coal)?. It is great your article has some balance, but the headline and front-page tease, “Solar energy’s future bright,” was ridiculous. The write-up did fail to mention something important: All forms of “renewable” power except hydroelectric dams require a reliable backup, as in coal or natural gas.

If the proponents of surface-heating solar panels and bird-killing? windmills are so avid to reduce the carbon footprint of humans, they might simply try to stop breathing for, say maybe 10 minutes. They should do it for the children.

Dan KopelmanCentennial