My Thoughts on Personal Solar Energy

So my mom was just watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC and it was a going green episode. One of the things they were doing were getting personal home solar panels. Within the last week or two we have considered different methods of alternative energy including solar. I know that solar panels are available to be used by individual households but I wanted to do some investigating into the price of solar panels.

So as it turned out it wasn't that easy to find any specific prices. I did come across some information that is interesting. Looking at an online retailer (alabamasolar.com), solar panels start at around 15,000 dollars. A significant investment for anyone. To soften the hit federal tax credits up to 30% are available along with state incentives such as Focus on Energy which is a cash back incentive that pays based on how much energy is being produced by the system. However considering that the average salary of the US population is around 40,000 dollars, this is still nothing accessible by the majority of the population.

Somali Pirates

Somali pirates continue to harrass and board boats in the seas around East Africa. A Dutch frigate, part of NATOs forces, intervened on one high jacking of a boat, freeing over 20 fishermen. Seven pirates were detained but were all release shortly after because NATO does not have any policy on detaining. Since none of the pirates were Dutch, the Dutch forces had no right to hold them in custody.

I did some looking in on the country of Somalia, just to find out a little bit more about the actual country. As it turns out they no longer have a national government. It has completely broken down. All conflicts are resolved on a local level and there is no system or guidelines in places. It is usually a mixture of english common law and islamic law. The country is in a state of chaos and is the perfect haven for these pirates.

With the increase of attacks from the pirates, one has to wonder how much longer will this go on and what will be the plan of action to put a stop to it. The non-existant Somalian government can't be expected to deal with it.

Update on Mexican Drug Wars

Acording to the Associated Press President Obama met with the Mexican President about an arms agreement treaty. The treaty was previously created during the Clinton adminstration but was never ratified by Congress. President Obama has pledged to push the treaty into being ratified and to punish lawmakers to pass it. 

Obama is standing a harsh stand against the drug cartels in Mexico. It's an international crisis that is close to home. As I said earlier, cash and weapons are going south into Mexico while drugs are going North into America. Obama has pledged to not only worry about what is coming in but also what is coming out. Obama is also pledging helicopter support for the Mexican army during the ongoing fight.

Hillary Clinton has also come out speaking about how America is partially responsible for the problem. Our giant demand for drugs in our country has contributed to the sucess of the cartels so far. Under the previous Clinton administration there was a ban on military weapons but the ban expired during the Bush administration and was never reinstated. The Obama administration does not want to get in a battle over gun rights at the moment. The ban makes deadlier weapons available for our population and makes it available to be trafficked.

Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090416/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_mexico