U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) told a forum on renewable electricity choices last week that solar panels, underwater river turbines, and wood chips "are promising for TVA, but Tennessee mountaintops are absolutely the wrong place for wind turbines three times as tall as Neyland Stadium skyboxes, not to mention the transmission lines that come with them."

I was disappointed by your editorial of Sept. 9 titled "Wind power deserves the investment." I expected to find the kind of real cost information on wind power I've been looking for. In the end, I was irritated by its total failure to support the contention implicit in its title.

Gov. Phil Bredesen phoned home from the National Governors Association (NGA) winter conference this week and reported that - no surprise here - the governors couldn't agree on energy policy. The governors of green states wanted to focus on alternative and renewable energy sources while governors from coal states couldn't warm to the idea of restricting the industry that provides power and jobs to their constituents. ...Bredesen acknowledged that, though development of solar and wind resources is important, neither is yet viable. ...While hearing speakers like Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, and Thomas Friedman, author and columnist for The New York Times, Bredesen said the governors came to a common conclusion - coal is going to be the dominant method for producing electrical power for the foreseeable future.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year. “As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson. In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.