An Apollo program for US energy?

History shows that massive federal support for alternative-energy projects could be a massive waste of money.

Nearly every president since Richard Nixon has invoked the Apollo program to win support for some energy panacea program. President Obama went into Apollo-mode on the campaign trail to explain why he was going to spend $150 billion to jump-start renewable energy.

At first glance, the analogy seems to make sense. If government could do something so stupendous as put a man on the moon, surely it could produce a device to make us energy independent. Right?

Well, no. The Apollo Program was an engineering feat. Replacing conventional energy technologies with something new will be a commercial feat. Government is good at the former (although the New Orleans levees may give us pause); it’s terrible at the latter.

Christian Science Monitor – Letters