Approaching Easter, I think of the commercial about a product that is only available during this time of year.

It essentially says ‘when the Easter Bunny is gone, this product is also gone’. Something like government incentives and tax breaks for the development of alternative energy sources.

For when the incentives are gone, so are the new energy projects.

This has been proven in Europe; per the recent John Stossel report, and it is subject to happen here, too. (http://www.freedompolitics.com/articles/green-2488-jobs-energy.html)

Yet, President Obama stated on 3-30-11 “None of this (alternative energy projects) would have happened without government support.”

In the same speech, Obama stated, “The situation in Japan leads us to ask questions about our energy sources.”

Per nuclear, he is correct in this assessment.

But he will not acknowledge that almost half of this country’s electricity is produced from coal.

There is no question about that. And there is no question that this electricity is produced from coal without government subsidies.

American ingenuity, through folks like you Tribune readers, and electricity produced from coal helped to make this country what it is today.

Coal is good for America, no question about it.

John F. Enyart

Ashland, Ky.