Here's yet another in the continuing series, "Not the Onion. No, Really. Not the Onion."
Steve Benen at The Maddow Blog points us to an erudite discussion of solar energy on Fox and Friends. The FAF kids are delving into the supposed failure of solar energy in the US. According to (Stanford Grad and Oxford Student), Gretchen Carlson, solar subsidies have failed in the US because. . . wait for it . . . Solyndra! (Is it just me, or is "Solyndra!" the Fox version of "Newman!") Then, Gretchen asked why Germany is doing better and Fox's "expert," Shibani Joshi (whose expertise comes from being on Fox Business Channel!) provides an answer for the ages:
"They're a smaller country, and they've got lots of sun. Right? They've got a lot more sun than we do."
Don't believe me? See for yourself:
Steve Benen then goes full Krugman on them, showing that "Everything they just said was wrong." (unfortunately not to their face, as Krugman did with Carly Fiorina).
First, Germans do not get more sun than Americans. In fact, every American state other than Alaska gets far more sun every year than Germany does. Fox's report had this backwards.
Second, the Obama administration's subsidies to the solar industry haven't failed; they've vastly improved domestic solar output and expanded the industry's reach. So, Fox's report had this backwards, too.
And third, if anyone who cares about reality wants to know the real reason Germany's solar industry is ahead of ours, it's because the German government has invested heavily in environmental technology.
Wow, just Wow. Idiocracy has come true for at least one corner of the media here.