Guest opinion: Harness wind energy, reduce federal subsidies for oil industry

We can’t spill wind.

That’s a fundamental lesson we should take away from BP’s offshore oil disaster — even if we learn nothing else.

So before we clutter our fragile waters with even more risky rigs punching holes in the seafloor, Congress and the administration need to get serious about giving a fair shake to a much less problematic power source: offshore wind. The technology is ready. But unfair policies that favor Big Oil — and provide little incentive for investors to embrace safer alternatives — are hindering efforts to turn sea gusts into gobs of green power and new jobs.

Andrew Sharpless is CEO of the international ocean conservation group Oceana, 1350 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036. website: http://www.oceana.org.

Full Opinion: http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/guest/article_e70b51fc-b7cb-11df-bd0b-001cc4c002e0.html