Final Word from Wednesday, February 17, 2010
More heat is suddenly bearing down on the great solar swindle than on the snow-covered photovoltaic panels themselves. In an angry comment on Rádio Česko, Čestmír Klos compared the solar boom in the CR to the gold rush in the Canadian Northwest. Extract, exploit and disappear with a full pouch is again the name of the game, Klos said, with the difference that there is an inexhaustible supply of solar nuggets. There's another big difference that Klos didn't mention. The successful 19th century Klondikers stole from no one but Mother Nature, and they and their descendants have had a century to spend or invest their plunder. The solar Klondikers, in contrast, are mining more from the state budget than from the sun. It's little consolation to the taxpayer-victims of yet another government-sponsored scam that the solar Klondikers probably won't get to spend much of their loot, because their actions are contributing to a catastrophic collapse of the very repository of wealth they are so eagerly tapping.[Czech Republic Canada]
Glossary of difficult words
to bear down on - to put pressure on; to move quickly in a given direction;
swindle - a fraudulent scheme or action (but ultimately legal in this case);
photovoltaic - relating to the production of electric current at the junction of two substances exposed to light;
pouch - a small bag or other receptacle;
plunder - property acquired illegally and violently (though ultimately legally in this case);
scam - a dishonest scheme; a fraud;
loot - goods, esp. private property, taken from an enemy in war; money;
repository - a place, building or receptacle where things are stored;
to tap (a resource) - to exploit or draw a supply from (a resource).