Yawn. It’s not that it’s early - it’s that I had to get up early to make it clear to Topeka for an 8 a.m. meeting. However, I expect so did lots of other people.
The usual suspects still make up the conference committee on the Holcomb bill, also known as SB 327 - Senators Emler (R), Apple (R), and Lee (D), and Representatives Holmes (R), Olson (R), and Kuether (D).
What’s going on? Why are we here? Well, many reasons. Off the top of someone else’s much smarter and wiser head, the committee could agree to disagree on the bill, kick it out of conference back to the House floor, and then just the House has to vote to concur on it for the bill to go to the Governor’s desk. To await (cue the music from Jaws) a probable veto. If that hapens, then (cue Star Wars theme for Darth Vader) the bill will return to the legislature and be voted on again.
In the original vote on the measure, the Senate went 33-7, which means they could override a veto. The compromise bill looks different than the original, most notably in that it now contains an RPS, but that may or may not make a difference. The original House vote on their version of the bill was seven votes shy of being able to withstand a veto, but Speaker Melvin Neufeld says he now has the votes for an override.
We await the committee. “We” being myself and one other gentleman. Hopefully the room number didn’t get changed on us. Hit your refresh button to check back in.
Hey guess what! the room number was changed. but I’m here now. Late, but here. They are going over definitions with staff on new section 7. Holmes is clarifying elements of the bills, especially “best available control technology” and “affected facility.” Reviser based the former on EPA language, if I remember correctly.
Lee - since we have seen the agreement between westar and KDHE, why do we have to limit this agreement and this mandate to those facilities constructed after Jan ? 2008
CEP live blogging from House Select Committee on Energy and Environment in the Future
February 20, 2008
Hello all. Colder than the devil out there. My poor husband earlier texted me a very pithy comment about how much fun he was having (not) while running a ropes training course out in the elements for a bunch of recruits.
So I am sure we are all happy to be warm and snug inside here, about ready to kick off another meeting of the HSCEEF. Today Liz Brosius of the Kansas Energy Council (KEC) and Larry Holloway of KCC.
Vice-Chair Olsen calls meeting to order. Quorum: Reps. Light, Light, Proehl, Whitham, Olsen.
news updates, highjacking, and the wisdom of Alan Jackson
February 14, 2008
From allamericanpatriots.com, hunters and fishermen move to the front line of the fight against global warming. (Yes, those crazy, radical hunters.) One of the policy options they are calling for is a cap-and-trade system. Quotable, from Larry Schweiger, President & CEO, National Wildlife Federation.
“It has been impossible to ignore the changes happening before our eyes – you don’t need to be a scientist to feel that something is seriously wrong. As a grandfather who looks forward to a time when I can fish with my grandson, I strongly believe we must work together to preserve America’s sporting traditions for our children’s future.”
“This is not a matter of liberal versus conservative,” said Simon Roosevelt, sportsman and great-great grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. “And it’s not about being red or blue—or even green. It’s a matter of common sense. It’s about the future.”
Also, from the Wall Street Journal Environmental Capital blog (I know. I get my information from such wacky, out there sources) - another large bank is reconsidering financing for coal plants. Bank of America has started considering “the cost of carbon-dioxide emissions into its decisions about whether to underwrite debt for new coal-fired plants. Specifically, the bank says it anticipates a federal cap that would require a utility to pay between $20 and $40 for every ton of CO2 its power plants emit. Today in Europe, which already has imposed caps, a permit to emit a ton of CO2 is trading at about $29.”
Highjacking. What do I mean by that - I mean how I feel when I sit down to write this blog every morning, and find myself facing yet another giant digital dogpile of articles on coal. Many of them on Kansas and coal. It’s a little bit of how I feel when I wander into yet another room at the Capitol complex in Topeka and listen to yet another blessed coal debate.
Day 5 - CEP live blogging on HB 2711
February 8, 2008
Ah. They had to go to the House floor first, but didn’t do anything with the bill. And evidently the Senate is still working their version of the bill today. 9:17 and the room is filling up.
It’s already been such a long day that I have forgotten how to spell “emissions.” That can’t be good. Normally this wouldn’t actually worry me that much, but I have been made aware that there is no official transcript of these hearings, just minutes.
I am definitely not the world’s most accurate record. So I would like to make the offer - if you offered testimony, please send it to me in pdf format at hazlett at climateandenergy dot org (and no, I don’t care what position you took on the bill) and I will find a way to post it - unless you had lots of full color slides. then I might have a problem. It is only fair that people have a chance to check my record against the written one, at least.
9:26
Chairman Holmes calls meeting to order. He has been ordered not to work this bill. Meeting adjourned.
questions raised about hearing procedures
February 6, 2008
Are proponents of HB 2711, the Holcomb/ energy bill, being given more time than opponents? Good question.
On Monday and Tuesday, proponents received two hours each, for a total of four hours. On Monday, only five proponents spoke (Earl Watkins of Sunflower; Bill Wehrm, a lawyer brought in to talk about Clean Air Act; Brian Moline of Alliance for Sound Energy Policy; a Tri-State representative; and an AFL-CIO rep) and they had plenty of time to talk. On Tuesday, nine proponents spoke. One or two might have been neutrals (folks who don’t go either way, necessarily, they just want to pick one or two bones about specific provisions).
Wednesday, the opponents of the bill followed the neutrals. Rep. Svaty raised the question with Chairman Holmes as to why this was, as this is not standard procedure.
Today the neutrals - five or six of them, depending on how you count - took up a good chunk of time. Only five opponents of the bill had time to speak (and two more were missing in action due to the rotten weather).
Tomorrow’s docket of speakers is at 13 - which is a lot. Unknown how many of those are opponents or neutrals.
Chairman Holmes has been allowing for about 30-45 minutes of questions, also. If the hearing starts at9:00 sharp, and testimony stops at 10:15 for questions - how in the world are 13 people going to talk? And is it how many people you have talking - or how much time they have to talk?
Thursday is also the last day of hearings, since HB 2711 is being pushed through quite quickly. A vote might take place on Friday.
— Maril Hazlett
Want to know more about climate and energy in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
NOTE TO THE PUBLIC: CEP will be live blogging from the Holcomb hearings next week. Eileen mentioned it yesterday, so, don’t forget. Do we know exactly how we are going to accomplish that bold goal? Not really! I expect we’ll figure it out as we go along.
I am in CO celebrating my Dad’s birthday, but couldn’t sleep so snuck - sneaked? - online to do a little serious research on climate, coal, etc. And ended up watching this blue man video. Climate change. Earth to America. Via the amazing Scott Allegrucci. I’m probably going to go around all day banging my head from side to side, only since my face won’t be painted blue it won’t make sense to anyone.
An article that caught my eye recently - Arizona is one of many states trying to figure out how climate change will affect its already limited water resources (AZ Central). Quotable, discussing the two studies from Science that looked at this issue - especially pay attention to the guy who talks at the end:
One study attempts to quantify for the first time the human contribution to climate change in the West. It offers evidence that man-made greenhouse gases from vehicles or power plants have caused up to 60 percent of the variations in snowpack, stream flow and higher temperatures over the past half-century.
The second study argues that climate change has rendered the past all but useless in managing water supplies. What look like cyclical droughts could turn into a new climate regime. Water-storage systems built based on historical weather and climate patterns will fail more often as conditions change, forcing water managers to adapt or face shortages.
“We have built all of our infrastructure to maximize the world as we know it,” said Tim Barnett, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and lead author of one of the studies.
“As long as the climate stays the same, then we’ve optimized the system,” he said. “But it’s not going to stay the same. Things that used to work aren’t going to work.”
— Maril Hazlett, from scenic Colorado
Want to know more about climate and energy in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
Not just legislators are talking about energy
February 1, 2008
The recently-introduced KS House bill 2711 and the KDHE Secretary’s denial of the Sunflower Expansion Project permit last October have called attention to an issue that many Kansans - legislators and citizens alike – had previously been able to ignore. Well, ignoring where our energy comes from is all but impossible now, as energy policy is becoming a focal point of this legislative session and our state’s future hangs in the balance.
What has struck me recently though, in my role as community outreach coordinator for CEP (surprise! not Maril today. She’s in Colorado. You know, that state with the enviable RPS legislation? Oh, and they have some pretty sweet mountains too…) But I digress.
What has struck me over the past few weeks of both participating in and facilitating community forums on climate and energy issues, is that Kansans are concerned and trying desperately to wrap their minds around the implications these issues have for their state, their jobs, their families and their futures.
Last week, CEP hosted 3 community energy forums in Salina, Overland Park, and Topeka (see photos below). If you added the temperatures of all three nights together, it still would not have broken the freezing mark. Yet, 400 motivated Kansans showed up to hear from wind developers, utility executives, transmission experts and climate researchers. The questions from audience members ranged from policy-level to personal action recommendations, from projected precipitation patterns in Western KS to the particulars of net metering legislation. It was extremely heartening to participate in a dialogue that connected citizens and decision-makers on these critical issues. Oh, and we ate pie. LOTS of pie.
On February 11th and 12th, we hope to contribute yet another piece to the conversation on climate change. Along with Sierra Club, Oxfam America, and the Kansas Rural Center, CEP is hosting polar explorer Will Steger to share his eyewitness account of the effects of global warming on the Arctic. Steger, a renowned polar explorer has led expeditions for 40 years, and has much to share about these precious and threatened regions. Kansans will have the opportunity to view Steger’s presentation, and interact with the explorer at two venues:
- Hutchinson, KS- Fox Theater- February 11th, 7:00 PM
- Overland Park, KS- Johnson County Community College Regnier Center- February 12th, 7:00 PM
This is all part of what we are trying to do at CEP- start conversations and provide Kansans with the information they need to make decisions about our state’s energy future. And eat pie.
Be sure to check back on Monday as we follow the news on House bill 2711!
-Eileen Horn
news update from the weekend - biofuels, water worries, and Peabody Coal does something interesting
January 28, 2008
Water use and food and energy production - these three spheres are forever intertwined in our economy. And our ecology. (Note the common prefix: eco-. Think about it for a moment…)
People with brains think about these connections a lot. Last week, a bunch of international power brokers with enormous pull in the financial sphere did so at the annual Davos gathering in Switzerland. I ended up in OKC last week, not Switzerland, but from the news coverage, it sounds like a fair number of economic forecasters at Davos found themselves very concerned about a coming perfect storm - existing water shortages, the possibility of increased water shortages from climate change, increased use of water for biofuels cultivation and production, recent poor crops and food shortages (and riots as a result), and the increased use of staple food crops for biofuels (AFP).
If it were a recipe for a cake, I sure wouldn’t make it. Or eat it, if someone else did. That intersection of factors sounds like a potential world of hurt to me.
This next one made me say - hmm! Coal giant Peabody Coal is evidently investing in technologies that promise to convert dirty coal to comparatively less carbon-intense natural gas - also known as coal gasification (Greentech). On one hand - hello. And yay. Just when you think no one is listening about upcoming carbon regulation and the need to adjust our energy economy… On the other hand, oh yeah, where does the dirty stuff go after they remove it? (Not to mention, putting any more carbon into the atmosphere at all is pretty problematic.) Quotable:
But there’s still some question about what to do with the unwanted elements. While a market for mercury already exists, the viability of sequestering carbon and pumping it into the ground still is unproven. Peabody, which said it is pursuing coal-to-gas projects to help build energy security and ease reliance on expensive natural-gas imports, also is working on carbon capture and storage.
And as to where CCS (carbon capture and storage) technologies get us - they’re great ideas, and over the next twenty years or so, some of them will hopefully pan out. However, that also gets us right back to water. Lots of CCS technologies use a great deal of water, and when they release it afterwards, there is some pollution and sedimentation involved. Farm run-off, existing energy uses of water, other forms of pollution - it makes you wonder when the burden that our water carries will get to be too much. And imagine how all this might play out in a world where water becomes more scarce and more valuable, like oil.
Just to get a little perspective from surrounding Midwestern states - some news out of Iowa. They are leaps and bounds ahead of Kansas in terms of climate change policies (yes, those crazy Iowans. Such nutty radicals. They’re getting as bad as California) so this next point is a little advanced for us. However: If not carried out correctly, carbon regulation (which is expected to occur as one policy strategy for mitigating climate change) could have have an especially severe impact on those less fortunate, because more of their limited budgets will go to cover basic needs such as gas and electricity. States need to make sure that their carbon-cutting climate policies don’t hurt low-income families (DesMoines Register).
Finally, to answer a few concerned emails - sorry I was out of commission for a few days last week! I clearly need to learn better how to use the web function on my phone, so I can post when I am on the road. Or I need to let people know that I am going to be on the road. Of course, this makes some folks happy, not sad 
but, we can’t please everyone.
I must say - it is certainly no hardship to drive down to OKC and back. Lots of good classic country music stations. The one downside was that I drove down and back in one day - so I missed the Flint Hills both ways, in the dark before dawn, and the dark after dusk. That part made me sad. This might sound crazy, but winter is one of my favorite seasons in Kansas, and I find the Flint Hills especially beautiful this time of year.
I guess it is a little crazy. But since I’m from here, it also doesn’t matter.
— Maril Hazlett
Want to know more about climate and energy in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
morning news updates
January 17, 2008
Here’s one note on the energy special interests money flying around KS right now - yesterday, the state ethics commission declared that anti-coal, pro-natural gas group Know Your Power, sponsored by Chesapeake Gas, was a lobbying group. This means that they had to disclose their expenses, which ran around $405,000. Kansans for Affordable Energy, sponsored by Peabody Coal, spent $100,000.
My thinking - this is only a drop in the bucket.
Along those lines, there’s at least 15 energy bills up for consideration this session (LJWorld). There seemed to be two interesting “shell” bills that could later be filled in with language regarding the coal plants and/or KDHE. (This is going to make me seem woefully uneducated about the legislative process - but I had no idea you could do that. Fill in the blank legislation…? That sounds way too much like Mad Libs.) Quotable:
However, Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, also a supporter of the coal plants, said he didn’t think lawmakers had the authority to reverse the decision, which was made by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Morris said some of the bills may eventually deal with KDHE’s regulatory process when considering plant permits. He said KDHE took too long to make a decision on the plants.
Nice bit from Spain, who is light years ahead of the U.S. on developing wind power - yesterday, wind power briefly provided 25% of their electrical needs (Reuters). President Bush has set the U.S. wind goal at 20% by 2030. NREL, the Utility Wind Integration Group, and a study by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Part I and Part II) all estimate that in its current configuration the U.S. electrical grid can handle up to 20% penetration by wind without significantly impacting base load.
— Maril Hazlett
Want to know more about climate and energy in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
state of the state
January 14, 2008
Text from tonight’s State of the State address by Kansas Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius. (I’m racing the clock, here, the KU game will be on in 17 minutes.) Quotable - or, pretty much everything she said about energy - and please note the parts I put in bold:
As we assist businesses, workers and families with innovation in reforming our health care system, so too must we work together in meeting the unprecedented challenge of finding clean, affordable, and secure sources of energy to meet this nation’s growing demand.
We are at a moment in our country’s history similar to the moment nearly 100 years ago, when two innovative entrepreneurs, Clyde Cessna and Walter Beech, came to Kansas, joined a fledgling industry, and made history. Today, over 50% of the airplanes flown in the world are made in Kansas, and our economy, our state and the country has benefited from their vision and determination.
We can again lead an American transformation – lead America to energy security by tapping our fertile resources, our workers, and the ingenuity of Kansas entrepreneurs. We can – and we must - reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and increase our economic competitiveness by using our natural resources. Kansas is uniquely positioned to meet this challenge.
Our nation is in the midst of a bio-energy revolution that will fundamentally change the way we produce and consume energy. My budget recommends the creation of a Bioenergy Research Grant Program, to spur development of innovative new technologies producing the most cost-efficient renewable fuels.
Congress has recently set an aggressive goal for alternative fuel production by 2022. Kansas can and should be a leader in reaching America’s goal. I have charged the Kansas Bioscience Authority with developing an aggressive plan for bio-energy technology and production, aimed at producing 20 percent of the nation’s alternative fuel needs.
But our opportunity to find new and better sources of power doesn’t end with biofuels. Kansas is one of the best states in the nation for wind power. Until recently we had not even begun to harness this resource. Five years ago only one percent of our energy came from wind. Today, we are well on our way to meeting my goal of ten percent renewable energy by 2010 and twenty percent by 2020.
Construction of the state’s fourth wind farm is now complete and many more are in the planning stages. Sunflower Wind has announced that they will begin manufacturing wind turbines in Hutchinson, creating as many as 250 permanent jobs. These commitments, along with announcements of new transmission lines, and the recent decision of the Kansas Corporation Commission that wind production is a prudent investment, are having a positive impact.
To continue the momentum, I have created the Kansas Wind Working Group and appointed Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson as chair, to aggressively pursue our opportunities and incentives for wind power, as well as to encourage Kansas communities to invest in wind projects.
Finally, the cheapest and cleanest form of energy is energy we don’t use in the first place. Conservation and efficiency measures can extend our current energy capacity much farther into the future. With aggressive conservation efforts involving individuals, businesses and government, we can reduce our need for electricity, and still continue to grow.
We must embrace the Kansas Energy Council’s proposal to require that all new state buildings meet minimum energy efficiency standards. We challenge private developers and business owners to join us in that commitment.
Regulatory support for utility companies to educate and encourage conservation efforts for their customers is essential. I am also proposing standards that will provide for more Kansans to qualify for interest-free loans to improve the energy efficiency of their own homes.
By capitalizing on our state’s assets, we will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, boost our rural economy, and protect the environment for our children’s future. We need to join the 36 states that have begun or completed development of a comprehensive climate change action plan. It is clear the people of Kansas welcome an informed discussion about our energy future, economic opportunities, and the protection of our environment. We can rise to the challenges we face only if we commit ourselves to moving forward.
“Comprehensive climate change action plan” - woo hoo! Giant. That’s giant. Also will be interesting. A fair number of folks in the legislature are not convinced, shall we say, of the scientific evidence supporting climate change. The KPR analysis had a lot to say about this tension as well. Well, there probably won’t be many dull moments.
Opposition/ Republican response from House Speaker Melvin Neufeld (text from KC Star)- his comments on energy. Again, note my bold:
Kansas Republicans believe a strong state energy policy will truly make Kansas open for business and economic development.
Last fall, the governor’s administration denied the permit for an energy center and coal-plant in Holcomb.
The denial did not address the real issue –the need for a state energy policy that provides affordable electric rates today - addresses the disparity of rates paid by Kansas homeowners and businesses - and meets our growing energy demands in the future.
Kansas Republicans believe this can be accomplished with a policy that encourages adequate baseload energy, renewable energy, and energy conservation. It also must be based on sound scientific and economic analyses that carefully address costs and benefits.
Alternative energies like wind and solar power can play an important role in our state’s energy portfolio, but the simple fact is wind turbines and sunshine alone cannot meet our growing demand for electricity.
Our policy also must ensure our state laws and regulations are applied in a fair and uniform manner. Businesses wanting to build or expand in Kansas must know what is expected of them so they can build plants that meet our needs and requirements.
Together, I am confident we can establish a state energy policy that protects our environment, the security of our state’s energy future, Kansas ratepayers, and encourages economic growth.
KPR interpreted that bold section to mean that Neufeld is not prepared to accept the scientific findings regarding climate change. Which in turn has implications for his regulatory approach to creating a sound energy policy for Kansans. I unfortunately cannot find that audio file posted to the web - but try this link (and re-try it) to see if it will get you there eventually.
Game’s on! Gotta go!
— Maril Hazlett
Want to know more about climate and energy issues in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
news update from the weekend.
January 14, 2008
News from this weekend was all about coal. Keep in mind, of course, that the energy issues facing Kansas are much broader than that… still, I know lots of people read this to find out more about coal - so, here you go! Enjoy. For now. I will broaden the scope later this week.
Editorial from the Wichita Eagle on how energy will/ could/ might play in the upcoming legislative session. A news report on same from the Salina Journal. More snippets on these issues woven into this story from the Hays Daily News. Kansas House Speaker Melvin Neufeld says he will not hold up the legislative session over coal plants (LJWorld). The Topeka Capita-Journal had a few words to say about the Kansas Energy Council’s role in all this.
The KC Star offered the following assessment of the coal drama:
FIRED UP OVER COAL
The issue: Republican fury over the Sebelius administration’s denial of two coal-fired plants in western Kansas could paralyze the legislative session.Our view: Granting the permit with very strict carbon dioxide emission standards would enable everyone to declare victory.
KCStar Primebuzz also noted that there is a new coalition backing the coal plant - lots of special interest money. Along those lines, here’s more on special interest dollars currently being spent on KS energy policy (Salina Journal/ Harris). And here’s another! (Hutch News). Quotable, from Kansas House Speaker Melvin Neufeld:
Most of his constituents, Neufeld said, “tell me I should come up here and put tire tracks over the governor.”
???
Hutch News also looked into the bioenergy center that Sunflower has been talking about as part of the proposed Holcomb plants (Hutch News). The center was not proposed as part of the original permit. The technology is under development by a private firm.
OK. Enough coal, huh? Coverage of the Governor’s State of the State Address begins at 7:00 tonight. KU plays Oklahoma soon thereafter. (Not that the two are remotely equivalent, of course.)
— Maril Hazlett
Want to know more about climate and energy issues in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
stepping carefully
January 11, 2008
here’s probably not a good thing - I occasionally get parts of Wizard of Oz and Pilgrim’s Progress confused. I also get the latter occasionally confused with Bible stories. (At any rate, at least I’ve read these books, right?) And why do I mention all this?
Because. Right now, some aspects of the current energy debate in Kansas reminds me of parts of those narratives. The story I’m thinking of appears in all sorts of places, actually - like Aesop’s Fables (Country Mouse and City Mouse), the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, etc. It’s the basic story of all of a sudden being surrounded by lots of bright shiny things, none of which you can trust, all of which want something from you in a pretty serious way, and you have to figure out how to step carefully and make it to the other side. Usually there’s a little bit of pain involved, too.
I say this because someone just forwarded me a website on Kansas energy issues that gave me exactly that feeling. I’m not able to verify who they are, exactly what they want, or who paid for it, or I would give the actual link.
It could be no big deal. But speaking as someone familiar with web design and writing web copy - that is one slick site. Very well done. Very, very well done. I highly doubt that it was cheap to put together.
And where there’s money (especially where there’s both money and brains, that’s as dangerous a combination as money and no brains) I really, really prefer there to be more transparency. I can read between the cagey, extremely well constructed lines and make some guesses, and that makes me even more wary. Reading the rhetoric of the site is much like listening to the national politicians who are vying in the presidential primaries right now - they say a lot without saying much. They claim to stand for us all, but in our experience, what does that really mean?
You can’t credibly claim to stand for certain people or ideas unless there’s full disclosure about who you are. We need to know where you come from and what grounds you, what motivates you. Really. Who’s paying your bills? It’s probably not appropriate to channel Toby Keith right now, but, who’s your daddy?
Before we get involved with these larger forces, we should know these things. Ideally. However, it doesn’t always work like that. Humans do like the bright and shiny, and sometimes they go hurtling down dangerous paths to get them. That’s how we ended up with the fables and the stories, the parables and the allegories. The sheer scale of special interest energy money operating in Kansas right now is just crazy. I bet we end up with a few stories of our own.
What’s that country western song… “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything”? (CowboyLyrics.com) Maybe we need another song, one that points out it goes the other way, too. Know what someone stands for, before you fall in with them. And if you don’t know for sure, step carefully.
Hold on, Country Mouse! Hang tight.
— Maril Hazlett
Want to know more about climate and energy issues in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
biofuels
January 11, 2008
Super-important report on the sustainability of biofuels, just out yesterday from the Ecological Society of America. Quotable from the press release:
“Current grain-based ethanol production systems damage soil and water resources in the U.S. and are only profitable in the context of tax breaks and tariffs,” says ESA. “Future systems based on a combination of cellulosic materials and grain could be equally degrading to the environment, with potentially little carbon savings, unless steps are taken now that incorporate principles of ecological sustainability.”
At a community forum between Douglas County KS voters and their legislators, energy issues dominated the discussion. More speculation about whether all issues in the upcoming legislative session will be held hostage to those legislators who want to push the Holcomb coal plants through and remove powers from KDHE, which denied the air quality permits for the proposed plants (LJWorld).
The Topeka Farm Show featured green energy this year (Topeka Capital-Journal). I sighed longingly when I read about the geothermal systems. Also, via the CEP network (you know who you are, and thank you) a really neato article about digital tools that can help you conserve energy (NYTimes).
Last, an interesting review of Energy Autonomy, a book I’ve been dying to read - that pause is there, actually, because I just had a brief moment of hysterical laughter. Read a book! When am I going to have time to do that? Okay, better now. But the review is tiding me over for now. Read it; it’s good.
Remember that I am biased, however, in favor of anything that uses the word “decentralized.” And since I like that word so much maybe I didn’t read the review as critically after I saw that. Sorry, it’s a human nature thing. We all have our hot buttons or happy buttons that, when pushed, usually turn off our brains.
(read the review anyway!!)
— Maril Hazlett
Want to know more about climate and energy issues in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.
nice quote
January 7, 2008
I am adding this quote to the CEP website, but thought I would post it here as well. From an email to CEP Executive Director Nancy Jackson, by K-State Professor of Agricultural Economics, Barry Flinchbaugh (and we have permission to quote):
I found the poll quite interesting. To reach 25X25 which Congress
and the President have now declared our goal in the energy bill every source
of renewables must be pursued. In Kansas that is obviously wind and
cellulose. We have an abundant supply of both. Science and capital
investment will make it work.
Folks might be interested in taking a closer look at the 25×25 initiative. (Also, he is referring to the recent CEP poll.)
— Maril Hazlett
coal notes
January 7, 2008
Wish I could think of good headlines or puns having to do with coal. It might be because it’s a Monday - but, I can’t.
So. For the following news snippets, please feel free to make up your own.
First, more Kansas state legislators chime in with their opinions on energy issues for the upcoming session. For many representatives at this point, the proposed Holcomb coal power plants appear to be the defining and polarizing topic (LJWorld).
Also, Sunflower Electric responds (Hays Daily News/ Harris News Service) to the independent poll released by the Climate and Energy Project - yes, that’s us! - which found that by a 2 to 1 margin, Kansans approve KDHE’s denial of the air quality permits for those plants. (Summary: Sunflower didn’t much like it.) Sunflower is also considering proposing new coal plants in Missouri, just 60 miles east of the KS/MO state line (Hays Daily News/ Harris News Service). Pretty close to my husband’s grandma, I think.
And the Hutch News weighs in with an editorial on Holcomb, the legislature, the CEP poll - really, the whole ball of string. Quotable:
The reaction of Sunflower Electric and some western Kansas legislators to state denial of an air permit for Sunflower’s two new proposed coal-fired power plant units is disappointing. And it will not prove constructive for a state that should strive to be innovative with energy, environmentally conscious as well as economically growth-oriented.
And by the by, we have decided to start bylining our entries on the CEP blog, since there are now two of us writing (Nancy is planning to post every Friday, her travel schedule allowing). Unless you see her name, the post is probably by me… sorry, I seem to forget my byline a good deal.
Not this time, though.
— Maril Hazlett
a YouTube scolding
December 31, 2007
While I write something more substantive about the gobs of articles now swamping my desktop… have a little fun with YouTube! Our tireless CEP Community Outreach Coordinator Eileen Horn has proven herself a YouTube savant.
Here, two Republican and one Democrat governors (California, Utah, and Wyoming) join together to tell the federal government - come on, folks, get it ON and support renewable energy. Lots of pretty scenery in the video, and they stay far away from big words (which tends to be how scoldings work best). The Western Governors Association has long been ahead of the curve in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
drama in Bali - and a global agreement to agree to a climate change deal
December 15, 2007
The following articles say it better than I can - so I’ll just quickly note that the climate summit in Bali has concluded with a deal to make a deal. Ie, the nations of the world now have a “roadmap” on how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change. It will guide them over the next two years, as they hammer out a final climate treaty. Basically, they now know what topics are on the table for negotiation. (More detail on this later, once I find some more in-depth analysis.)
The U.S. - um - how to put this? OK, I’ll just put it - we about derailed the whole thing. (The audio tape in the NPR story does a good job getting across this part of the story.)
However. After a universal backlash that made it clear the U.S. position on climate change had totally isolated the country from the rest of the international community, our delegate changed position.
Climate Roadmap Emerges from Grueling Bali Talks (NPR)
Late Reversal by U.S. Yields Climate Plan (NYTimes)
Related issues - new initiatives proposed at Bali to keep developing nations from cutting down rainforests (CSMonitor).
Translation: Why is this important? Because cutting down trees (clearcuts, anyway) and cutting greenhouse gas emissions are not compatible. Trees remove carbon dioxide - a powerful and plentiful greenhouse gas - from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Trees help keep our carbon cycle in balance, and they help control climate change. Without trees, the CO2 stays in the atmosphere and continues to trap heat and warm up the earth.
No trees equals big trouble.
new energy efficiency report from EERE
December 13, 2007
Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy just released a new report on energy efficiency, concluding that the “aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency in the United States over the next 18 years could cut the nation’s growth in energy use by 50% or more.” Quotable from the press release:
“The report sets a goal of achieving all cost-effective energy efficiency improvements throughout the United States by 2025. If that goal is achieved, the nation will spend $100 billion less for energy in 2025 than it would otherwise and will avoid emitting 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The nation will also achieve $500 billion in net savings from its energy efficiency investments.”
Also interesting is the list of participants. The report was drawn up by the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency Leadership Group, representing more than 60 leading organizations (DOE and EPA act as facilitators). If you click on that link, you will pull up a file of not only these major players, but also their goals and achievements in energy efficiency.
It’s sort of like the ultimate buffet, energy-efficiency style - you get a wonderful overview of strategies to reduce energy consumption, from folks like: Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, Johnson Controls, National Rural Electric Cooperative, Tennessee Valley Authority, Efficiency Texas, Efficiency VT, Kansas Corporation Commission, Midwestern Energy Company, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (and far more).
major climate change conference coming up in Bali next week
November 29, 2007
Nailbiter. The upcoming climate change conference coming up in Bali next week is especially important (CSMonitor). On the heels of the four recent IPCC reports, it is even more imperative that world governments - especially the industrialized world - agree to take steps to majorly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The generally agreed target is that by 2050 we need to reduce emissions 80% from 1990 levels, in order to keep the average global temperature from increasing 4-7 degrees Fahrenheit during the 21st century. However, we can only reach that ambitious target if we take significant steps this decade.
In part, the urgency is because of the carbon load the atmosphere is already carrying - CO2 lasts in the earth’s atmosphere for around 100 years. Because of the carbon we have already added to the atmosphere, the global temperature will inevitably increase already; there’s not much we can do about it.
Recently, though, scientists have also discovered an extremely unsettling phenomenon that means climate change will probably happen even more quickly than they had projected - the earth’s natural carbon sinks of oceans and plant life (forests, etc.) are losing their ability to remove excess carbon from the atmosphere. They are becoming saturated with all the CO2 they can handle…. thus, there will be even more CO2 in the atmosphere, which will warm it even further. (I could even go on and talk about feedback loops and tipping points, but I have probably already made my point…)
So - yep. Bali’s pretty important. The goal is for policymakers to come up with a new version of the Kyoto Protocol - and this time, to get the biggest emitters (among them the U.S.) to sign and implement it within the next two years.
Given the holiday season, a workable climate accord would be a really NICE present.
Via Midwestern Governors Association, Sebelius takes a BIG step in combatting climate change
November 15, 2007
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has signed a historic Midwestern multi-state pact (.pdf) - Midwest Governors Association has announced a regional accord to reduce emissions and establish regional goals and initiatives to achieve energy security and promote renewable energy.
It’s a pretty big deal! Western Governors Association has also signed something similar. Regional leadership is definitely leading the way in this policy arena. Quotable from the press release:
Within the next year, Governors and other participating jurisdictional leaders will establish targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions and complete development of a proposed cap-and-trade system. Indiana, Ohio, and South Dakota are signing the agreement as observers to participate in the formation of the regional cap-and-trade system. Targets will be consistent with the 60 to 80 percent recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Full implementation of the accord will be completed within 30 months.
Schweet. And heck, here’s another quotable: “To support these shared goals, the Midwestern states launched new cooperative regional initiatives to address the following:
- CO2 management to create a regional transportation and storage infrastructure;
- A bioproduct procurement program to support the growth of the region’s bioeconomy;
- Electricity transmission adequacy to support thousands of new megawatts of wind energy;
- Renewable fuels corridors and coordinated signage to promote renewable fuel usage across the Midwest;
- Advanced bioenergy permitting to assist states with the latest technologies; and
- Low-carbon energy transmission infrastructure that will provide a cost-effective way to supply the Midwest with sustainable and environmentally responsible energy.”
