The Devil In The Climate Bill's Details

SEARCH BLOG: ENERGY and ENVIRONMENT

Yesterday's post was a summary of the so-called American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Very soon, the House of Representatives, most of whom are at least superficially familiar with its provision, will be voting on this catastrophe-in-waiting.

The promoters of this monstrosity hail it as the way to America's energy independence and avoidance of global warming [now couched in the term "change"]. Behind the scenes is a massive effort to bring all aspects of energy, commerce, and individual decisions under the scrutiny and limitations of the Federal government and its bureaucratic minions. Career bureaucrats who have never held private-sector jobs will dictate how the marketplace should work.

An example:

Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to establish a combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard that

requires utilities to supply an increasing percentage of their demand from a combination of energy efficiency savings and renewable energy (6% in 2012, 9.5% in 2014, 13% in 2016, 16.5% in 2018, and 20% in 2021-2039).

Provides for: (1) issuing, trading, banking, retiring, and verifying renewable electricity credits; and (2) prescribing standards to define and measure electricity savings from energy efficiency and energy conservation measures.

Let's look at the March, 2009 baseline:

Figure 2: Net Generation Shares by Energy Source:
Total (All Sectors), Year-to-Date through March, 2009

"...other renewables (biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind) and other miscellaneous energy sources generated the remaining 3.9 percent of electric power (Figure 2)."

It is completely unclear how utilities will improve the "energy efficiency" portion of mandate... just as it is unclear how automotive companies will the achieve 30 mpg mandate for trucks by 2016. So, the real change has to be in how the 4% combined biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind becomes 6% ... a 50% increase ... in just 2-1/2 years! It really doesn't matter how, does it? The government's wish is our command.

Obviously, the simplest way to achieve this mix of energy sources is to reduce the other sources.

While this example shows the extent of how government wants to dictate the marketplace and the real possibility of major increases in our cost of purchasing electricity, the result is less onerous than the next provision:

Amends the Clean Air Act (CAA) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) set forth a national strategy to address barriers to the commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture and sequestration; (2) establish an approach to certify and permit geologic sequestration; and (3) promulgate regulations to minimize the risk of escape to the atmosphere of carbon dioxide injected for purposes of geological sequestration. Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator to promulgate regulations for sequestration wells.

This section is nothing more than pumping taxpayer and business dollars into the ground. There is no scientific or economic or environmental benefit from this provision. It is a complete governmental boondoggle. It is the same wrong-minded thinking that will pay farmers to not plant crops because the production of crops requires use of fuel that emits CO2... totally disregarding the fact that crops absorb CO2 to grow. There is no benefit. There is cost with no return.

This bill is an Orwellian nightmare and must be soundly defeated before the shit that is hitting the fan covers us all.

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