On April 24th and 25th, leaders in the solar industry will meet at the Texas Solar Forum happening at the State Capitol in Austin. Attending will be solar executives, elected officials, manufacturers, electric utility providers, homebuilders, retailers, financiers, entrepreneurs, and other interested parties. This should prove to be a very informative event.
(Glenn is running for Congress in Texas 4th Congressional District. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
As a child I was raised to believe that Christmas is a time of comfort and joy. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, arrived in the world preaching a gospel of love.
It’s time for us to stop this childish behavior. Our children will NOT be used to steal oil.
We can do better. We must do better.
Please join me this holiday season and renew the true meaning of Christmas. No more wars for oil. No more torture. No more worshiping at the altar of crony capitalism. America has always been stronger, prouder and more secure when we’ve exported hope and inspiration.
So when the a recent energy bill came before the senate which called for a rollback of tax breaks for oil companies, both Cornyn and Hutchinson (unsurprisingly) voted against the bill:
President Bush had threatened to veto any energy bill that raised taxes. The House passed a bill with higher taxes on oil companies last week.
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison both voted against the motion to move the bill forward. Ms. Hutchison had negotiated to strip out the higher taxes on oil and gas producers.
There you have it- Cornyn and Hutchinson siding with both the White House and their campaign contributors.
Apparently, despite the fact that there was across the aisle support for the bill ("There is no reason why we shouldn't pass the energy bill today" Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY) and the other provisions that would "boost the nation's use of renewable energy, set new efficiency standards for appliances and - most dramatically - set aggressive new fuel mileage requirements for cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles", some Senate Republicans (not pointing any fingers) looked past that because of money received from certain exploitive corporations.
Because of these Republicans, the tax hike on big oil is going to be removed from the bill and it will be reintroduced. At least we still have some energy reforms to look forward to. (source)
In an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle this morning, Republican Elizabeth Ames Jones --- our current Railroad Commissioner of Texas --- argues for (surprise, surprise) the expanded use of oil and natural gas. Here are some of her arguments:
Worldwide energy consumption is expected to increase 40 percent in the next 25 years, and widespread adoption of alternative energy sources is decades away.
It's a traditional talking point of conservatives to talk about effective use of alternative energies as if it's going to happen around the same time as we have flying cars. The fact, though, is that renewable energy and energy efficient technology are available today. Wind and solar power are available now -- businesses just need to invest in them.
Modifying our personal behavior to conserve energy by doing such things as using better light bulbs, insulating our homes, and buying better appliances is simple. Republicans argue that forcing anyone to modify their behavior in such a way is unfair and unrealistic -- but remember, these are the same people who want to force families to love one another.
Strict environmental rules and targeted tax credits for drilling in hard-to-reach reservoirs are tools that have kept Texas the nation's top producer of oil and natural gas.
Don't get too impressed by those "strict environmental rules" -- especially when you remember that Houston competed with L.A. for dirtiest air. Or the fact that, " Texas leads the nation in the number of treatment plants and industrial facilities that fail to meet pollution standards for the wastewater they dump into rivers and streams." (Source).
Our country's energy dependency makes us dangerously vulnerable in economic terms and compromises our national security.
Not drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife National Refuge (which Ames Jones advocates for) endangers our national security --- but starting a war in Iraq makes us totally safe.
I'd be much more impressed with the argument by Ames Jones if there was a straight-up capitalist argument: it helps profits to drill for oil and gas. Pretending that it's environmentally safe and that we need to drill for oil to protect our national security is disingenuous.
If we really want to protect our energy dependence, then we need to live cleaner lives. Oh, and maybe listen a little to that Nobel prize winner.
Recently I read this entry about FutureGen reported by Peggy Fikac at the Chronicle's Texas Politics Blog. For those of you who don't know or don't remember, FutureGen is the project to build a revolutionary coal plant that would release "near-zero emissions."
The last part of the post caught my eye the most:
Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams visited the bureau today to tout the project, saying financial incentives include a state pledge of $20 million to help build it plus a big tax break.
"There's a lot of talk about what people ought to be doing about climate change ... this is the state putting real money behind that kind of research," he said.
Over in Illinois, the other state with sites that are finalists for the project, lawmakers also are working on an $80 million incentive package.
$80 million dollars or $20 dollars? Hrm... 20 million is a lot, but which one sounds more like the "real money" Mr. Williams is talking about? Not the Texas plan, unfortunately...
But Michael Williams knows how good FutureGen could be for Texas.
Over at his website, Leaders Listen, State Rep. Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio), is helping Texans show House Speaker Tom Craddick who the real 'boss' is under the Dome—the people of Texas.
And, he's doing it in an interesting way on an important issue: energy policy.
Rep. Villarreal has launched a petition drive to encourage Speaker Craddick to appoint an Interim Special Committee on Electric Energy Generation Capacity and Environmental Impact.
When outside investment bankers try to take over Texas' biggest utility company with no oversight and no accountability, concerned Texans ask: "Why would the Texas Legislature take this risk?"
Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows as Wednesday saw Jim Dunnam and Rene Oliviera stumping on behalf of TXU on the House floor during the debate of SB 482.
Rumors are swirling about the motivation behind this interesting twist. Including the ever-popular "deal-making" and "selling out" accusations so popular during the spring of odd numbered years.
You'll never guess what was number one on Prairie Dog Randy's wishlist this weekend. Ok, maybe you will. If you said, "Kneejerk tax cuts," then give yourself a big fat cookie. Apparently, everyone in Fisher County has better things to do than hear a Prairie Dog spout nonsense:
Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, spoke to 12 people, including his staff and news media, at the community center in Roby. Earlier Tuesday, he stopped in Rotan.
So, if we subtract his staff, who had to be there, and the news media, who were there to get a paycheck, we are talking about what - 2 people? Did anyone check their pulse? Did Randy wander into the morgue (again?)?
Yesterday morning, Courage supporters gathered outside City Hall in Austin as Lamar Smith held a press conference touting himself as an environmentalist.
In 2005, Smith received ratings of “zero” from the League of Conservation Voters, The Texas Environmental Watch Alliance, and The Sierra Club. Now, with a tough challenger who is clearly dedicated to working for the environment, Smith is trying to fool Austin voters into believing he supports the environment as well.
Courage said "Smith has never supported the environment, and for him to act as though he does now is not only dishonest, it’s degrading to Austin voters. Smith believes that he can fool them into voting for him, and that’s an insult."
--Smith’s environmental voting score for the period 1994-2005 was a dismal 4.5%, according to the League of Conservation Voters. That puts him down toward the bottom even among Republicans across the country.
Yesterday morning, 
