Sen. Salazar’s Language About Energy All Wrong

CO Sen. Ken Salazar held a press conference yesterday where he tried to talk up President-elect Obama’s energy plan.  Citing the need for a “comprehensive energy strategy” (sort of like his wishes for “bipartisanship”), Salazar made sure to mention the continued use of conventional fuels (fossil fuels) and “clean coal”.  To be quite frank, Obama’s and Salazar’s use of this kind of language completely undermines any message of a new eneryg policy.  They’re using words that the fossil fuel industry prefers.

As I’ll lay out in a number of upcoming posts, our greenhouse gas emissions must decrease in the very near future if we want to avoid sending our climate system into an equilibrium state that does not include ice at the poles and sea level many meters higher than it is today.  The continued use of fossil fuels does not and can not help us change our path from that future.  “Clean coal” is no more realistic than hydrogen fueled vehicles.  Both technologies are decades away from commercail viability, at the earliest.  Using the term “clean coal” allows the coal industry to continue ripping up the earth and emitting Gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere, which would force the climate system for hundreds of years to come.

Salazar also brought up oil shale as a potential player in our energy portfolio.  I know Salazar is aware that multiple gallons of water and excessive amounts of fossil-fuel powered energy would be required to pump one gallon of oil from shale.  It makes no sense to burn fossil fuels in order to dig up and burn more fossil fuels.  It makes no sense to waste what little water Colorado and other Western states are likely to receive under a changed climate system to push more fossil fuel out of the ground in order to burn it and force the climate system even further from where it was.  It makes no sense for Salazar to push this untested technology while saying things like:

“The time for talk on energy is over and we need to move forward to get to energy independence,” Salazar said.

Sen. Salazar, talking about “conventional fossil fuel”, “clean coal” and oil shale is not moving us forward toward a new energy policy.  It is more of the same – it prevents a new energy policy from being formed, let alone enacted.  Using the fossil fuel industry’s talking points puts Sen. Salazar, and President-elect Obama, closer to the climate change denier/delayer camp.

An additional non-related example can be found below.

Drilling Ban to Expire in 5 Days

Congressional Democrats have capitulated on the off-shore drilling ban.  The House has voted to allow off-shore drilling, putting the ball to the Senate’s side.  That “capitulation” description was provided by Rep. Boehner of Ohio.  Normally, I stay away from Republican framing.  Working within it only reinforces it.  However, in this case, I’ve decided to do it.  In this case, I do want Americans to have the opinion that Democrats are spineless in the face of a little resistance.  Democrats dramatically misread the conditions surrounding off-shore drilling.  I don’t want a bunch of bought off fools making my energy policy, be they Democrats or Republicans.  One of my Senators had an interesting role to play in this failure and I’ll have more on that below.

In slightly better news, the Senate did vote for a $17 billion energy tax package that extends credits for wind, solar and energy efficiency projects.  Those provisions were sent to the House as part of a larger tax bill that also extends several business and personal tax breaks.  Unfortunately, it only provides a one-year extension for the Alternative Minimum Tax, something that should be taken up with seriousness and made permanent.  I know, that’s tough to do with ideological Republicans and spineless Democrats.  Perhaps next year, we always hear.  In any event, the energy tax package is definitely good news because it provides for multiple-year extensions.

The current House version of the energy tax package removed fossil fuel incentives: expansion of refineries to process oil sands and oil shale, as well as alternative fuel credits that could have been applied to coal-based fuels.  I’m going to write another post describing some updates on the global warming front.  Seen through that lens, the removal of fossil fuel incentives is indeed a good thing.  We’ll see how the final bill comes out of Congress.

Random Pieces 7/24/08

After years of producing vehicles that get better fuel economy for European customers than they did for American customers, Ford is finally going to retool American factories to produce and sell the same vehicles stateside. This comes as Ford struggles to reduce costs and just posted its worst quarter in its 105-year history. Ford lost $8.7 billion in its 2nd quarter.

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The paragon of personal responsibility, Rush Limbaugh, tried to take Sen. Ken Salazar to task over oil-shale drilling saying Salazar “and his fellow Democrats are still preventing America from using our own resources to lower gas prices and create new jobs”. No Rush, it’s been conservative blowhards like yourself that have prevented policies that would keep gas prices low. If renewable energy research had received any fraction of the corporate welfare dollars handed over to oil corporations in the past 30 years, US consumers would be demanding far less oil and gas. Oh, and more and better paying jobs would have been created along the line too.

Way to take responsibility for policies you’ve advocated for, Rush.

It’s interesting to note how conservatives are pushing for drilling when the technology to do so isn’t perfect yet. They’re taking the opposite stance with regard to global warming by saying we shouldn’t take action until technologies (models) are perfect. Drilling through shale and off our coasts will not reduce the price of gas. Part of the problem getting that message across exists within consumers: they want instant gratification and drilling sounds like it might deliver. So they’ll support it without thinking of the problems.

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Random Hits 6/14/08

First, a story from Wednesday about drilling for fossil fuels in shale: Salazar blocking oil shale development. The second part of the headline is just as interesting: GOP Senators tell Fortune magazine. And although my previous post displayed my displeasure with Sen. Salazar’s overall job performance, I applaud him for standing up on this issue. This quote shows that, with regard to energy anyway, Sen. Salazar gets it:

“We need to face the reality that the American people have been living in a mythical world of energy. We cannot, in my mind, drill our way to energy independence.”

What does Sen. Salazar get for all of his work to establish a “bipartisan” working relationship when the hyperpartisan U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Supreme Court Justices were being confirmed?

Salazar, said Sens. Wayne Allard and Orrin Hatch, Republicans of Colorado and Utah, respectively, has turned the regulation process on its head and stymied development.

He gets unfairly attacked in the media, regardless of the medium. Which leads to another reason I will not support his reelection: Sen. Salazar and too many other Democrats haven’t figured out that modern-day Republicans don’t want to compromise with them. Republicans have been hard at work trying to permanently wreck the Democratic Party. You can only let someone attack your work so many times before you stop offering them the opportunity to do so.

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17 percent of Colorado’s bridges have significant deterioration or don’t meet current design standards. Ten percent were functionally obsolete in 2006. So said Gov. Ritter’s Blue-ribbon Transportation Panel. They have encouraged Colorado elected officials to locate funds to repair roads and bridges. The 2008 legislative session unfortunately did not secure a funding source. Republicans have continued to stymie viable solutions in the form of taxes in favor of selling our public infrastructure to private corporations. Will a bridge have to collapse in Colorado before the public requires officials to actually do something productive?

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The housing market isn’t getting any better: foreclosures jump 50%.

The number of U.S. homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosures up nearly 50% compared with a year earlier, a foreclosure listing company said Friday.

Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48% from 176,137 in the same month last year and up 7% from April, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record.

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Oil, gas drilling tax exemption closure opposed by Denver Chamber of Commerce. The closure exists as an initiative voters will be able to vote on this November. Something that’s not widely known: Colorado is the only state to grant such exemptions. The $200 million generated per year would go to college scholarships. If Sen. Allard wants to keep talking about things not moving being subsidized, let’s talk about the oil and gas corporations drilling in Colorado.

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In a related decision, the Chamber voted to oppose the anti-union measure (Amendment 47), also planned for this year’s ballot.

The chamber’s board of directors voted Thursday to fight the union-restricting measure, saying that existing Colorado labor law provides balance for businesses and unions. “Support of ‘right to work’ is not worth the risk to the health of our economy, our business climate and the competitiveness of Colorado,” Blake said.

Amendment 47 supporters quickly lashed out:

Kelley Harp, a spokesman for Amendment 47, blasted the chamber’s position. “It’s unfortunate that the Denver chamber bought into the unions’ threats and dissuasion campaigns and decided to put political expedience in front of principle,” Harp said.

I disagree that there is a balance right now between unions and businesses – unions are incredibly weak in Colorado. Harp’s comments demonstrate that spokesmen get paid to make ridiculous statements.

Supreme Court’s Guantanamo Ruling

There has been a number of pieces, both in the news and in the blogosphere, regarding Guantanamo Bay detainees’ rights to U.S. court hearings. I applaud the Court’s decision. It has been reprehensible that any person was held without charge and without access to a court system. The Bush administration’s intentions to undo recognized law since the Magna Carta was simply breathtaking. The following neatly sums up my thoughts on the matter:

Every member of the Congress that approved the Military Commissions Act and the Detainee Treatment Act, now correctly reversed by the Court, will have the moral stain of having been a party to it besmirching their careers and their legacies forever. History will be only slightly less unforgiving to the Congress which allowed the grave abuses of the Constitution by the Bush administration than it will be to Bush himself. So no member of the Senate should be quick to follow Graham further down that path to complete ignominy. [Read the remainder of the post to understand the Graham reference - WD.]

One of the offenders is Colorado’s Ken Salazar. He voted for the legislation and then admitted he did so despite thinking it was unconstitutional. What exactly does taking an oath to defend the Constitution mean to Sen. Salazar and his colleagues that passed these awful Acts? Apparently little to nothing.

As such, I repeat my intention to support a challenger to Sen. Salazar. This vote is far from the only one he has made since 2004 that did not meet my small-d democratic values and ideals, but it is likely one of the more important ones.

How Does Sen. Allard Explain Gas Prices?

Colorado Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard gave differing solutions regarding our energy problems, as reported by a Denver Post article yesterday. As expected, Sen. Allard wants to drill more wells domestically. This is not a solution and there are many reasons why. Estimates of oil and gas deposits under lands the U.S. controls make up a very small percentage of world-wide deposits. If all the places Republicans wanted to drill were to somehow magically have fully functional systems, the price of oil and gas would hardly be affected.

Leases for drilling have been issued at an exponentially increasing rate in the past seven years, since the start of the Bush administration. Guess how many are operating today. If you guessed “Not all of them”, you’re absolutely correct. Lastly, if the U.S. were to increase their production of oil and gas, how do you think foreign countries and corporations would respond? They would decrease their production. Why? Increasing the supply would drive down the price. What incentive do current operators have to make less money? It sort of violates the whole premise of capitalism.

“It reminds me of a saying from the Reagan era: if it moves, tax it; if it keeps moving, regulate it; and if it stops moving, subsidize it,” Allard said on the Senate floor.

Once again, I really wish Sen. Allard were running for reelection. I would love to see him try to defend his fealty to St. Ronnie and unregulated:

Roan Plateau Update: BLM Schedules Auction

55,000 acres could be opened up for auction to oil and gas companies, as assigned by the Bureau of Land Management. Approximately 34,000 acres are on top of the plateau, identified as sensitive areas for wildlife.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which will offer the leases in an Aug. 14 auction in Denver, has said that efforts by Sen. Ken Salazar and Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar to modify the management plan for the Roan Plateau wouldn’t stop the agency from offering the leases.

Every community level, from the smallest town to the entire state, Democrat, Undeclared and Republican alike, have all expressed their desire not to allow drilling on top of the Roan. This of course hasn’t stopped the Bush administration and their cronies that have continually ignored the will of the people since they took control of our government.

Rep. Udall said a few months ago that he might introduce federal legislation that would reflect the proposal brought up by Gov. Bill Ritter. It would open up the Roan in phases with some oversight enacted during the entire process. This step might be necessary because the BLM, despite approval of Ritter’s plan by elected officials from both parties, rejected the plan. Sen. Ken Salazar has also said he might introduce similar legislation in the Senate. The BLM has said that news won’t stop the auction. Rep. DeGette introduced the Colorado Wilderness Act in April. It would protect the Roan from this kind of development.

Rep. Udall, Rep. Salazar and Sen. Salazar: this is the time to introduce your legislation and or get on board with Rep. DeGette’s legislation and get it passed. You have two months before the auction starts. The will of the fossil fuel industry is being carried out over the will of the people. This is not acceptable.

Cross-posted at SquareState.net.  There are a large number of diaries written about the Roan over there too.

Global Warming Links and Stories

The link first: ClimateLurker pulls information together and presents it in tabular form.  If nothing else, check out the temperature table.

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The first story comes from yesterday’s Denver Post entitled “With friends like this, the West doesn’t need enemies”.  The meat?  Brace yourselves: “Bush’s budget calls for cuts to the Forest Service that would further endanger areas prone to catastrophic forest fires.”  I’ve written about part of the problem before.  I’ve also written about some potential solutions to the problems the region is facing, proposed by Gov. Bill Ritter.  The skinny: 1.5 million acres of lodgepole pine have been turned into matchsticks.  That’s a huge potential issue given some bad conditions, which we saw in the beginning of this decade.

Now onto the newest part of the story: Bush’s budget would cut funding by 11.2% for CO, WY, SD, NE and KS.  The hazardous fuels reduction program funding would decrease by 4% and the state fire assistance program would be cut by 23%.  Imagine if somebody proposed cutting any portion of the defense budget by 23%.  The horror!  Let me state right now that I think more folks in this regions are concerned by the potential of a catastrophic conflagration in an upcoming summer than an attack by a terrorist (Confined only to brown and/or Muslim people, btw.  Crazy white people shooting up schools and churches seem to be okay).

Sen. Salazar told USDA Undersecretary Mark Rey and Forest Service chief Gail Kimbell he thought the budget priorities were sending the “wrong message.”  The Op-Ed ends with the following: “These are troubled times for the forests of our region.  They need additional care, not a steward who ignores its problems.”  Which is interesting when you consider they endorsed Bush for President in 2004.  You see, when Republican policies fail, they fail spectacularly.

I certainly hope this problems gets more attention.  It’s not going away, in fact it’s getting worse.  Bush won’t do anything but cut public services in support of privatizing everything.  What will Sen. Salazar do?  Stern messages in an oversight hearing are nice.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve the problem.

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I’ll share a second global-warming related story a little later today.