Texas Republicans answer to Global Warming: 16 New Coal Power Plants

[Junkdrawer]

I just heard this on NPR's Living on Earth this morning:

There’s a showdown in the Lone Star State as Texans wrestle with a proposal to quickly build more than a dozen coal-fired power plants. The power company TXU and Texas Governor Rick Perry say the facilities are needed to beat a coming crunch in electricity supply. But coal power would greatly boost greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change just as concern over global warming is heating up. Critics say the company is rushing the new plants only to beat likely regulations on carbon dioxide emissions. An unlikely alliance of ranchers, businessmen, environmentalists and Republican politicians has come together to fight the coal plants. Living on Earth’s Jeff Young reports on the Texas power plan, its opponents, and the scientists who hope to split the difference between them by finding a way to capture the CO2 from coal power. This is the first installment in our new series, "Generating Controversy: The Changing Climate of Coal."


http://www.loe.org/

If this doesn't define the short-sighted Rethugican outlook on life, nothing does...

[salin]

1. even in texas it seems that bushmen (re: Perry) are "uniting" people

*against the bushmen*.

[cosmik debris]

2. There is an irony here

We had an election. Three of four candidates opposed the new power plants. The only candidate who supported the new pollution was Rick Perry. He won by a plurality. We Texans have decided at the ballot box to fuck up our own air and the air of our neighbors.

I call it suicide by election.

[twilight_sailing]

5. We have a joke here in New Mexico

Why does the wind blow east?
Because Texas sucks.

Hey, come to think of it, that wind ought to keep the acid rain out here. Yay wind!

[Junkdrawer]

6. But the folks in Louisiana and Mississippi aren't as lucky....

And, if you see my post below, 154 are being built nationwide...

[Junkdrawer]

3. Who thinks like this?

GW is nonsense...
GW is nonsense...

Oh No..

GW is REAL! Quick: Build 16 coal fired plants before the new regulations are passed!


Un-fu**ing believable.

[Junkdrawer]

4. If Texas does this, they won't be alone:

That mantra of Lone Star State toughness, "Don't mess with Texas," actually began as an antilittering campaign back in the 1980s. While the campaign saw some success, the energy-producing state has proved less capable in cutting back on other pollutants. According to the American Lung Association, both the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas are in the nation's top 10 for highest ozone levels, a major component of smog.

Now, some Texans fear their air will be further, well, messed with. The state is seeking permits to build some 16 new coal-fired power plants. And the Lone Star State isn't alone. Though talk of clean energy dominates the headlines, cheap, plentiful coal is staging a quiet comeback. According to the Department of Energy, 154 coal plants are being proposed nationwide, enough to power 93 million homes. While power grids nationwide are surely strained, the crush of new coal plants--typically dirtier than natural gas--is sparking brawls at state and local levels.

Gamble. But the old not-in-my-backyard fight over power plants has a new wrinkle, global warming-potential ammo for environmentalists and motivation for utilities. Analysts say the rush to build new plants is a calculated gamble by utilities that the federal government is poised to impose historic curbs on greenhouse gases-particularly with Democrats ensconced in Congress. By building now, utilities may grandfather in a new generation of plants that won't be required to bear the full brunt of future laws. Utilities say they're simply trying to meet the burgeoning demands of a growing country. But environmentalists aren't buying, and they vow to fight the coal plant expansion in every available forum.

In something of a twist, energy-friendly Texas has become the closely watched ground zero in this battle. Gov. Rick Perry expedited the permitting of the coal plants in October 2005, when he was under pressure from energy price hikes that came about in the wake of deregulation of the state's energy market back in 2002. Some customers saw electric bills jump 80 percent, in part because of rising natural gas prices and, some say, a botched formula that determines the rates charged by the biggest providers. Coal plants, Perry argued, would drive down costs and give a much-needed boost to the state's power grid. Earlier this fall, a report by the North American Electric Reliability Council buttressed at least part of Perry's argument, saying Texas is among regions most at risk for grid failure because future demands are expected to exceed capacity. "We need to make sure Texas stays ahead of the demand for energy," says Perry spokesperson Kathy Walt.

....

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/061126/4coal.htm

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. The worst thing about this is it's going to hurt more than just Texans

In some ways I feel Texas deserves to be raped and pillaged by the R's due to the voters stupid blindness. However, not in this case. What Perry and TXU are attempting to do will not just harm our state but everyone. And they KNOW that it will, but just don't give a damn. It's all about the money that's exchanged hands.

We have quite a few great people behind stopping these. Wish us luck, we're going to need it.