Thu, Nov 26 2009
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Published May 16, 2009 09:04 am - The rhetoric from the left is Chicken Little’s falling sky, and Costner’s “Waterworld” was not a flop but rather prophecy on film. The rhetoric from the right is that living as an ostrich is not as uncomfortable as it appears and we need do nothing. The reality (and truth) lies somewhere in the middle. Emissions policy up for debate: Globe blogger Geoff Caldwell offers his opinion Editor’s note: Three Joplin Globe bloggers weigh in with their viewpoints. For more from these bloggers and others, log on to www.joplinglobe.com. Focus should be on energy independence
The rhetoric from the left is Chicken Little’s falling sky, and Costner’s “Waterworld” was not a flop but rather prophecy on film. The rhetoric from the right is that living as an ostrich is not as uncomfortable as it appears and we need do nothing. The reality (and truth) lies somewhere in the middle. While we all think our own electric bills are most certainly “too high,” the fact is that Missouri has the fourth lowest electric rates in the nation. But we achieve that role by generating around 80 percent of it with coal. And burning that coal creates tons of politically charged carbon dioxide. With left-aligned congressmen Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Maine) now in charge of crafting energy legislation, the economic impact could be catastrophic not just to Missouri, but the nation as a whole. If the current politics prevail, there is but only one thing certain to come for all of us: significantly higher electric rates. Cap and trade does nothing to solve the larger problems. It merely penalizes utilities, industry and coal states through a back door attempt to transfer wealth from the existing energy infrastructure to a new, politically engineered “green” energy sector. (Surely the fact that hedge funds associated with Al Gore, George Soros, Maurice Strong and other “visionaries” are heavily invested in carbon capping and “green” energy has nothing to do with Waxman/Markey’s legislation. Noooooo, surely not.) While some will cheer that they finally forced the evil, imperialistic United States to pay for her energy “sins,” it will do nothing about the global problem. China, India and other developing countries will continue to see their economies grow at the expense of our new “politically corrected” economy. It will do nothing to make alternative energy sources sustainable and economically viable. It will, however, do everything to put the United States at a disadvantage in the world marketplace and it will do it on the backs of tens of millions of average Americans already struggling with energy costs. Rather than shooting us out of the cap-and-trade cannon with only hope that we land safely across the river, Waxman and Markey should instead be focused on building a viable and stable bridge to those far banks of energy independence. I want that bridge to be a six-lane architectural beauty that we all cross together as a nation, not the current one-lane toll bridge being designed by a few politically connected profiteers. I am neither a chicken nor an ostrich, and I can only hope that both realize they will never fly alone. And, that they realize it before before the eagle soars no more. Geoff Caldwell lives in Joplin. His blog, “Caldwell’s Corner,” addresses national, state and local issues 
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