GOP Denial

From TPM

Every Single GOPer On House Energy Commitee Won't Say Climate Change Is Real

Thirty-one Republicans on the House Energy And Commerce Committee -- the entire Republican contingent on the panel -- declined on Tuesday to vote in support of the very idea that climate change exists.

Democrats on the panel had suggested three amendments that said climate change is a real thing, is caused by humans and has potentially dire consequences for the future. The amendments came on a Republican bill to block the EPA from offering regulations to mitigate the results of global climate shifts. The global scientific community is in near unanimous agreement that climate change is real, and that humans contribute to it.

None of the 31 Republicans on the committee would vote yes on any of the amendments (Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN] declined to vote on one.) The committee's 21 Democrats voted yes on all three.

Though the result may seem shocking to supporters of climate legislation, activists say this is pretty much what they expect from the GOP these days. There was a time when members of the mainstream GOP were ready to offer their own solutions to climate change. But in the tea party age, those Republicans are few and far between at best, observers say.

Upton Sinclair wrote: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." How true...

News from Costa Rica: Wow: Some enlightened Policy!

I just learned something interesting -- about some enlightened policy in Costa Rica. From ICE (the government owned electric monopoly): As consumption goes up, so does the rate. The first 200 KWh sells for $0.13. From 200-300 is $0.24. Everything above that is $0.33/KWh. They actually want you to use less! And not just paying lip service to it, but building it into their pricing structure. If you want to be wasteful, you will pay!!

Then, to top it off, they have net metering, and run the meter backward at the highest rate! Unlike some US utilities that buy it back at wholesale...

And, unlike almost everything else that is imported here, they waive import duty on solar PV so material costs are relatively low. And installation labor is cheap. I was just quoted $4.65/Watt installed cost for 5-20 KW systems.

80% of the country's electricity comes from hydro. A few years ago it was 100%. As demand goes up, they have to fire up extremely expensive oil-fired power plants at $0.85 KWh to make up the difference. Two years ago when climate change brought about a 2-week delay in the rainy season, the country had rolling blackouts. It is not in ICE's interest to have to build new fossil-based generation capacity just as oil production is peaking.

How nice to see some enlightened policy -- something besides drill baby drill. Hope the CIA, the Bushes, the WTO and CAFTA don't screw it up!

Alternative energy companies are thriving here. Here's a link to a nice 'Bill Reduction Tool' by one of them.

A fantasy or a breakthrough that changes everything?

Organism Makes Diesel Fuel With Sun, Water, CO2

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 March 2011, 06:30 CST

Biotechnology company Joule Unlimited said on Monday that it can produce the fuel that runs some cars and jet engines using its genetically-engineered organism that secretes diesel fuel or ethanol wherever it finds sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said it can control the organism to produce the renewable fuels on demand and at unprecedented rates, and can do so at costs comparable to the lowest-cost fossil fuels.

The breakthrough could mean "energy independence," the company said.

"We make some lofty claims, all of which we believe, all which we've validated, all of which we've shown to investors," Joule CEO Bill Sims told the Associated Press (AP).

"If we're half right, this revolutionizes the world's largest industry, which is the oil and gas industry," he said.

"And if we're right, there's no reason why this technology can't change the world."

However, the task is not yet complete, and not everyone is convinced the company can deliver on their claims.

More...