Boehner’s boys (and girls) kow-tow to Green crowd, crony capitalists with “all-of-the-above”
“All-of-the-above” is a nice, safe term. You don’t offend anyone. You’re taking everyone’s options. It’s perfect for politicians wanting to keep everyone happy.
But the ”all-of-the-above” energy strategy being touted by House Republicans in DC plays right into the hands of the environmental left and the crony capitalists seeking to suck even more dollars out of our wallets.
Listen to congressman (I still can’t believe it) Richard Hudson:
There is no doubt this war on affordable energy led by President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency is taking our country in the wrong direction. This sweeping plan to impose drastic regulations will further decrease our ability to go after American energy and will stifle job creation and raise utility rates, especially in North Carolina because we get around 38 percent of our energy from coal.
I regularly hear concerns from individuals and families in our local community who are fed up with the steady increase in energy bills. Folks can’t affor
d more job-killing policies that end up costing us more of our hard-earned money. Instead, we need to get the government out of the way of American energy exploration and production.
I remain focused on an all-of-the-above energy strategy that enables us to take advantage of our resources in a responsible way. Last week, I voted to advance construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a critical and common-sense infrastructure project that will provide our country a reliable and secure source of oil. By growing American energy production, we will bring prices down at the pump and lower energy prices at home. This is also a project that will create jobs immediately and continue to fuel thousands more over the long-term.[…]
That all sounds nice, doesn’t it? But what does ol’ Rich mean when he speaks of “all-of-the-above”? Here. Let’s refer to the web site of the GOP-dominated House Natural Resources Committee:
Increasing access to American energy sources will create jobs, grow our economy and reduce our nation’s dependence on energy from hostile foreign countries. Republicans support an all-of the-above energy approach that includes development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, nuclear, geothermal and biomass, along with clean coal and American-made oil and natural gas. A comprehensive plan will help protect the environment and improve our economic and natural security.
Renewable Energy:
- Expanding opportunities for renewable energy production, such as wind, geothermal and solar, on both onshore and offshore federal lands will create new jobs and provide new opportunities for American-made energy.
Hydropower:
- Hydropower, the original green energy, is a clean, renewable, non-emitting source of energy that provides low-cost electricity and reduces carbon emissions.
- Republicans support expanding the use of hydropower and are working to make all hydropower officially recognized as a renewable energy source by any legal or regulatory standard established by the federal government. […]
Alternative energy. The only wind, solar, or hydropower production facilities in existence today are there thanks to massive government subsidies. Why? The startup costs are through the roof. They are also unreliable. What do you do on days when it is cloudy or without any wind to speak of? You supplement it with good ol’ gas. IF you have the resources available to do that. The startup costs — and ensuing operating costs –are much higher than with conventional power delivery and will result in higher bills. If there was a sensible model out there for peddling alternative energy — without massive government subsidies — don’t you think Duke or somebody else would have been out there doing it much sooner?
I agree with our friend Rich and his colleagues on two things (1) building Keystone and (2) going wide open on fracking. We have the resources here domestically to meet our needs as well as those of other countries. We could dramatically reduce our dependence on unstable third world countries.
The Republican Party needs to run like hell from this alternative energy agenda. It is a guarantee to jack up costs for utilities AND consumers and generate MORE government spending.
Lip service to ”all of the above” is bad enough, unless it is just a cover for supporting financially viable sources of energy that will keep our energy costs down. Wind and solar do not count because they send electricity prices through the roof (ask a German about that!). I have no problem with anyone dumb enough to try to compete in the marketplace with inefficient generation sources like wind and solar and a politician supporting their unsubsidized right to make a fool of themselves by doing so, but once a politician supports subsidizing it, or mandating its use, they become a big government liberal. One of the more obnoxious policies of Thom Tillis was his keeping the NC renewable energy mandate in place.
Hydro is another matter. That involves dams and is an efficient way to generate power, but we are sort of out of many places left to put those in the US. The environmentalists have even been on a tear in recent years of removing existing dams.
Supporting subsidies or mandates for inefficient wind and solar energy is a statist outrage. Any Republican who does that should be primaried and defeated. The NC Republican platform calls for an end to those subsidies and mandates. A Republican elected official from NC who supports those things, against the position of the party, is committing party disloyalty and does not deserve support from party members.
Thank you Raphael You are right on point. The environmentalist whackos see nothing wrong with killing 1000’s of birds weekly with their unsustainible energy.
And the wealth crony capitalists like Obama supporting billionaire Warren Buffet who are subsidized with taxpayer money on these ripoff wind and solar farms are doing all they can to cover up the many birds they kill:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/buffett-owned-power-company-sues-to-block-data-on-wind-farm-bird-slaughter/article/2556307