Environmentalists silent about “Green” energy
By JR Hoeft | Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 | PolicyWhen you visit the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club’s web site, there’s all sorts of hysteria about Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s law suit against the EPA and lease sales for drilling off of Virginia’s coastline – two things which are still off into the future.
Also, last week, Sierra Club stalwart, Eileen Levandoski made a big deal about Virginia withdrawing from the national Governors Wind Energy Coalition, despite the organization’s support for an electrical mandate that disadvantages Virginians.
Yet, ironically, there is not one word from Eileen, any liberal blogger, or the Sierra Club about significant green energy legislation that passed this year’s General Assembly and was signed into law Friday.
At ODU, Governor Bob McDonnell was joined by a bipartisan group of legislators to sign a number of bills, including:
- a $500 tax credit for each green job created in the Commonwealth;
- a measure establishing the Universities Clean Energy Development and Economic Stimulus Foundation;
- the creation of the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority;
- legislation rewarding investor-owned electric utilities for using wind energy;
- authorize investor-owned natural gas utilities to petition the State Corporation Commission to implement a separate rider that will allow for recovery of certain costs associated with eligible infrastructure replacement projects;
- add improvement of infrastructure such as refueling stations to the Alternative Fuels Revolving Fund;
- to give localities the authority to, in order to secure loans for the initial acquisition and installation of clean energy improvements, place liens equal in value to the loan against any property where such clean energy systems are being installed.
Admittedly, the last couple measures on the list might not be so quick to grasp and don’t fit nicely into sound bites that our environmental friends can easily tout, but surely they would say something about making our commonwealth safer, cleaner, more efficient and environmentally friendly?
Not a peep.
You also note that the Sierra Club is about activism, touting their “Earth Day Revolution: Be a Clean Energy Patriot” on their web site (are they inciting violence?). However, there is nothing on their site also about this conservation program put forward by the governor:
2010 Stewardship Virginia spring campaign will run through May 31, 2010. Stewardship Virginia is a campaign, run by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, to encourage volunteers to participate in a specific group of tangible projects that will contribute to conserving Virginia’s landscapes, improving water quality, providing for improved recreational opportunities, and enhancing fisheries and wildlife.
Speaking about the campaign, Governor McDonnell noted, “I have always tried to teach my children the importance of leaving places better than they found them. This campaign is taking that same lesson and applying it to our Commonwealth. By volunteering to help conserve and improve Virginia’s natural resources we will leave Virginia a better place than we found it, to the benefit of all who call the Commonwealth home today and for generations to come.”
Last year, the Stewardship Virginia campaign registered 263 projects across Virginia and over 7,800 certificates of appreciation were issued to individuals who participated.
Citizens, businesses and service groups across the Commonwealth are encouraged to become involved by adopting streams, planting buffers, improving wildlife habitat, and participating in educational and recreational programs.
Companies and organizations can identify and undertake one or more projects of their choosing or can select a project submitted by a natural resource agency. A list of projects and registration information can be found at www.dcr.virginia.gov/stewardship.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please call Bonnie Phillips with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation at (804) 786-5056 or toll free at 1-877-42-WATER.
I can’t say that I am surprised, because the legislation passed easily through the House of Delegates and was signed into law by McDonnell….aka Republicans.
Because, folks, it’s not about the environment for special interests like the Sierra Club – it’s about partisanship.
They would rather cry about not being part of a national group, then to be happy about Virginia establishing an organization dedicated to developing wind power; they would rather bemoan AG Cuccinelli then to also look at how Virginia is transitioning to reduce emissions and develop biofuels.
It is apparent that “go green” is a mere slogan to the environmental left, because when we actually do, all you hear is the wind blow.
Tags:
Contribute for Conservatism!
Share this post
About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
Comments
One Response to "Environmentalists silent about “Green” energy"
The Sierra club.. Neo environmentalist knee jerk political activism at its finest.
While I worked for the dean of engineering at ODU in the early 90′s I managed AESP (alternative energy systems project) and our team designed and built numerous experimental natural gas fuel systems for an ultra low emissions SAE GM DOE sponsored project. In 1992 our vehicle was the first on record as tested by an EPA test facility operated by EG&G in northern Va to produce exhaust with fewer HC, CO and Nox pollution as measured by weight or volume at the tail pipe, cleaner than the fresh air drawn into the air cleaner. This vehicle made the rounds to the american gas association, news outlets such as cnn, abc and some other stations. Later on the development work resumed at Siemens/Bendix in Newport News, Va and development continued eventually resulting in a mass produced natural gas fuel injector entering the market that was made right here in Hampton Roads. Sierra club invited me to make a presentation so I brought one of my cng fueled test mules to the presentation, gathered some data, vehicle and engine photos I took from half a dozen international research competitions that we sponsored and pix of the emissions dyno lab I was operating in at the time. While hob nobbing next to the open hood of that ultra low emissions vehicle with a few Sierra club members before being introduced to the small gathering next to an emissions chart comparing downtown DC air to the vehicle (which I still have in posession), tailpipe emissions, I asked in a normal voice how and why Sierra club members were so fiercly opposed to the lowest polluting technology other than the sun itself being clean safe nuclear energy.. the room fell silent.. felt like EF hutton for a moment.. felt eyes look then burn through me.. While being escorted from the event a member asked if the vehicle and my propaganda could stay. I refused. “You can forget about the test drive for your members too bud.” As I gathered my presentation material I was asked if I knew just how harmful nuclear energy is..
The fun evening was cut short by a couple of self righteous well meaning but misinformed hippocrats, presumably all old school red lefties, who all drove home emitting many orders of magnitude higher pollutant emissions (measured by weight or voume) and significantly higher greenhouse gasses than the newly minted republican they booted off stage. Yeah my BS detector went off the scale into the red that evening.
Over the last few decades I have worked with and supported hundreds of engineers and engineering grads who work with unconventional fuels (aka alternatives to gasoline or diesel)from automakers, tier 1,2 & 3 suppliers and universities. It my be interesting to note that the majority of those engineers were comfortably right of center yet their typical customers were from both sides of the aisle.
Back to the OP, It is interesting to note that the governor is taking a similar pragmatic approach to stimulation alternative energy utilization and not just dead end demonstrations. Bush 41 signed the clean air act and energy policy act with tax credits that manufacturers could use to offset R&D as well as the upfront cost to fleets and the few individuals who purchased alternative fueled vehicles and refueling infrastructure. During the Clinton years those tax incentives dried up and were replaced with unfunded mandates.. the alternative fuel projects were internally defunded across the US and in my case the only reason development continued past the late 90′s was that europe and canada and other parts of the world had all the stimulus they needed to use alternatives.. higher than US energy costs.
Two thumbs up and an attaboy to Governor McDonnell and his cross party coalition.
McDonnell 2012.. sounds better all the time.
Leave your response
The comments section is for meaningful discussion. Readers are reminded to post comments that are germane to the article and write in a common language that steers clear of personal attacks and/or vulgarities.
Please take a moment to review our comment policy.