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Sunday, March 9, 2008
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Denver Business Journal: "The state House Transportation and Energy Committee approved a proposal designed to encourage utilities to develop more solar power plants by a vote of 8-5. House Bill 1164, [Concerning the Advancement of New Solar Energy Technologies (pdf)] sponsored by Rep. Judy Solano, D-Brighton, directs the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to encourage utilities to consider the benefits of solar power. It asks the commission to consider higher future costs associated with the emission of greenhouse gases when it considers utility proposals."
More ...
The commission also would be required to consider whether solar plants are in the public interest, taking into account the associated costs and benefits of building such plants. The bill is intended to address concerns among the energy industry and some consumer groups that the development of solar energy will increase the costs of energy bills for Colorado residents and businesses. During Thursday's committee meeting, Solano stressed that the benefits of solar energy outweigh the drawbacks -- although the development of solar power plants might require a high initial investment from utilities. "This is to remind everyone that the cost of fossil fuel is what's driving up energy costs for working families," Solano said. "The industry is waiting for that little nudge that could bring more good-paying jobs to Colorado and bring the cost of energy down." Solono estimated that one large-scale solar power plant could generate more than $2 billion in private investment and attract more than 250 high-skilled, high-paying jobs. Legislators who opposed the bill raised questions about costs...
The bill is considered the second part of the "go solar" legislative package moving through the General Assembly this session. The first part of the package, House Bill 1160, was approved by both chambers and is heading for Gov. Bill Ritter's desk for final approval. HB 1160 [Concerning Net Metering for Customer-Generators of Electric Utilities (pdf)] would allow Colorado homeowners to be paid a fair rate for excess electricity produced by their own solar, wind or geothermal energy systems, as well as other forms of energy.
"cc"
6:24:17 PM 
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Political Wire: "A new American Research Group poll in Pennsylvania shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama, 52% to 41%."
Elevated Voices: "Former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart is predicting that the increasingly bitter race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama won't be decided until the Democratic National Convention in Denver."
The Cherry Creek News: "As concerns grow that the U.S. may be facing a recession, likely voters view Hillary Clinton (26%) and John McCain (25%) as the presidential candidates who could best handle the economy, just edging out Barack Obama ( 21%), a recent Zogby International telephone poll shows. Among Democrats, nearly half (48%) believe Clinton would best handle the economy, compared with 35% who believe Obama would do a better job. On the issue of leadership, McCain and Obama receive near equal support - 34% believe McCain would be best at providing meaningful leadership to the country, while 33% said the same of Obama. Just 16% said Clinton would be best at leading the country. Among Democrats, more than half believe Obama would be the best leader (55%), while half as many (27%) said the same of Clinton. Republicans overwhelmingly view McCain as the candidate best positioned to lead the country (63%), while independents give a slight edge to Obama (33%) over McCain (30%) - half as many independents (16%) view Clinton as the best leader. Obama comes out far ahead when respondents were asked which candidate would be best at unifying the country - 42% chose Obama, while 25% picked McCain and 13% said Clinton would best at bringing the country together."
"2008 pres"
5:57:13 PM
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Juan Cole: "Sunni Arab guerrillas carried out two bombings in the Shiite Karrada district of Baghdad on Thursday. First a bomb went off in a dumpster near a market, killing 3 persons and attracting a dense crowd. Then a suicide bomber waded into their midst and detonated his belt bomb. The death toll early Friday morning had mounted to 55, with 131 wounded, but the deaths were expected to mount during the night. Gen. David Petraeus has done excellent work in preventing car bombings by establishing 'no drive' areas at some markets. But a determined belt bomber is pretty hard to stop. Veteran LAT Iraq reporter Borzou Daragahi says that Karrada is one of the best-guarded areas in Baghdad."
"2008 pres"
5:56:08 PM
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After having attended the Wallace Stegner symposium on Friday and Saturday global warming is on our mind of course. We ran across this video yesterday The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See. The videographer makes a great argument for action, "When faced with uncertainty about our future," choose to act to prevent further climate change, "because the risk of inaction far outweighs the risk of taking action."
During yesterday's session we heard from Randy Udall that the world economy may tank, due to us running out of cheap hydrocarbon energy, long before runaway heating plunges us into economic and survival chaos. He takes issue with the contention that we'll be able to continue pumping oil and mining coal for decade after decade as is shown in most climate models. He's arguing for a sensible energy policy of course, one that moves the world economy away from fossil fuels, coincidentally one that will curtail warming.
"2008 pres"
8:13:06 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 2:12:44 PM.
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