Notes on a Snowy Sunday
Sunday, February 25, 2007 at 2:04 pm
- 2 Comments
Less than two months ago Minnesotans were complaining about too warm a winter: “Yep, it’s global warming, all right. Pass the schnapps.”
Now we look outside all over the state, and a blanket of snow and ice peers back. A drift climbs nearly halfway up my office window in our 1970s vintage berm house. The cats stare out the large plate-glass windows in the sun porch. The fan on the gas furnace churns. All’s right with the world.
Our local congressman, Tim Walz, continues to grab the media’s attention. Today the Mankato Free Press editorial page complained that he hadn’t signed on with the Blue Dog Coalition of self-defined fiscally conservative Democrats in the U.S. House. I say “self-defined” because fiscal conservatism is often the reflection that a politician wants to portray, rather than a reflection of reality.
more inside Two cases in point: Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.) and Rep. Stephanie Herseth (S.D.) are both members of the coalition, yet Peterson has stated publicly that he supports earmarks, “Otherwise, I couldn’t get any roads for my district.” And Herseth is an unabashed supporter of the proposed $2.3 billion loan to the DM&E railroad that billionaire financier Steve Forbes has termed a “highlight” in the “routine abuse in the congressional appropriations process.”
In the long run, the true measure of “fiscal conservatism,” “social progressivism,” “free trade liberalism,” “compassionate conservatism” or whatever politicians want to label themselves is in their voting records, not public statements or group affiliations.
Meanwhile, this past week the Minnesota legislature set a standard for the nation in passing a bill, with Gov. Tim Pawlenty signing, stipulating that the state’s utilities use a minimum of 25% renewable fuels by the year 2025
2 Comments
Comment posted February 26, 2007 @ 9:06 am
Better late than never. Did you read Paul Krugman’s column last week ?
I have to wonder if Minnesota’s commitment toward renewable energy is prompted by farming and other business interests as opposed to moral stewardship of the natural resources. Minnesota has embraced tax subsidies to encourage ethanol production, but now that these companies are making profits, those subsidies are unwise. Fiscally responsible politicians (not necessarily fiscal conservatives) would take action to eliminate these tax breaks … or at least put a cap on them. Corn was the future but is there enough supply??? …between corn stoves and bio-fuels … now the price of tortillas is up 14% and as well as animal feed. We’ve appeased a segment of the state with a short-term incentive that is economically unsustainable.
Minnesota needs a balanced approach that includes fuel cell technology as well as requiring better fuel efficiencies.
Krugman’s column poses the question economic viability and environmental responsibility. He writes, “Let me tell you about a real-world counterexample: an advanced economy that has managed to combine rising living standards with a substantial decline in per capita energy consumption, and managed to keep total carbon dioxide emissions more or less flat for two decades, even as both its economy and its population grew rapidly. And it achieved all this without fundamentally changing a lifestyle centered on automobiles and single-family houses.
The name of the economy? California.
There’s nothing heroic about California’s energy policy
Comment posted February 26, 2007 @ 3:06 am
Better late than never. Did you read Paul Krugman’s column last week ?
I have to wonder if Minnesota’s commitment toward renewable energy is prompted by farming and other business interests as opposed to moral stewardship of the natural resources. Minnesota has embraced tax subsidies to encourage ethanol production, but now that these companies are making profits, those subsidies are unwise. Fiscally responsible politicians (not necessarily fiscal conservatives) would take action to eliminate these tax breaks … or at least put a cap on them. Corn was the future but is there enough supply??? …between corn stoves and bio-fuels … now the price of tortillas is up 14% and as well as animal feed. We've appeased a segment of the state with a short-term incentive that is economically unsustainable.
Minnesota needs a balanced approach that includes fuel cell technology as well as requiring better fuel efficiencies.
Krugman’s column poses the question economic viability and environmental responsibility. He writes, “Let me tell you about a real-world counterexample: an advanced economy that has managed to combine rising living standards with a substantial decline in per capita energy consumption, and managed to keep total carbon dioxide emissions more or less flat for two decades, even as both its economy and its population grew rapidly. And it achieved all this without fundamentally changing a lifestyle centered on automobiles and single-family houses.
The name of the economy? California.
There’s nothing heroic about California’s energy policy
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