Slowly, the ship is turning

08 Feb 08 | Commentary

In yet another narrow defeat last night, the Senate voted to keep renewable energy incentives out of the economic stimulus package. Once again, Senator John McCain was absent from the voting. It is difficult to imagine why he would choose not to show up in Washington to vote on this important legislation when Both Senators Clinton and Obama made the trip. To me at least, it seems Senator McCain is showing that he is a hollow man. By his words he says that he is concerned about the environment, but his actions show he does not really care enough about the environment to make a stand on either side. Sort of reminds me of George W. Bush before he took office in 2000. We all know how Mr. Bush’s environmental agenda shook out once he was in office.

Regardless of that, once again the tax incentives for solar energy have been cut out of the process by the Senate, this time by only one vote. Several Republican Senators took a bipartisan stance and voted for the measure, which is a nice change. However, in the end it was not enough to keep the Senate from a filibuster and far too few votes to avoid the inevitable Bush veto.

In the last few years, we have fought tooth and nail for the environment, especially in light of the current chief executive of the federal government. There is a long way still to go. In order for renewable energy, most specifically solar power, to stay a viable alternative, either one of two things must happen:

The subsides for Big Oil and Big Coal are ended. This will allow a true market environment where energy costs would be able to float to their natural levels instead of being held artificially low. This is the current European model. In light of the current energy monopolies these two forces have, the energy prices would likely skyrocket to several times there current levels until other forces such as renewable energy are brought to bear causing a competitive market. It would likely ruin the ever so fragile service economy that this country has developed.
Subsides for renewable energy need to be enacted for a long term period. This will encourage entrepreneurs to get into the renewable energy field and get firmly established. No one wants to start a business and then have rug pulled out from under them as happened to the solar industry in the mid 1980’s. Long term subsides will allow stable development of renewables, which, when mature will be able to compete with old tech fossil fuel sectors head on.

Of course, Big Oil and Big Coal are not interested in sharing their markets with anyone, much less any technology that can do what they do better and cleaner (and, if you count the cost of environmental damage, cheaper). The problem is that the old school guys have a lot of money and they like to throw it around. The renewable energy sector? Not so much.

That is where we come in. We are actually the ones who empower our Senators and Representatives by voting for them. To make this system work, however, you must be registered to vote. That is a start, but it is not enough. It would be very helpful if you actually went to the polling place on election day and cast a vote. Then, keep an eye on your elected official’s voting record. If you see something you don’t like, send them an e-mail, let them know how you feel. Before election day, read up on the candidates, vote for the one you think will most accurately represent you.

Remember, these guys (Congressmen/Senators) are not your average Joe. Their life experiences are vastly different from the rest of us. They, as a general rule, have a lot of money and have fairly well insulated themselves against economic trouble. The rest of us who have to work for a living will have to deal with the consequences of there actions or inactions. Don’t assume your Congressman or Senator has your back, communicate!

As for the old school big energy guys, we can cancel out there grasp on power by sticking together. The CEO of Exxon-Mobil for example, is only one vote. So is the CEO of Peabody Coal. If we stick together, send a message to our Congressman and Senators with the status quo is not acceptable, we can beat these guys. But we have to stick together.

One vote.

One District.

One Congressman.

One Senator at a time.

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