He's opening with oil prices: in April he spoke at Bowdoin and marveled at $114/barrel oil. "Now it's $130 a barrel," says King (actually, it's up to $137 this afternoon). Fuel oil prices will have doubled by next winter. Big impact on individual Mainers. "Maine at $5 and $10 a gallon gasoline is uninhabitable, folks." [ed.: I don't know if I agree with this. Maine might become undriveable, but our state wasn't uninhabitable before the Model T. Our transportation bureaucracy needs to transform itself, too].
King asserts that Maine is the most oil-dependent state in the US (thanks to heating fuels plus over-reliance on motor vehicles).
In 1998, 4% of the avg. Maine family budget went to energy. King then proposed a 5 cent gas tax for road maintenance, a proposal that went down in flames thanks to resistance over price increases. Gasoline costs have increased $3 since then. Instead of paying for infrastructure, though, it's mostly going overseas: "We're funding both sides of the war on terror."
He calls for a national R&D initiative to fund offshore wind technology development.
Eisenhower re-took Europe in 9 months. "When FERC was presenting I added up all the time required for all of the permits required and I got 4.5 years," exclaims King. "I mean, come on."
As far as environmental impacts are, he encourages regulators to look to existing wind farms in Europe. By looking to existing wind farms, we should be able to create a reliable and robust regulatory framework and know impacts well enough for adaptive management.
Economic development results in Europe: 300,000 jobs created, and Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer, is now the largest company in Denmark, King asserts.
Two recommendations:
- Predetermine sites. Declare what sites are and are not OK for wind power development, instead of asking developers to "throw darts at a target we can't see."
- Permit by rule. Lay out what the rules are and don't require massive applications for every project as if every one is unique. Say, "here's the noise standard, here's the standard for the footprint, etc."
King cites the TVA, a depression-era agency that now oversees 33,000 MW of (mostly hydropower) generation in the southern US. A public authority can remove financial and regulatory risks.
Serious consequences for for not acting are both human and environmental. Mainers need energy alternatives. And the climate needs relief from greenhouse gases.
But offshore wind will still take years to develop.
King ends with a quote from Abe Lincoln:
"The dogmas of a quiet past are inadequate to a stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
2 comments:
Since Obama venerates Lincoln he should listen to former Gov King and create such a massive TVA like effort and task it in first 30 days of administration.
I had the pleasure of working closely with Benjamin lee for several years as business partners. During the time that Ben served as the Mortgage Representative for my home also for my business financing and he helped me closing off loans which really helped me in my business today, we were consistently far above goal and this can only be attributable to Ben hard work. I appreciate your hard work also big thanks to your team for helping me with a loan to grow my business. If you are looking for a loan in any such kindly contact Mr Ben on 247officedept@gmail.com or talk to him on whatsapp +1---989-394-3740 . Mr Ben is an honest loan officer working with a huge number of investors willing to finance any project.Thankfully, over time our relationship grew beyond wok and I’m still happy to call him a trusted friend.
Post a Comment