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| Marita Noon |
Showing posts with label Guest Columns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guest Columns. Show all posts
End of spectator citizenship—it is time to get engaged
Noon: End the mindless pursuit of at-any-cost renewables
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| Marita Noon |
Perhaps they realized the folly of their effort, but had to do the press release to show their donors what they’d done, while having virtually no impact. Maybe they wanted it buried—in which case, I am happy to expose it. Americans need to see what these “groups” are really doing to our country.
In the June 27 release featured on PRNewswire, they choose verbiage that is designed to elicit an affirmative response—even I agree with some of their statements! For example, I believe we should “retool federal loan guarantees” and that “Government incentives must benefit public health, economic well-being, and the environment.” I think we all “deserve clean air, access to clean water, safe, sustainable food and good health.” I heartily embrace this statement: “The use of taxpayer dollars for energy projects, whether in the form of subsidies, tax incentives or loan guarantees, currently runs counter to the public interest.”
Who among us would say: “government incentives should hurt public health…” or “We all deserve dirty air, dirty water and bad health?” The implication of the press release is that if you do not agree with their “American clean energy agenda,” you want “dirty air and water, and bad health.” Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
Respect and Honor Our Wounded Warriors
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| Jim Harbison |
Unfortunately, politics has intruded on the graciousness of the American public. Cynical ideologues who opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last debt ceiling debate pushed a moral equivalent between the Defense budget and all other budget line items. Really? Politicians fail to appreciate that soldiers do not choose where and when they sacrifice, but, the public understands. The decision to send our military into harm’s way is not made by generals and admirals but by Congress and the President. Those in the military are truly public servants and do not have a voice in choosing the wars in which they fight. And, unlike their civilian counterparts, soldiers, sailors and airmen cannot simply quit their jobs, resign, or decline the assignment.
Many military members are now returning home with devastating injuries, some suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The failure of the Senate to enact a budget for the last three years will force draconian cuts to the Military Services and to the Veterans Administration. These cuts will adversely impact the medical care to those who most deserve the honor of a grateful Nation. Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
Pearce: It's Time to End Bailout Subsidies
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| Steve Pearce |
There is no need to continually pour hard earned taxpayer dollars into a failing private business. However, despite a string of failed bailout plans, Section 3156 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a $150 million subsidy to the private uranium enrichment company, United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC). This $150 million comes in addition to the billions of dollars in taxpayer funds that have gone to perpetuate USEC’s failing business model. And, this is language that has shown up in everything from the Highway Bill to Energy Appropriations.
In 2011 alone, USEC reported a net loss of $540.7 million. To put that in perspective, it took Solyndra two years to record this type of loss. No one would consider providing Solyndra more federally backed loans, so why should USEC be any different?
Instead of allowing USEC’s fate to rise or fall on the wisdom and skills of its management and owners in a competitive marketplace, the government has intervened at every turn to ensure that USEC would not fail. This company is worth less than $120 million and it is asking for $2.5 billion in government backing. I doubt any member of Congress would invest his or her own money in a company which saw a 46% decline in profitability within 3 year of its initial public offering. So why is USEC any different?
The answers should be – it isn’t. However, the administration and members of Congress from both parties have come up with excuse after excuse why it is. 
Some say it is an issue of national security due to the production of tritium at USEC. However, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) testified that tritium production would not be affected if USEC failed. Essentially, national security would not be undermined in any way if USEC were to terminate operations as a result of a government decision to cut off further subsidies.
Others claim that this bailout language for USEC does not constitute an “earmark” under House rules because it is included in the president’s budget. I am sure one could find plenty of things in the president’s budget that would immediately be classified as an earmark if offered in a similar fashion and without the support of the appropriate members of Congress.
There is a reason Congress has an embarrassingly low approval rating. Elected officials say one thing while on the campaign trail and do the exact opposite while in Washington. This is not a Democrat problem or a Republican problem – it is a Washington problem.
I hope every member thinks about voting for the amendment to take this bailout subsidy out of the bill. Are we going to be an open and transparent Congress that values the taxpayer dollar and favors free markets? Or are we still a Congress that works through backroom deals and rewards powerful Members with earmarks – even if their pet projects are failures.
Wind Energy: the wheels are coming off the gravy train
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| Marita Noon |
Perhaps this current wave started when one of wind energy’s most noted supporters, T. Boone Pickens, “Mr. Wind,” in an April 12 interview on MSNBC said, “I’m in the wind business…I lost my ass in the business.”
The industry’s fortunes didn’t get any better when on May 4, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote an editorial titled, “Gouged by the wind,” in which they stated: “With natural gases not far from $2 per million BTU, the competitiveness of wind power is highly suspect.” Citing a study on renewable energy mandates, the WSJ says: “The states with mandates paid 31.9% more for electricity than states without them.”
Then, last week the Financial Times did a comprehensive story: “US Renewables boom could turn into a bust” in which they predict the “enthusiasm for renewables” … “could fizzle out.” The article says: “US industry is stalling and may be about to go into reverse. …Governments all over the world have been curbing support for renewable energy.” 
It all boils down to a production tax credit (PTC) that is set to expire at the end 2012. Four attempts to get it extended have already been beaten back so far this year—and we are only in the fifth month. The Financial Times reports: “Time-limited subsidy programmes…face an uphill battle. The biggest to expire this year is the production tax credit for onshore wind power, the most important factor behind the fourfold expansion of US wind generation since 2006. Recent attempts in Congress to extend it have failed.”
According to the WSJ, “The industry is launching into a lobbying blitz.” The “2012 Strategy” from the American Wind Energy Association includes:
• “To maximize WindPAC’s influence, WindPAC will increase the number of fundraisers we hold for Members of Congress.”
• “Continue the Iowa caucus program to ensure the successful implanting of a pro-wind message into the Republican presidential primary campaign.”
• “Respond quickly to unfavorable articles by posting comments online, using the AWEA blog and twitter, and putting out press releases.”
• “Continue to advocate for long term extension of PTC and ITC option for offshore wind.”
• “AWEA requested a funding level of $144.2 million for FY 2012 for the Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Program, an increase of $17.3 million above the President’s Congressional budget request.”
A wind turbine manufacturer quoted in the Financial Times article says, “If the PTC just disappears, then the industry will collapse.” Regarding United Technologies plans to sell its wind turbine business, chief financial officer Greg Hayes admitted: “We all make mistakes.” Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
VetVoice Does Not Speak for Veterans Organizations
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| Jim Harbison |
These experiences gave me the deep-rooted appreciation of our environment. We need to understand that a Presidential Executive Order creating a National Monument imposes significant restrictions that will prevent our grandchildren or future generations from enjoying the same experiences.
Creating a National Monument will not bring tens of thousands of visitors, $23 million or 350 local jobs because there is nothing within the proposed Monument that will attract the number of visitors experienced by Carlsbad Caverns. If this area is so compelling, why haven’t we already been inundated with eco-tourists? Designating it a monument only imposes restrictions on areas which have been open to the public for years. Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
The EPA's Arrogant and Abusive Authority
But, we do not have to wait to decide that the Obama administration has “overstepped its authority”—a federal judge has already handed down a decision. In this case, healthcare is not at the center of the debate; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is. The agency have been issuing regulations and finalizing rules with no “burden of justification.”
The EPA, “dominated by anticarbon true believers,” could be considered rogue—except that it has the blessing of the boss. The agency’s actions align with President Obama’s “campaign to raise the price and limit the production of fossil fuels” here in America. The EPA’s freewheeling, however, may have been curbed as the agency is facing a headwind of opposition from the industries they are shutting down, state regulators, and even federal judges.
A couple of weeks ago, March 23, the EPA suffered a setback when US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, DC, determined that the EPA did not have the power to revoke a legitimately approved mining permit once it had been issued by the Army Corps of Engineers, as the EPA had done in January 2011 regarding Arch Coal’s Spruce No. 1 mine in WV. In ordering that the EPA’s “action be vacated in its entirety,” Judge Jackson said: “This is a stunning power for an agency to arrogate to itself when there is absolutely no mention of it in the statute.” Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
Is Las Cruces Business Friendly?
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| Jim Harbison |
Yet, our City Council continues to champion policies that have not improved jobs or returned economic prosperity to the City. Instead of finding real solutions they have embraced a rigid, environmentally oriented anti-growth agenda that undermines real economic development. Rather than working with business our Council adopts policies that are decidedly hostile toward them and implemented with a lack of customer service and an obstructionist attitude.
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| Las Cruces City Hall |
Impact fees have made it more expensive to open a business or buy a home. Contractors wait unreasonable periods for permits to build new facilities or remodel existing commercial space, which is a key component for business and job expansion. Single-minded focus on regulating development by some restrictive smart code/smart growth theory must seem effective to academicians in council chambers, but it hurts businesses on Main Street struggling to survive.
The Council is currently considering increasing the park impact fee from $800 to over $4,000 on new single family homes and nearly $3,000 per new apartment. These Impact fees adversely impact young and low-income families by potentially adding nearly $14,000 to new home costs and will, in turn, undermine their chances to become homeowners. This will also cause apartment rents to increase. Read rest of the column here: News New Mexico
Compliant Americans
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| Walter Williams |
Townhall - Americans have become compliant in nation-crippling ways. Over the past several years, gasoline prices have been shooting through the roof, but not to worry. President Barack Obama's current secretary of energy, Steven Chu, said in December 2008, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." That translates to $8 or $9 a gallon. During a recent hearing on the Department of Energy's budget, Rep. Alan Nunnelee, R-Miss., asked Secretary Chu whether it is the DOE's "overall goal" to lower gasoline prices. "No," Chu responded. "The overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy."
Because Americans are so compliant and willing to suffer silently at the gasoline pump, the Obama administration is willing to press on as handmaidens of environmental extremists who want to halt the exploration of our country's vast oil supplies, which are estimated to be triple those of Saudi Arabia. The Obama administration would rather pour more taxpayer dollars into risky alternative crony energy suppliers and electric cars. The OPEC nations have to be laughing at us, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were revealed that they are making under-the-table payments to environmental wackos. Read full column here: News New Mexico
PNM CEO Explains Struggles with EPA
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| Pat Vincent-Collawn |
Last fall, I wrote to you about a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that will add unnecessary cost to the price of electricity for New Mexico and the region. I am writing to update you on some recent developments on this issue and our effort to work with EPA, the State of New Mexico and others on a more reasonable approach.
As you may remember, additional pollution controls will be installed on our San Juan Generating Station so that it meets federal visibility requirements. That plant provides low-cost electricity to 2 million customers throughout the Southwest and the majority of the power required by PNM customers. The question is which technology will be installed: one mandated by EPA or one approved by the N.M. Environment Department. While both would meet federal visibility requirements, the state-approved technology would accomplish that goal for about one-tenth the cost of EPA's plan.
Support for New Mexico's Plan Increases
A major part of our effort has been to educate key stakeholders on the implications of EPA's approach, and we have had a number of successes. New Mexico's visibility plan recently won another important ally: Prosperity Works, which advocates for low-income residents in the state. In a recent guest editorial, that organization wrote: Read rest of story here: News New Mexico
An Energy Cost Misdirection
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| Marita Noon |
While we are all looking at gas prices, there is another dramatic energy price increase going on that is totally optional; one that is within the President’s power to completely reverse.
Coal-fueled electricity generation is the lowest cost. Yet, due to cost-increasing regulations, coal-fueled power plants are being shut down at an alarming rate—killing jobs, raising rates, and putting the reliability of the electrical grid at risk.
Environmental groups are cheering, while local governments are left to grapple with the lost tax revenue. On February 29, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, penned a post celebrating the 100th closure of a coal-fueled power plant: Chicago’s Crawford plant. He also boasts that the group’s efforts have prevented 166 new coal-fueled power plants.
The Oil and Gas Industry is Helping Grow the United States Economy
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| Marita Noon |
While less dependent on Middle Eastern oil than California, the United States is like California, in that we have vast resources that are locked up due to regulation, blocked access, and delayed permitting. President Obama touts the reduction of imported oil, but his bragging rights may be short-lived, if he continues on the same anti-drilling track California has been on.
Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
Fossil fuel’s triple “A” rating
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| Marita Noon |
With rising gas prices bringing energy into the debate, and President Obama setting his energy priorities out in his budget, it is important to be aware of some energy realities. Otherwise you may think fossil fuels are “evil,” when, in fact, they provide us with the freedom to come and go, to be and do.
Abundant
With gas prices in the news, reporters are interviewing people in gas stations and getting their thoughts on the situation. One had a man proclaiming that oil is a precious resource. He stated that we needed the price to go up so people used less of it. I agree that oil is precious—as in valuable and important, but not as in scarce or rare.
Decades ago, it was thought that we were about to run out of oil. True, production in America did decline. But new privately developed technologies have both found more oil and natural gas and allowed us to use it more efficiently. Read rest of the column here: News New Mexico
Harbison: The New "Fairness" Doctrine
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| Jim Harbison |
Who defines “fairness”? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines fairness as marked by impartiality and honesty: free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism. www.vocabulary.com defines fairness treating people without prejudice - non-discrimination. www.thefreedictionary.com defines fairness as: Having or exhibiting a disposition that is free of favoritism or bias; impartial: a fair mediator, b. Just to all parties; equitable: a compromise that is fair to both factions.
Where is the “fair mediator” that ensures this fairness? Who is deciding that it is fair to take stuff from one who earns it and give it someone who hasn't? The dictionary definitions above would label that favoritism not fairness. George Orwell would appreciate the "doublespeak".
President Obama's Fake Fossil Fuel Infatuation
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| Marita Noon |
Days after touting oil and gas in the SOTU, President Obama released his proposed 2013 budget. While the Financial Times declared that “everybody knows it has no chance of passing,” they did acknowledge that it does offer “a foretaste of the priorities he would pursue in a second term.” And, the foretaste will bring his green base back into the tent and “sets up a fight with the oil and gas industry.”
Pearce: Standing with New Mexicans
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| Steve Pearce |
By U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce - The surge of massive forest fires has been too common in the West in recent years. Mismanaged, overgrown forests have contributed to the spread of wildfires. Otero County has taken a stand against irresponsible forest management in their county. Officials have worked to give their residents safer communities and healthier forests. They said that “enough is enough” when it comes to the federal government’s mismanagement of the forest around Cloudcroft.
In June, the Otero County Commission voted to create an emergency plan, allowing the county to begin thinning the forest for fire prevention. They created an 80,000-acre plan, which they submitted to USFS, that calls for responsible management to protect local watershed and prevent fires that have threatened Cloudcroft for many years. This level of forest management is exactly what the Otero County Commission was trying to accomplish with the emergency tree cutting on September 17th near Cloudcroft. It was an historic day, marking the return of common-sense local resource management, and I commend their efforts and determination. In the days leading up to the event, an agreement was reached between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the County, stating that USFS would not interfere with the emergency plan. This breakthrough demonstrated that cooperation between local and federal governments is both possible and desirable.
Now, the federal government is attacking Otero County, and trying to stop actions that would prevent communities from going up in flames. USFS filed suit against the County Commission, claiming the County does not have the right to protect their homes, property and forests.
In the lawsuit, The United States of America v. Board of County Commissioners of the County of Otero and State of New Mexico, the federal government claims that federal law preempts the actions of the County. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction, halting Otero County’s efforts to make the forests safer.
There are two major problems with this lawsuit. The first and most important is that in the Constitution, the powers of the federal government are explicitly outlined and the Tenth Amendment states that all powers not given to the federal government belong to the states and to the people. The right of forest management is not given to the federal government. Therefore, it is reserved for the people and the states. Second, New Mexico law gives the County the right to manage these lands after an emergency declaration by the commission.
Otero County’s plan is legal, reasonable, and looks out for the safety of constituents. It does not call for clear cutting of the forests. Instead, it is a responsible plan to clear dead trees and underbrush that act as kindling when wildfires start.
I am not a proponent of clear cutting our forests; however, I am strongly in favor of healthy conservation through targeted forest management. Regular thinning of trees helps protect local watersheds, decreases the risk of fires, and provides a better forest for wildlife and the people of New Mexico. Otero County is on the right side of the law, and has worked diligently with USFS to ensure the safety of the county’s residents. Forest management cannot be handled in Washington alone; local resources are best managed local governments who better understand the needs and interests of their communities. This is a local issue that directly affects the safety and welfare of New Mexicans.
Commonsense solutions exist, and Otero County has been actively pursuing them. I will continue to stand with my fellow citizens to ensure the safety of our communities, economic growth and a clean environment.
Pearce: Trial Lawyers Have Harmed the Taxpayers and Private Investments in Spaceport America
It should surprise no one that spaceflight is still riskier than airline flight. In 2004, the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act was signed into federal law and has worked very well in fostering the development of new companies in the United States—especially New Mexico.
Recently, even in this climate of political discord in Washington, the federal statute was extended by BOTH the House and Senate through 2015, with bipartisan and bicameral support from a majority of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation. Just this week, President Obama signed this vital extension into law. Washington, remarkably, has done its job here. Why can’t Santa Fe?
Texas, Virginia and Florida already have this language in their statutes and are in sync with the federal law. Colorado’s legislature is expected to approve the legislation by May. In essence, recognizing the future growth and potential the commercial space flight industry offers, they acted and removed their state loophole laws. It was imperative that this law be passed in New Mexico to continue the expansion of commercial space travel here in our great state. Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
The penalties of feel-good energy policies
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| Add caption |
Those, who can afford the up-front costs to take advantage of the free energy from the sun, can avoid paying their utility company anything. They may even feel smug that they have beat the system. With net metering, when they generate extra power, the meter may literally spin backward. When the sun isn’t shining, they use the power they’ve banked. The end of the month total can balance out.
All those billions, blowing in the wind
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| Marita Noon |
The payroll tax extension will be a hot topic over the next few weeks as it expires on February 29. Wind energy supporters are pushing to get the PTC extension included in the bill. Whether or not it is included will be largely up to public response. After all, regarding the PTC's inclusion in the payroll tax extension bill, the February 1 alert stated: “our federal legislators heard us loud and clear.” In the December payroll tax bill negotiations, the wind energy PTC was placed on a “short list of provisions to be extended through that bill.” Wind supporters are worried—hence the rallying cry.
Due to a deteriorating market, Vestas, the world's largest manufacturer of industrial wind turbines, is closing a plant and laying off workers. Everyday citizens, armed with real life information gleaned from the wind energy's decades-long history, are shocking lobbyists and killing back room deals by successfully blocking the development of industrial wind plants in their communities. As it becomes widely known that actual wind energy contracts are coming in at three and four times the cost of traditionally generated electricity, and natural gas prices continue to drop due to its newfound abundance, states are looking to abandon the renewable energy mandates pushed through in a different economic time and a different political era. American Wind Energy Association spokesman Peter Kelley reports: “Industry-wide we are seeing a slowdown in towers and turbines after 2012 that is rippling down the supply chain, and the big issue is lack of certainty around the production credit that gives a favorable low tax rate to renewable energy.” All of this spells trouble for the wind energy industry. Read rest of the column here: News New Mexico
Pearce: President Destroys Conscience Protections
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| Steve Pearce |
Violation of the Constitution - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is aligning against the constitutional protection of one’s conscience and religious beliefs. We have the First Amendment to allow everyone to practice whatever faith in whatever manner without the government dictating the God that they worship. As the National Association of Evangelicals stated in response to this edict, “No government has the right to compel its citizens to violate their conscience.” 
Assault on Catholics - Read rest of column here: News New Mexico
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