Kansas Governor Sebelius Vetoes Power Plants

Kansas is emblematic of the war between sanity and the eco-nuts.  At issue are two 700 megawatt coal-fired power plants that were to be built in Holcolmb, Kansas, a small farming town of 2,000 that sits on the plains of southwest Kansas.  The Kansas legislature has tried and failed twice to build the two power plants.  Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius,  backed by the Sierra Club, vetoed the bills.  The Kansas legislature failed to muster the necessary number of votes to override her veto even though riders were placed in the final bill that would have mandated the energy company, Sunflower, to invest huge amounts in wind and solar energy.

The Governor’s veto is especially ironic in light of the sharply rising cost of oil, not to mention its availability.  But, in the most ironic twist of all, the U.S. has the largest coal reserves in the world.  America is the Saudi Arabia of coal and has known coal reserves of 275 billion tons, which is nearly twice that of Russia and China.

Coal plant opponents are trumpeting the defeat of the power plant bills, saying this is the turning point at which Kansas will lead the country away from old energy sources toward more environmentally friendly types of energy.  Governor Sebelius, who is frequently mentioned as a possible running mate for Barack Obama, is asking legislators to work with her on a new comprehensive energy policy.

As could be expected, the vote fell along regional lines. Legislators who live in and represent the affected area voted for the bills.  Legislators in the more heavily populated eastern regions of Kansas voted against the bills.

The eco-nuts would have everyone believe that Conservatives love the smell of dirty air and prefer that their children and their children’s children be raised on a polluted planet.

The environmentalists have effectively shut down the building of more nuclear and coal fired power plants.  Solar has proved dicey at best in providing reliable ongoing power, so that leaves us with wind energy.
Wind turbines, as an auxiliary energy source shows some promise, but they are expensive to install - and the wind doesn’t blow all the time.
And, wouldn’t you know it, they are opposed by many environmentalists because they kill birds.  So that leaves us with.......?

As usual, the eco-nuts are long on criticisms, but short on coming up with VIABLE alternatives.

Questions:

At what point, will the people wake up and bring some sanity back to our energy policy?

How long will it take to produce viable alternative energy sources?

Will Obama adopt an eco-nut stance on energy?

Comments

[Rook]

We don't have an energy policy, we have an energy debate.
For Sebelius to veto the power plants without having a viable alternative is irresponsible at best; malfeasance is a more accurate term. Econuts are like a myopic race horse wearing blinders, but their idealistic pitch is regularly accepted by lesser minds - not necessarily stupid, just ignorant and unrealistic. Right now there is no viable and reliable alternative to coal. So would they have us go back to the dark ages of candles and fireplaces?
It may take several years to implement new technology, like hydrogen fuel cells or the newer water-burning generators, on a scale wide enough to support the country's power grid. Wind is for individuals and will never be reliable enough to support the grid.
Obama will adopt whatever stance on energy will appeal to the most voters, but he's too intelligent to buy all the econut propaganda. IF he is elected president he will do whatever will work best to meet our needs.

[JM]

The pseudo ecologists will figure it out when the lights go out. I will be buying stock in candle companies.

[bogey]

I can see it all now. In 35 years or so the eco-nuts will be sitting around in their houses freezing because there's no heat, and guess what. It'll all be George Bush's fault.

[Ernie]

At what point sanity? Maybe when gas hits $5/gal. You're asking for eco-nuts to show signs of sanity? Good luck.

Viable replacements? In any quantity large enough to reduce our dependency on oil, maybe never. It took Earth millions of years to develop oil. Can man do it any quicker?

Yes, Hussein Obama will support the eco-nuts. What's even worse...so does McCain.

[Veritas]

The people of Kansas and other states will ultimately adopt a workable and balanced energy policy. That day will arrive after the people have lost faith in promises made by politicians and are faced with higher and higher energy prices while waiting for alternate energy sources to come on line. Brownouts and blackouts will further expedite the return of sanity.

High capacity and cost effective alternate energy sources cannot be put in place overnight. A good guess might be to get something started by 2012 and completed by 2030. With advances in technology there may be alternate sources other than wind, solar and nuclear available in the years ahead.

Whether John McCain or Barack Obama is elected as our next President is not going to have any great effect on what legislation the Congress might enact. Let us not forget that we voters have been hearing about the comprehensive energy policy for more years than we care to remember.