It is very rare indeed when AEA thinks the Denver Post gets it right. Please read carefully, because it may never happen again. Denver Post(10/22/12) reports: “We can think of at least four major reasons why Longmont voters should reject Question 300, a ban on hydraulic fracturing within city limits… 1. The courts will almost certainly overrule it. As recently as 1992, the state high court said Greeley could not impose a “total ban on the drilling of any oil, gas, or hydrocarbon wells within the city limits.” Yet given modern practices, a ban on fracking is nearly equivalent to a total drilling ban.”
Speaking of Longmont, Colorado, it turns out it was founded by a bunch of rich guys from Chicago. And we thought it was just the proximity to Boulder that made them crazy. TimesCall.com (10/20/12) reports: “Opponents of Ballot Question 300, which asks Longmont voters to ban hydraulic fracturing and storage of waste in city limits, have a host of reasons for not supporting a fracking ban, including protecting the rights of mineral rights owners, the threat of multiple lawsuits and the costs to the city associated with them, the strength of protections provided by the city’s agreement with TOP Operating and that the city’s charter is not the place for such a ban.”
Guys like Rob probably make the guys over at a place like AWEA very nervous. Huffington Post (10/22/12) reports: “Just about everyone talks about energy efficiency. Well, energy-versus-energy dueling in Washington, D.C. is energy inefficiency on stilts. How about some political conservation instead? With government more restrained, voluntary consumer decisions would pick winners and losers. The massive D.C. energy money game would shut down. Surely this is a win-win for the 99 percent.”
This is the type of change we believe in.
For everyone who is worried about China, don’t be. They can be every bit as corrupt, ridiculous, and non-sensical as our government. Reuters (10/20/12) reports: “China is working on policies, including subsidies and easier access to the grid, to help its ailing solar power producers expand in the domestic market, the China Daily reported on Saturday, citing industry officials and government sources… The State Grid Corp, China’s largest state-owned utility, is considering giving its subsidiaries at city level the authority to approve solar power plants with less than 10,000 kilowatts of installed capacity to be connected to the grid, said deputy director Meng Xiangan.”
We offer this with no comment. Toronto Sun (10/21/12) reports: “The idea that windmills will save the Ontario economy is the kind of wisdom you might pick up down at the local hemp shop. But wherever the idea came from, it has yet to power Ontario forward. Unemployment in too many cities sits in double digits even as turbines spin in that wayward wind. But even if subsidized wind energy hasn’t powered the mighty Ontario job creation machine, it has been jet fuel for Ontario deficits. According to the McGuinty government’s own projections, Ontario’s debt will eclipse $300 billion sometime in the next three years.”
Well, this can’t be good news. Manufacturing.net (10//12) reports: “Siemens AG says it plans to give up its solar business and concentrate its renewable energy business on wind and hydroelectric power… The German industrial conglomerate said Monday that it’s in talks with possible buyers, but offered no details. It said the move is part of a wider effort to increase its productivity and efficiency.”