Inconsistent?  Flip-Flop?  Swarthy?  I am not sure what term to use, but the Governor has sent a letter to the conference committee members of the Energy Omnibus bill (SF 145) that seems wholly incompatible with his past statements on the need to address global warming pollution.

From his press release in February:

 ”Minnesota’s electric utilities should prepare for the future by offsetting carbon emissions from new fossil-fuel generation sources,” Governor Pawlenty said. “As we look to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we should not make the situation worse while we try to make it better.”  

That sounds pretty good and I definitely agree with him.  But, from his letter (pdf) yesterday to conferees:

For many reasons, the moratorium language in Article 5, Section 5 of the House language is unacceptable. This language threatens the reliability and the cost-competitiveness of the state’s energy supply by placing a moratorium on nearly all new major transmission lines and generating facilities. I will not allow these important state advantages to be jeopardized.  

First, this statement is inaccurate I believe.  I’ve been looking through the bill the House Passed and the word “transmission” doesn’t even appear in that section.  It is a section on power plants, not transmission lines.  In addition, anyone who wants to build a coal plant would not be affected by this section if they agree to offset their emissions.  The whole section also disappears as soon as a “Cap and Trade” program is put in place.  What’s more, the House already watered down the section by exempting power plants already under consideration at the Public Utilities Commission (such as Big Stone, which the Governor is on record opposing for global warming reasons).

In short, it amazes me that the Governor would threaten a veto to a bill that includes so many great energy provisions over a little section that implements ideas he is on record supporting. 

Word on the street is that At 1 p.m. today the Minnesota Supreme Court will published their long-awaited opinion on a case driving efforts to clean up our lakes and rivers in Minnesota.  Here’s some background: (more…)

Tyrone Hayes has been coming to Minnesota a lot over the last couple of years to discuss his research connecting Atrazine, a herbicide used widely in corn fields in the U.S., to deformities in frogs.  He’s testified at the legislature, been at the heart of controversy with the MPCA, and basically made it his job to educate all he can about why we shouldn’t be using Atrazine.  He’s a good presenter to boot.  He spoke last March at the Humphrey Institute at a program sponsored by MEP member group Friends of the Mississippi River.  FMR now has the video online. 

Two quick updates from today:

Dedicated Funding
Passed by the Taxes and Ways and Means committees today.  Only committee left is Rules (coincidently chaired by the bill author) before a floor vote.

Clean Energy
The conference committee hasn’t met yet to my knowledge, but there is some speculation that the Governor would veto the bill if the infamous Section 5 remains.  It’s already been whacked away at, so I’m not sure what his worries would be.  Such a drastic action would not match his rhetoric from last December.  From a press release following the RES bill sigining:

 ”Minnesota’s electric utilities should prepare for the future by offsetting carbon emissions from new fossil-fuel generation sources,” Governor Pawlenty said. “As we look to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we should not make the situation worse while we try to make it better.”

A unique 200-square-mile stretch of sloping mountains within the Modoc National Forest in Tulelake, California is taking center stage of a dispute between local tribes and a major U.S. power company. For the Pit River Nation, the Medicine Lake Highlands just below California’s border with Oregon is sacred. Tribal members bathe in the Pit River for healing and coming-of-age ceremonies, and medicine men train on its bank. But for the federal government and San Jose-based Calpine Corp., the area is a potential source of power—geothermal energy. Calpine plans to build a 49.5-megawatt facility, enough energy to power 50,000 homes. (more…)

The legislative session only has six days before the constitution tells them to quit working.  There’s still work for the environment left to be done though.  Here’s were a couple of things stand as I understand them.

Clean Energy
Two Clean Energy Minnesota provisions are still in play these waning days.  Energy Efficiency and Global Warming Solutions are both in the House Energy Omnibus bill, which passed last Friday.  The efficiency language matches a bill the Senate passed 64 to 1 many weeks back, so it should remain unchanged.  The global warming language may take more conversation in the conference committee, which I hear will first meet tomorrow (Wed) morning.  Both the House and Senate bills say we need to reduce global warming pollution emissions 80 percent by 2050, which not so coincidently is also what the world’s scientists say.  A process is already underway, initiated by Governor Pawlenty a few months ago, to examine ways of reducing Minnesota’s emissions.  The House has decent language that basically says no more coal-burning power plants (amended Friday to exempt those currently under debate at the Public Utilities Commission) can be built until we have the reduction plan.  This is a commonsense approach that would best be kept during the negotiations and I hope the House conferees will stay strong in protecting it.

Dedicated Funding
The legislature only provided one-quarter of the funds necessary for cleaning up and protecting our lakes and rivers via Clean Water Legacy.  Once again demonstrating that we need a long-term dedicated source of funds if we are going to protect our Great Outdoors.  The Senate passed a version of the bill Friday by a vote of 52 to 14.  A companion version, though different, has been hopping in the House.  It is currently in the House Tax Committee, where I hear a final vote has been delayed as arms are twisted.  There should be only a couple more stops before the House floor for this bill.  Hopefully, a conference committee can work out details quickly that’ll be acceptable to all - including the voters.

There is still time to get this all done, but the legislators will definitely have to want it.  If they succeed, this will prove to be a strong year for protecting Minnesota’s environment.

By MEP Lobbyist John Tuma 

“To anyone who has spent a winter in the north and known the depths to which the snow can reach, know the weeks when the mercury stays below zero, the first hint of spring is a major event. You must live in the north to understand it. You cannot just come up for it as you might go to Florida for the sunshine and surf. To appreciate it, you must wait for it a long time, hope and dream about it, and go through considerable enduring.”
–Sigurd F. Olson, The Singing Wilderness
(more…)

The U.S. is nothing if not a nation of paradoxes. Consider these statistics from Daniel Imhoff’s new book, Food Fight: Americans spend $110 billion annually on illnesses caused by obesity, but nearly 40 million people (12 percent of all households) grapple with “food insecurity”—that means they often experience hunger or need to skip meals to get by. A lot of those people are children. There are many reasons for these extremes, and one of them is a dysfunctional government commodity subsidy system that makes high-fat, sugar saturated crap cheaper than healthy whole foods. So even when people who struggle with hunger do get access to food, it’s often the kind that impoverishes them nutritionally. It’s one of the reasons obesity rates are often highest in low-income communities. As journalist Andrew Martin writes, “That disparity points out an awkward truth about the USDA: what it urges people to eat to remain healthy does not match what it pays farmers to grow.” One way to deal with this problem is to reform federal agriculture policy and make the 2007 Farm Bill a true “food and farm” bill. There is also a more immediate, localized way to bring some sanity back into the food and farming system: support Harvest for the Hungry. (more…)

The Governor’s Conservation Legacy Council has presented their recommendations to the Governor.  The Governor put out a press release that summarizes their three points as this: (more…)

For those looking for alternative ways to help out Minnesota’s environmental community in one way or another, consider these two options:

Photo Contest - The Minnesota Environmental Fund is having a photo contest.  They are looking for local images that demonstrate the importance of our environment, so submit yours by June 21.

Online Auction - There is an online auction underway this month, with proceeds benefiting a number of state-based organizations from around the country, including MEP.  Some of the items up for bid include grass fed beef, from Cannon Falls’s 1000 Hills Cattle Company, outdoors apparel, organic dairy products for a year from Organic Valley, and even a Prius.  Check it out at http://www.selp.cmarket.com.  Bidding on some products ends soon and all bidding ends May 25.