What the Doctor Ordered
January 24th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
This morning, at a hastily-called press conference (perhaps coordinated to follow the President’s eco-oriented State of the Union address last night), state Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson (R-Waco) announced legislation calling for a 180-day moratorium on the permitting of new coal-fired power plants.
The state needs time to “evaluate the whole enchilada,” said Anderson, a veterinarian by trade. “We need to slow down the process and look at all the ramifications.”
Standing in front of photographs of fume-belching smokestacks, Anderson held forth at the press conference on the dire health and environmental effects of coal-burning power plants, sounding ever-so-slightly like a tree-hugger. The moratorium, he said, would give the Legislature time to evaluate alternatives to the 18 proposed plants and an opportunity to actually study what impact burning millions of tons of coal each year would have on air quality.
Anderson pointed out that nine of the 18 proposed coal plants in Texas will fall within a 50 mile radius of Waco. Within this area - what ticked-off locals call “The Ring of Fire” - anti-coal sentiment runs deep. Everyone from the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce to the newly-formed grassroots organization Keep Waco Green are calling for the coal companies to back off. McLennan County, the City of Waco, and the chamber of commerce have even gone so far as to legally intervene in the permitting process for two of the planned facilities, TXU’s Tradinghouse and Lake Creek units.
With such clear local backing, Anderson can probably afford to offend TXU, a major Republic Party financier, friend of Gov. Rick Perry, and darling of Wall Street. The Good Doctor knows the voters have his back.
“It’s incumbent upon me to respect and represent [these constituents’] interests and that, folks, is exactly what I’m going to do,” remarked Anderson.
A fine, if obvious, democratic sentiment, but it’s nonetheless worth noting that Anderson’s bill is a non-binding resolution that “urges the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to impose” the 180 day moratorium. In other words, if passed, it would do nothing more than encourage the TCEQ commissioners to sit on their hands for six months. And even such a moderate proposal as that has to get through a Republican-controlled, hands-off House that will be heavily patrolled by an aggressive phalanx of TXU lobbyists.
February 12th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Bush goes ballistic about other countries being evil and dangerous, because they have weapons of mass destruction. But, he insists on building up even a more deadly supply of nuclear arms right here in the US. What do you think? What is he doing to us, and what is he doing to the world?
If ever there was ever a time in our nation’s history that called for a change, this is it!
We have lost friends and influenced no one. No wonder most of the world thinks we suck. Thanks to what george bush has done to our country during the past three years, we do!