Olympia Business Watch

Brunell: There are better, less costly ways to reduce greenhouse gases

The AWB opposes cap-and-trade legislation, but supports a stronger, cleaner energy future, AWB President Don Brunell writes in his weekly column.

Wind energy, hydro-electric systems, clean coal and other fossil fuels all are needed, Brunell writes.

Now is the time for another look at nuclear energy, too, he says. France gets 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, which continues to make stead progress in plant safety and in reprocessing spent fuel rods.

"Like hydro, nuclear energy produces no carbon dioxide," Brunell writes.

Opponents of cap-and-trade are not taking a "do nothing" position on the environment, he says. They just want to make sure Congress does not ignore the costs that are associated with protecting the environment.

EPA administrator admits cap-and-trade won't help if U.S. acts alone

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson confirmed an analysis from her agency Tuesday that shows any effort the U.S. undertakes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will have no effect on the climate unless other countries also join in.

Her comment came as the U.S. Senate picks up the debate on controversial cap-and-trade legislation that won narrow approval last month in the House of Representatives.

As if on cue, the next day China, India and other developing countries refused to accept mandatory emissions controls that the Group of 8 nations, gathered in Italy for talks dominated by climate change, hoped they would agree to.

There may be a lesson here for Washington state officials, who have pondered either a state or regional cap-and-trade system.

Brunell asks Gov. Gregoire to support proposed Skamania wind project

AWB President Don Brunell sent a letter to Gov. Gregoire last week asking her to support the Whistling Ridge Wind Project, a 75-megawatt wind project proposed by SDS Lumber Co.

Brunell told the governor that the AWB is taking the unusual step of intervening with the state's Energy Site Evaluation Council on behalf of the lumber company because of the precedent-setting nature of the project northwest of White Salmon.

Many potential wind generating sites are located in forest land areas, Brunell noted. In addition, I-937 requires 15 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable generating sources within the Bonneville Power Administration service area, not counting hydro and some biomass sources.

In order to comply with the requirement, "projects such as Whistling Ridge must come on line as soon as possible," Brunell wrote.

The project is located outside of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and has the support of the Skamania County Commissioners. It would produce enough electricity to power 20,000 homes, and provide an important generating source to replace Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, which is scheduled to be demolished.

The Friends of the Gorge and some folks who have moved into an area adjacent to SDS Lumber Co. lands oppose the project, even though it is clearly outside the scenic area boundaries.

Read The (Vancouver) Columbian's article on the issue here.

Galloping Gertie stars in anti-cap and trade ad

The national debate over greenhouse gas reduction took on a Northwest flavor this week with the unveiling of a new ad starring Galloping Gertie, the original bridge across the Tacoma Narrows.

American Solutions for Winning the Future, a group led by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, launched the ad entitled "The Breaking Point" today. The ill-fated bridge serves as a metaphor for the troubled American economy.

As the bridge twists and turns in the wind, the narrator warns that the Waxman-Markey bill - which seeks to create a cap and trade system for carbon emissions - is a national energy tax that could push the American economy to its breaking point.

With a vote on the bill possible this week in Congress, the narrator urges viewers to call or write their congress person "before it's too late."

AWB President Don Brunell weighed in on cap and trade in a recent column, making a similar argument. Brunell called cap and trade a $650 billion tax on all Americans.

(He just didn't use Galloping Gertie to help make the case.)

Brunell: Cap-and-trade is really a $650 billion tax on all Americans

President Obama's "cap-and-trade" proposal is really a $650 billion tax hidden in the form of higher energy costs, AWB President Don Brunell writes in his column this week.

The figure is the estimated amount of money the system would bring into the government over 10 years. Industries and energy producers would have no choice but to pass those costs along to customers in the form of higher energy prices, he writes. Working families would be hit hardest by the inevitable jumps in natural gas, electricity and gasoline prices.

"Cap-and-trade has been in effect in Europe since 2005," Brunell writes. "It has crippled countless businesses while doing virtually nothing to reduce CO2 levels. Before the U.S. jumps into something that jeopardized our entire economy, lawmakers should slow down and ask some hard questions."

Brunell: There is no magic answer to our energy problems

Washington residents seem conflicted about energy, AWB President Don Brunell writes in his weekly column. On the one hand, they want more clean energy and narrowly approved Initiative 937, which requires utilities to buy more renewables.

But I-937 does not count hydropower - a clean, renewable and affordable source of 70 percent of our electricty - and it severely restricts where utilities can buy wind, solar and biomass energy.

Likewise, while we claim to support development of clean fossil fuel technology even as we block its development, Brunell writes.

"Sometimes I think Americans are Dorothy looking for the Wizard of Oz. We are traipsing down the yellow brick road in search of a simple solution to our energy problems. In reality, there is no Wizard and there are no magical ways to avoid tradeoffs. The simple fact is we have become an increasingly energy dependent world."

Oil, natural gas, alternative energy still factors in 'energy security'

Alternative fuels will not replace oil and natural gas in the near future, Denise McCourt of the American Petroleum Institute said Wednesday during the second day of the AWB's spring board meeting in Spokane.

By 2030, the U.S. alone will require 9 percent more energy than it used in 2007, and the world will need 50 percent more energy, McCourt said.

"We're going to need everything that's possibly out there to meet this demand," she said.

McCourt emphasized the importance of "energy security" for the nation's future, and she attempted to dispel some misconceptions about the industry, including one that companies are not building more refineries in an attempt to manipulate prices. It's true that there are fewer refineries now, but it's because building new ones is difficult, she said. An attempt to build a new refinery in Yuma, Ariz. is now seven years old, McCourt said. At the existing refineries, capacity has been expanded, she added.

Business input sought on EPA finding

Next week, Seattle will be a hotbed of protest and debate over the regulation of greenhouse gases.

After a thorough scientific review ordered in 2007 by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed finding that six greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide — endanger public health and contribute to air pollution.

Next week, the EPA will hold just two hearings on the matter. The first will be next Monday, May 18 in Arlington, Va. and the second will be on Thursday, May 21 at Bell Harbor International Conference Center in downtown Seattle. These hearings, particularly the one in Seattle, are significant in many ways. First, politically, this is shaping up as a battle between the White House and Congress over where the changes are made. Second, an endangerment finding by EPA would trigger regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the federal Clean Air Act and pre-empt congressional debate on an issue that would impact all sectors of the struggling economy.

AWB believes policy decisions related to greenhouse gas are best made at the federal level by Congress and not through agencies like the EPA, and is coordinating testimony with a cross-section of business groups, including Associated Oregon Industries, National Association of Manufacturers, Northwest Pulp and Paper Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Western States Petroleum Association.

Everything you need to know about the public hearing and directions on how to get there is available here. Testimony is being taken on a reservations-only basis, and as of last Friday, there were just a few evening spots left. Written comments may also be submitted but must be received by June 23.

The National Association of Manufacturers has established a Web site that allows you to comment on the EPA's "endangerment finding" and sign onto a letter that will be submitted to the federal agency, as well. 

The Wall Street Journal Has It Right....Obama's Cap and Trade Proposal Taxes Families

The Wall Street Journals said it best!  The proposal to put a cap on emissions on facilities (and eventually cars and homes) emitting carbon-based pollutants, such as carbon dioxide, and charge those exceeding their limits, or cap, a hefty tax is really a tax on working families.  Here are excerpts from the Journal's editorial today:

Cap and trade is the tax that dare not speak its name, and Democrats are hoping in particular that no one notices who would pay for their climate ambitions. With President Obama depending on vast new carbon revenues in his budget and Congress promising a bill by May, perhaps Americans would like to know the deeply unequal ways that climate costs would be distributed across regions and income groups.

Olympia Business Review - Episode Nine: Western Climate Initiative and Climate Change

In episode nine of the Olympia Business Review, Grant Nelson joins us to review the Oct. 31 presentation at AWB on the Western Climate Initiative and what it could mean to businesses in Washington state.

Issues covered: Climate Change, Cap and Trade, Western Climate Initiative

To download the podcast, click here.