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Hooters and polluters { December 17 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.tribstar.com/articles/2003/12/17/news/news05.txthttp://www.tribstar.com/articles/2003/12/17/news/news05.txt
Activist: Energy bill "crony capitalism"
Citizens Action Coalition: Renewable sources of energy could create 20,000 jobs in Indiana
By Peter Ciancone/Tribune-Star
December 17, 2003
America's first step into the future of energy consumption is to ensure the defeat of President Bush's national energy bill, said Grant Smith, utility program director for Indiana's Citizens Action Coalition.
"It's more or less a study in crony capitalism," Smith said. One legislator calls it the "Leave no Lobbyist Behind" bill, Smith said. Another calls it the "Hooters and Polluters" bill after a provision in the 1,500-plus page bill that would help build a popular restaurant in a Louisiana mall.
Smith visited Terre Haute on Tuesday to talk about energy issues.
Bush was the top recipient of campaign contributions from the oil and gas, electric utility, coal and nuclear power industries, Smith said. This bill is payback for that support, written after consultations with them and Vice President Dick Cheney shortly after Bush took office.
Opening access to the transcripts of those meetings, which the White House has refused to do, is now a case in front of the Supreme Court.
Bush's energy bill includes billions of taxpayer dollars in tax credits, subsidies and loan guarantees to industries already heavily subsidized, he said. It will do nothing to ensure energy independence, nor will it foster the economic development opportunities that renewable sources of power provide, Smith said.
The bill passed the House, but stalled in the Senate, largely over a proposal to limit the legal liability of manufacturers of the fuel additive MTBE.
MTBE, a potential carcinogen, has been found in the drinking water or groundwater of several states, including Indiana and Illinois.
While some groups dispute his claims about energy production and use, Smith said a vital resource for Americans to develop is energy efficiency, another element lacking in the president's proposal. Efficiency and conservation could save Americans up to 10 percent of their energy use, he said.
Tying efficiency into use of renewable resources such as wind and solar power could provide many positives: Renewable sources are cleaner than fossil fuel resources, reducing the health care costs associated with the air and water pollution; introduction of renewable sources would serve as an economic engine that could create as many as 20,000 jobs in Indiana in the next 20 years; and a decentralized power system created through renewable sources would make the country less vulnerable to terrorist attacks or to the kinds of blackouts recently experienced on the East Coast.
Steps can be taken in Indiana whether the president's plan passes or not, he added.
Smith said Citizens Action Coalition proposals will be carried to the Indiana State Legislature next year by Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City. The group is seeking other sponsors.
The funding for many of the changes could be found by taking just 1.5 percent of the state's utility companies' annual revenue, Smith said.
Vince Griffin, vice president for environment and energy policy for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said that funding is a tax that will be very hard to convince legislators is necessary.
"It's a tax, no matter how many coats of paint you put on it, and it will carry across all ratepayers," he said.
Griffin said renewable resources ought to be on the table with all other energy alternatives, but the state should work within the existing power production system to give Indiana the best chance to ensure that it has plentiful, inexpensive energy. That means planning for more power generation stations.
He disagreed with Smith's claims about conservation and efficiency. They would at best save 1 or 2 percent for American households, Griffin said.
He started following the president's bill through Congress, but when it grew into the huge bill it has become, Griffin said he distanced himself from closer analysis. He did endorse the creation of a national energy policy, which is one of Bush's goals.
Smith said a national energy policy also is in his group's sights. He said the Apollo Alliance, a newly formed collection of businesses, environmental organizations, labor unions, civil rights and community advocates, takes its name from the Apollo program that first took American astronauts to the moon.
It will take a similar national mandate and effort to change the face of energy usage in America, Smith said.
Peter Ciancone can be reached at (812) 231-4253 or pete.ciancone@tribstar.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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