Tag: Environment

The wind tunnel effect of prop 2 and 4 puffery by labor leaders smelling the money of forced union membership might  seem to be enough to be filling the sails of prop 3, but alas, no amount of hot air, deep sighs or physical reality matches the required blow to make it happen.  Prop 3 is a non starter from the physics sense alone:

"That's because almost the entire state of Michigan is "poor" or "marginal" for wind as a resource at 50 meters above ground (see image), according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The information says Michigan's best wind opportunities at 50 meters, which would be classified as "excellent" and "outstanding," are all located offshore.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory says annual wind speeds of about 6.5 meters per second at 80 meters or higher are "generally considered to have a resource suitable for wind development."  "

Its not the point.

The use of energy and accompanying pollution that must surely be generated by coal fired and natural gas generation must surely be stopped.  Certainly, if we do that, then wind and solar technology by necessity will have to be improved or we all starve, lose our modern conveniences and health maintenance devices. (you know refrigeration, medical apparatus etc..) If only we would understand "necessity is the mother of invention", damn it!

And in the meantime a little equalization wouldn't hurt the dying planet too.

A demand for engineers in Michigan:

"Andrew Watt says he figures the shelf life of an auto engineer looking for a job in Michigan is about three days. Companies that wait longer than that will have to get back in line for the next candidate.

"If their skills are even on the edges of automotive, they can get a job," said Watt, whose iTalent LLC in Troy finds engineering and information technology workers for companies in nine states. "There's an extreme shortage. There's way more demand than supply."

Demand, Supply ..  Funny how such things work.

The long term effect of our emerging technical interaction with each other will continue to create demand for such things as better engineered automobiles, heavy equipment and other manufactured goodies.  But the most important thing that ties it all together is electricity.  Cheap, abundant electricity that will continue to power the goodies, toys, and necessary equipment that keeps us healthy, mobile, and interactive.

Environmentalists in Michigan, need to mature into the continuing reality of our still relatively industrial state.  Those idealists growing up and believing the world of The Lorax exists around us need to stop believing in the fairy tale promises of such efforts as the United Nations 25x25 plan which will appear on your Michigan ballot in November.

DR. Seuss is dead.

And yes, I DID say, the United Nations plan.

The Environmental Protection Agency is known throughout corporate culture for its excessive, confusing, and extremely expensive regulations. The EPA's undying lust for climate control policies has been limiting job growth and crippling innovation. Business development has consequently suffered, citing numerous EPA regulations, such as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and the Clean Air Act. The American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute(ACCCI) believes that under the draconian rule of the EPA our Nation's businesses may fall behind the international competition, stating:

"In recent months, EPA has undertaken an unprecedented regulatory agenda by promulgating or proposing a host of rules in the areas of air, water, solid waste, greenhouse gases, and toxic chemicals ... in a nutshell, these new regulations will create permitting obstacles to expand and modernize our facilities and will impose significant additional costs that are difficult recoup in the face of intense international competition."

And with all of these regulations, where is the pay off? How do these blanket policies affect the individual? Upon hearing stories of small communities that are riddled with mesothelioma symptoms, you have to wonder why the EPA doesn't address issues like this more directly. Even today, individuals are just discovering that their homes and offices are insulated with asbestos. Because mesothelioma doesn't surface for up to 20 years after exposure, such a discovery can be devastating for the families who find asbestos in their home. With the mesothelioma life expectancy being no longer than fourteen months at most, American citizens are dying while the EPA stands there twiddling their thumbs and obstructing our corporations.

Slashing the EPA's budget is a necessity if we wish to create jobs, improve business, and regulate our deficit. Obama has admittedly proposed a 2012 budget cut of $1.6 billion dollars to the EPA, however the cut is only intended to reduce funding for states' clean water and drinking projects. The global climate change initiate of the EPA will remain an economic behemoth. Our business will still suffer excessive regulations. It is agitating, to say the least, that our current administration is destroying businesses in favor a trendy environmental agenda.

While clean water, a clean environment, and an overall concern for our planet are positive things, the current opportunity cost for the EPA's regulations tip the scale unfavorably for our nation. We can only hope that in the near future we are able to find a balance between environmental conservation and the prosperity of American industry.

I wrote about the opinion MI AG Mike Cox made yesterday basically telling Governor Granholm that she can't just do whatever she wants. Specifically, that she exceeded her statutory authority in having the DEQ do things well beyond its charter. Like predict the energy mix in the future. In fact, I pointed out this quote in a prior post (Scrooge takes away Michigan's lump of coal! ) that was made by Russ Harding, former director of the Michigan DEQ:

Requiring the DEQ to make critical decisions about Michigan's future energy mix is a recipe for stagnation or worse.

Maybe the environitwits can think of this as "investing in our decaying infrastructure." You know - "creating jobs." There! Is that better now?