By Marshall McPeek
Meteorologist, Anchor, Reporter
Published: September 2, 2009
Wanna ruffle some feathers?
Start a conversation about global warming, energy use and the economy.
In seconds, you’ll find people ready to call each other names and no one willing to compromise. It’s a fiercely-polarizing issue.
Inside OSU’s 4-H Center on Fred Taylor Drive, a handful of Ohio’s Republican representatives were hosting a “field hearing” about an energy bill. Outside, protesters organized by Environment Ohio chanted slogans for clean energy and wore caveman costumes claiming the Republicans were supporting “stone-aged” policies.
The hearing was chaired by House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Columbus, Indiana) and included House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-West Chester), Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland), Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Galena), Rep. Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) and Rep. Steve Austria (R-Beavercreek). The chairman made it clear at the outset that comments would only be made by the Representatives and the invited guests. Public comment was not on the agenda.
“But let me say very respectfully, this is not a town hall meeting,“ announced Rep. Pence.
The hearing was called to discuss a bill passed by House Democrats in June called the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.“ HR 2454 has come to be called the “Cap and Trade Bill” because it proposes a decreasing cap on carbon emissions and a system of emissions-credit trading. The bill passed the House largely along party lines and is now on the Senate’s calendar for consideration.
The Republicans support an alternative bill HR 2846, proposed by Rep. Boehner called the “American Energy Act.“ They call it an “All Of The Above” approach to energy policy partly because it would allow drilling in off-shore waters and in the arctic and it would push cleaner-coal technology.
Both bills promote advances in green energy and support emissions reductions.
“We think we need clean energy tax credits, clean energy programs, programs that will drive innovation in wind, solar, geothermal and other clean, renewable energy resources,“ says Amy Gomberg of Environment Ohio.
Her group is opposed to drilling in the oceans and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Gomberg also says investment in coal-to-liquid technology is detrimental to the environment.
“We’re suggesting we need to shift our energy policies to actually get us on a path to a clean, sustainable and renewable energy future,“ she says.
The Republican delegation says the Democrats’ bill will raise the cost of energy and destroy thousands of coal, gas and oil industry jobs in Ohio.
“Ohio, actually, is devastated by, almost more than any other state. We are really hurt by this legislation,“ says Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Galena. Tiberi calls the Democratic plan a “huge tax” because, he estimates, the plan would cause a 30 percent increase in electricity bills.
“This is about retaining our quality of life through low-cost energy,“ he says. “Not creating a situation, which Cap-and-Trade does, which will take jobs, send them to Mexico, send them to China, send them to India in the name of climate change legislation.“
David Cohen of Dovetail Solar and Wind, a company that installs solar panels and wind turbines, says the Democrats’ bill will create jobs.
“It will not kill jobs,“ Cohen says. “Our company has doubled in size in the last two years. Our payroll is up 725 percent.“
All of the hearing’s witnesses were sympathetic to the Republican proposal.
“This is a matter of survival,“ testified Harry Alford of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. “[The Democrats’] energy bill does not even address nuclear energy, does not address exploration. And it leaves kind of a lop-sided, throw-the-dice type, if you will, scenario for other alternatives.“
“We think we need clean energy tax credits, clean energy programs, programs that will drive innovation in wind, solar, geothermal and other clean, renewable energy resources,“ said Environment Ohio’s Gomberg from outside the hearing.
Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester, says his bill is languishing in a house committee. “Unfortunately, they’re not going to give it any chance of passing,“ he says. “But at the end of the day the Congress of the United States will do what the American people demand, nothing more, nothing less. If the American people are demanding that we do an all-of-the-above energy plan, it’ll happen.“
Library of Congress provides the text of both bills:
HR 2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (Waxman/D-California)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bssQuery/?&Opt=T&Db=111&srch=/bss/d111query.html&TxtStr=AMERICAN+CLEAN+ENERGY+AND+SECURITY+ACT+OF+2009
HR 2846: American Energy Act (Boehner/R-Ohio)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bssQuery/?&Opt=T&Db=111&srch=/bss/d111query.html&TxtStr=AMERICAN+ENERGY+ACT
Read the article on NBC4's website: www2.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/article/Environmentalists_Wear_Caveman_Costumes_to_Protest_Republican_Energy_Hearin/22386/
