Daily Archives: December 7, 2015

Another can’t-miss event from the VTGOP

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Hey, start off the New Year right with an evening of fun, food, and Republicans!

The Vermont Republican Party will be hosting “The Future is Bright: A Rally for an Affordable Vermont.” on January 14th, 6:30pm, at the Barre City Auditorium. Showcasing our statewide candidates, legislative leaders, and party officials, this event will outline our vision for a brighter and more affordable Vermont.

“Statewide candidates,” eh? Well, they’ve got two guys running for governor, one in the hunt for Lite-Gov, and… er… that’s it.

I guess the podium won’t be too crowded. That is, unless the VTGOP pulls several rabbits out of its hat and actually manages to field something like a full slate of credible candidates.

Naaaaah.

But wait, there’s more — this isn’t just a mutual back-slapping and money-grubbing affair. No sirree; it’s a tribute to real American heroes.

In addition to kicking-off our 2016 election efforts, the Republican Party will be launching a year long initiative called “The Year of the Veteran.” At each Vermont Republican Party event, we will be recognizing and thanking veterans for their service and dedication to our Country.

Isn’t that special. And what are we doing to support our Veterans? Besides lip service, that is.

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So you say we can’t do it…

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Well, this is timely.

No sooner do I write a post about Vermont’s leading climate change deniers, than here comes a real success story from an unlikely place:

In less than 10 years, Uruguay has slashed its carbon footprint without government subsidies or higher consumer costs, according to the country’s head of climate change policy, Ramón Méndez.

In fact, he says that now that renewables provide 94.5% of the country’s electricity, prices are lower than in the past relative to inflation. There are also fewer power cuts because a diverse energy mix means greater resilience to droughts.

Until recently, Uruguay was as fossil fuel dependent as the next country. But it developed a sane, balanced, not at all extremist policy that has reaped incredible benefits in a short amount of time: “…renewables account for 55% of the country’s overall energy mix (including transport fuel) compared with a global average share of 12%.”

And they’re meeting more than 90% of their electricity demand “without the back-up of coal or nuclear power plants.”

How did they do it? The sensible way.

There are no technological miracles involved, nuclear power is entirely absent from the mix, and no new hydroelectric power has been added for more than two decades. Instead, he says, the key to success is rather dull but encouragingly replicable: clear decision-making, a supportive regulatory environment and a strong partnership between the public and private sector.

I strongly recommend reading the whole article. It’ll put a smile on your face and a little bit of hope in your heart.

Of course, it’ll also make you wonder why in hell we can’t do it here.

Climate incoherence, stage right

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Very sorry to have missed Thursday’s carbon tax debate, featuring the Good Guys (Paul Burns of VPIRG and UVM’s Jon Erickson) against the Death Star Duo, Rob Roper and John McClaughry of the Ethan Allen Institute.

Oh yes, fair and balanced shall I be.

I’m sure the DSD walked away believing they’d won, because they are dyed-in-the-wool true believers whose outlook is hermetically sealed against the intrusion of actual evidence. Also, lest we forget, they’ve received hundreds of thousands of dollars from out-of-state conservative donors with ties to the Koch brothers.

The really striking thing about their presentation was the difference between Messrs. McClaughry and Roper. McClaughry is an out-and-out denier. Roper acknowledges climate change but says there’s nothing we can do about it, so we shouldn’t even try.

Yeesh.

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