Its no joke that one of President Barrack Obama's main goals once in office is to curb America's dependence on fossil fuels. The question yet to be answered is will this upcoming federal regulation of greenhouse gasses affect the Texas and not to mention other state economies? Because of the amount of coal and natural gas power plants in Texas, as well as chemical and oil refineries, Texas's economy could be significantly affected by this future regulation. Texas Governor Rick Perry has urged for the same example that Texas has set at renewable energy, to be copied at the Federal level. Texas has chosen the route of increasing its wind power development, rather than regulate greenhouse gasses.
However if change is what the new President-Elect is about then perhaps it will be time for such states like Texas to begin regulating their greenhouse gases. A good example of non-regulation would be the Martin's Lake coal power plant, just outside of Longview TX. This plant is argue ably one of the top ten dirtiest in the nation, with smog reaching clear to the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. Just recently Texas Energy giant Luminat (formerly TXU) was notified that the Sierra Club intends to sue for thousands of air pollutant violations.
Perhaps Texas's economy will be hindered by this new regulation; but it seems the most moral direction to take at this point. Oil, coal, natural gas; these resources are not going to be put on the shelf and forgot of anytime soon; but they can be made better, cleaner...regulated. Texas has a budget surplus of well over $11 Billion, perhaps its time that Texas considered drastically improving its energy infrastructure.
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In this editorial article, author jhn26 discusses the potential implications of President-elect Obama's energy plan for the US, and how such a plan might affect the State of Texas. The author goes on to comment on Texas' energy policies - good and bad - and how these policies may translate into a workable solution to the nation's growing energy- and pollution woes.
The author is able to make several valid points throughout his article, but unfortunately they don't all come together very cohesively. Despite this, however, the author's final point noting Texas' $11 billion surplus - with an unanswered question as to how that money will change the state's energy policy - leaves the reader to question how best we as a state should approach this difficult issue.
By leaving questions for the reader to answer, as well as filling his article with poignant arguments, the author connects well to his audience. Many people would do well to consider his point of view with an open mind.
I agree with John, in that Texas should think about regulating several of our coal power plants. He brings Texas’ environmental impact to the reader’s attention and leaves a good question in the mind at the end. The links offer more support to his argument and he does a great job of raising concern. Perhaps he could have put more personality in his writings to persuade or excite readers more about this issue. Also, I would have liked to see paragraphs. Over all, good job and keep it up!
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