Check out this recent piece in the Times.
One would not expect to see Barry Goldwater Jr., the very picture of modern conservatism and son of the 1964 Republican nominee for president, arguing passionately on behalf of solar energy customers. But there he was last fall, very publicly opposing a push by Arizona’s biggest utility to charge as much as $100 a month to people who put solar panels on their roofs.
The utilities, backed by conservative business interests, argue that solar users who have lower power bills because of government subsidies are not paying their fair share to maintain the power grid.
Mr. Goldwater and other advocates have struck back by calling the proposed fees a “solar tax,” and have pushed their message in ads on Fox News and the Drudge Report.
Similar conflicts are going on in California and Colorado, with many more to come. And as the issue pops up, conservatives are even joining forces with environmental groups. In Georgia, a Tea Party activist and the Sierra Club formed a “Green Tea Coalition.”
Green Tea...love it! And it makes perfect sense when you think about it.
To Mr. Goldwater, the true conservative path lies elsewhere. “Utilities are working off of a business plan that’s 100 years old,” he said in an interview, “kind of like the typewriter and the bookstore.” On the website for his campaign, Tell Utilities Solar Won’t Be Killed, Mr. Goldwater, a former congressman, says, “Republicans want the freedom to make the best choice.”
He says conservatives are the original environmentalists, especially in the West. “They came out here and fell in love with the land,” he said, and added that his father used to tell him, “There’s more decency in one pine tree than you’ll find in most people.”
Yes, conservatives are the original environmentalists. Let's help them get back to their roots!
Meanwhile, how about yet another severe drought in California? Weren't we warned about this 10 years ago?
2 comments:
Hasn't the historical record warned about this, and much, much worse? I wonder what caused the previous droughts to be so much worse than anything California has experienced since the 1840's? In fact, according the historical charts in the 2nd link (the one from California Dept. of Water Resources), it looks like a bad one is right on schedule.
Past droughts in Calif. have lasted more than 200 years, scientists say
Drought in California
Isn't that fee to support the power grid just like your argument that everybody needs to buy healthcare because 'we're all in this together'?
Alternatively, aren't people who decide that, individually, it make fiduciary sense to install an alternative power generation source just those 'rugged' individualists that you decry?
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