Guest Opinion: Protecting the Environment and the Economy

 

 

By Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)
Ranking Member, Committee on Energy and Commerce

 

This is the first of two guest opinion columns on the issue of global climate change. Next month we will feature an opposing view.

 

At the first of many House Energy and Commerce Committee hearings on global warming this year, there seemed to be bipartisan commitment to four values: (1) keeping the lights on, (2) keeping mobility affordable, (3) holding down natural gas costs, and (4) protecting American jobs. 

 

Today, each of these values is in jeopardy. Availability of resources to generate power is less certain now than it has been at any time since Edison. Experts expect power demand to increase some 40% over the next couple of decades to sustain economic growth and expand the use of efficient technologies that actually reduce emissions.  

 

Meeting this new power demand won't be easy. No one has applied for a nuclear plant license in 28 years, and we still have not solved the nuclear waste issue. We cannot be serious about reducing greenhouse gases and meeting our energy needs without facilitating nuclear plant development. We must also continue using coal, which supplies half of America's electricity. Taxing or capping coal would drive consumer costs up and jobs offshore. 

 

Our second value, keeping mobility affordable, means improving vehicle fuel efficiency and stabilizing fuel costs through greater domestic development of conventional and alternative fuel sources. I propose a 35 mile-per-gallon standard for cars by 2022. It's ambitious, but industry experts say it's achievable without destroying many jobs. I also propose requiring that a greater percentage of U.S. vehicle fuel comes from sources other than crude oil. I would include coal-to-liquid, advanced biofuels, and other alternatives to unstable foreign oil and corn-based ethanol.

 

Our third value, holding down natural gas costs, is also crucial for consumers and workers. Domestic natural gas supplies are not keeping pace with rising demand as power plants shift to natural gas. The result is that the price of natural gas and everything made from it has skyrocketed. Capping carbon dioxide emissions will only exacerbate this problem. Pricing coal out of contention would cause even further shifting to natural gas because nuclear energy production has stalled, and wind and solar don't thrive in many regions.   

 

That brings us to protecting American jobs. As natural gas and electricity prices rise, more American jobs move offshore. Recent expansion for some chemical manufacturers has occurred entirely outside the United States while American plants have closed. Capping CO2 will accelerate this trend. This is one reason why China passed us this year in CO2 emissions and isn't looking back. If China and India don't cap CO2, will we ever detect the signature of a U.S. CO2 cap in climate conditions anywhere on earth? No scientist I've talked to thinks so. Whatever we do, or agree to do, won't matter without action by China and India, and experts don't foresee action by either country. It's no surprise. Why would they hamstring their own economies just as they are beginning to develop?     

 

And should we really consider hamstringing our economy? We need the Chamber's voice to get Congress to focus on the four values.