Kudos to New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas for suing the Environmental Protection Agency in the wake of the Gold King mining spill. This disaster was clearly caused by the EPA and its incompetence.
Unfortunately, on another issue, the “Clean Power Plan,” Balderas has turned against New Mexicans’ best interests. The following map from America’s Energy Alliance (you can go there and find an interactive version of the map) shows which states are going along with Obama’s unconstitutional power-grab to regulate utilities (which should be regulated by the individual states). As is usually the case, New Mexico has aligned itself more closely with California and other leftist-dominated coastal cities than its more economically-free and fast-growing neighbors.
According to calculations from America’s Energy Alliance, New Mexicans will see wholesale rates rise by 10% and retail rates go up by 14% if the Clean Power Plan is implemented. The plan is so “over the top” that the US Supreme Court halted its implementation. The Rio Grande Foundation has joined those suing to stop the Plan.
Lest you think Obama’s “Plan” will have a major impact on the environment, EPA administrator Gina McCarthy testified that the rule would have a ‘minimal’ impact on climate.
I guess Balderas never does a reality check past the green rhetorics.
https://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/issues-2016-what-happens-economy-when-forced-use-renewable-energy-8844.html
What Happens to an Economy When Forced to Use Renewable Energy?
Between 2005, when the EU adopted its Emissions Trading Scheme, and 2014, residential electricity rates in the EU increased by 63%, on average.
◆ Over the same period, residential rates in the U.S. rose by 32%.
◆ Industrial rates in Europe have increased about twice as quickly as in the U.S.
EU countries that have intervened the most in their energy markets—Germany, Spain, and the U.K.—have seen their electricity costs increase the fastest. During 2008–12, those countries spent about $52 billion on interventions in their energy markets.
◆ During 2008–12, Germany’s residential electricity rates increased by 78%, Spain’s rose by 111%, and the U.K.’s soared by 133%.
In 2016 alone, German households will be forced to spend $29 billion on renewable electricity with a market value of $4 billion—more than $700 per household.
◆ The residential electricity rate increase in Germany has been 13 cents per kilowatt-hour—an increase larger than the average cost of residential electricity in the U.S. (12.5 cents).
While European countries have succeeded in creating jobs in the solar and wind industries, their energy policies have also resulted in significant job losses elsewhere.
◆ Germany’s energy minister has warned that the continuation of current policies risks the “deindustrialization” of the country’s economy.
The push for leadership on climate issues has led U.S. policymakers at the federal and state levels to push for European-style energy policies. Hillary Clinton has declared her intent to increase domestic solar-energy capacity to about 140 gigawatts by 2020, a 7-fold increase over current capacity. Bernie Sanders has introduced an energy plan that would require America to get 80% of its energy from renewables by 2050.
This is a much bigger economic fiasco past the space port and Rail Runner.