Dear Senator Murray:
I read in today's New York Times that Liquefied Coal is rapidly gaining support in Congress, roughly in parallel to the amount of lobbying money the coal industry has been handing out in the other Washington.
Surely a bit of hyperbole is called for in this latest blatant money-for-legislation kabuki that is in direct conflict with what this country needs to do to prepare for an energy policy that both limits our dependencies on other countries while paving the way, so to speak, for reduced emissions to reverse the effects of global warming.
Everything I've read about energy policy suggests that there is no silver bullet technology that will magically allow the continuation of limitless suburban sprawl, SUV driving, and other touchstones of a certain vision of a free America. Americans must learn to be more energy efficient above and beyond all other goals in order to be less dependent on foreign oil, and to reduce the damage we are doing to our planet.
That being said, as I'm sure you already know, there are a wide variety of alternative, truly renewable energy technologies. Our state is a progressive state, and our city is a progressive city. I was able to tick a box and kick in $12/month to use wind power! I was out at the Gorge this Memorial Day weekend and I smiled when I saw all the windmills up on the ridge. It was beautiful.
Thomas Friedman has repeatedly pointed out that setting a floor on the price of oil at $40/barrel is one way to spark innovation and investment in alternative energies. Why should only the coal industry benefit from this legislative largess? Indeed, all forms of energy should be catalyzed by this progressive bit of price control. Our state in particular has a number of potential technologies, from my personal favorite, cellulosic ethanol, to wind power.
I write to urge you to vote against any legislation around subsidizing liquid coal -- an obvious pork barrel debacle that goes against science and stifles the free market while promoting the least cost-effective use of my tax dollars and guaranteeing increased pollution, not to mention the destruction to communities that coal mining causes. Most coal communities in Kentucky and West Virgina don't even want the jobs that the industry offers, because they now know first hand the price they will pay -- the complete destruction of their land and way of life. The only beneficiaries will be industry titans, those with the nosebleed seats in that don't even exist anymore in today's Bush-designed tax brackets.
Sincerely
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