I rarely discuss politics on Heart of Green but
occasionally I just can’t help myself.
Now is one of those times.
In San Francisco on November 4, I strongly urge everyone
to get out and vote first and foremost (rock the vote!), and while you are
there, please consider voting No on Proposition H – the hostile takeover of PG&E. Yes,
hostile. As crazy as it might sound, our local Board of Supervisors is
proposing a $4 Billion unsolicited public takeover of our local gas and electric
utility. This is a very bad idea for at least the following seven reasons:
1. We don’t have $4 Billion to spend right now
2. Do we really want to give the Board of Supervisors the
right to issue bonds in the future to takeover all public utilities (electric,
gas, phone, Internet) without voter approval?
Um, no.
3. We don’t want our energy bills to increase $400 a
year
4. No offense to anyone, but the Board of Supervisors
seems unqualified to run an energy utility, prevent blackouts, keep the lights
(CFLs) on, and lead us into the clean energy century. Think about the Muni
bus system for example. Enough said.
5. Proposition H is not about what is best for San Francisco. It is an
ideological power grab, and a dangerous one.
6. The Board of Supervisor members behind Proposition H
support socialized power, not renewable energy.
They recently voted to build a new fossil fuel burning and polluting
power plant in Potrero Hill.
7. Proposition H will not lead to a cleaner and greener city. There is no guarantee that the energy will be clean. They tried
to call it a "Clean Energy Act" on the ballot but were legally barred because it was not
true. PG&E is a leading solar power utility in the country and earned the
2007 Solar Portfolio Leadership award from the Solar Electric Power Association.
Renewables: PG&E is on track to meet the aggressive renewable
energy portfolio goals set by the state of California for 2010. PG&E’s power mix is currently 14%
renewable, 17% large hydroelectric and 22% natural gas. I have studied this issue in depth and have
come to the conclusion that it is very easy to say "increase renewables to
100%" and very difficult to do this in practice. We need significant federal and state
investment incentives for transmission and storage technology to make this
happen. For example, wind blows mostly at the wrong time, at night when less
energy is needed, and we have no way of storing it currently. PG&E can
invest in large solar thermal plants in the desert which they are doing, but
then how do we bring the energy from the desert to San Francisco? New transmission lines are needed to achieve
radical increases in renewable energy. That said, we should be pursuing the transition from dirty fossil fuel energy to renewables as fast as possible in the spirit of Google's clean energy plan.
As Supervisor Carmen Chu says, “As a city, our priorities need to be solving the budget crisis and
keeping our parks clean and our streets safe. Spending $4 billion on a power
system takeover is the wrong priority.”
So let’s give Proposition H the heave-ho. Let’s keep
the lights on, the renewable energy plans on track, the greenhouse gases in
check, and the money in the residents’ pockets. Let’s not right a blank check
to the SF Board of Supervisors. Please vote No on Proposition H. See also the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial An electrified risk: Reject Prop H
And while you are there, please consider voting Yes on Proposition 2 to help stop cruel animal farming and support family farmers. The web site www.ecovote.org also has some excellent analysis and recommendations on many ballot measures. www.rockthevote.org
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