Palin's Refusal To Join in Nation's Energy Savings Plan: Wrong For U.S., Wrong for Alaska

Last week Governor Palin set herself apart from every other Republican and Democratic Governor in the nation. It's a "distinction" our Governor may enjoy. But it's one I'd rather not have -- as an Alaskan, or as an American who believes in President Obama's goal of reducing America's dependence on foreign energy.

Governor Palin became the first Governor in the nation to refuse to accept energy funds the President offered as part of his economic stimulus package. While even the most conservative Governors are working with President Obama on their state' plans to join this national effort, Governor Palin chose the opposite course. Last week she vetoed the Alaska Legislature's acceptance of $28 million the President and Congress have offered Alaska to create a renewable energy and energy savings plan. All we had to do to accept the funds was commit to do the rational. We just had to certify Alaska would make a good faith effort to adopt rational energy efficiency standards (the IEEC), and begin 90% compliance with it by 2017.

The nation's construction industry is already gearing up to follow energy efficiency standards because, well, they save money. As I tried to inform the Governor, our own state residential housing agency, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, already requires compliance with this code for any construction it finances. And our normally conservative state Homebuilders Association supports its adoption because it makes sense. And cents.

Here are a few more reasons I could do without this "only one of 50 states" distinction.

Alaska has the highest energy prices in the nation. The solution to the problem isn't rejecting funds that could be dedicated to build wind, hydro and other renewable energy production.

Urban Alaska is facing a dangerous short-term shortage of natural gas, and high diesel and other energy costs. We need renewable energy sources on our electric power grid to lessen our reliance on natural gas and high cost diesel fuel.

Much of rural Alaska is facing an even more acute shortage of affordable, reliable energy. In most of our rural communities Alaskans rely heavily on barging and flying in diesel fuel. That's dangerous. Last winter diesel hit a pocket-emptying $8-$9 a gallon in many remote communities. Many Alaskans in these communities were asked, in effect, to choose between food and heat.

Governor Palin's decision is as ironic as it is troubling.

Ironically, the state is likely to adopt the efficiency measures required by federal law -- and just not get the $28 million offered to us for doing so. What Governor Palin has done is as effective as spending your time blowing dandelion seeds into the wind. I'm confident Alaska will eventually adopt standards for smart, energy efficient construction, and the private sector is already doing this. In that sense, the construction world is passing us by. It's hard to stop the world from progressing towards energy efficient construction. Consumers want it because it saves us money. The nation wants it because it protects our national security. We'll end up following along, and just not get the $28 million the President has offered for doing this.

Want a little more irony? Our Legislature, led by Senator Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel), launched an impressive plan to help Alaskans make their homes more energy efficient. We can't all build new homes, so at a cost of more than $300 million, the state is helping us upgrade the energy efficiency of the homes we live in today. I'll let the Governor work on the argument that we should spend money for costly home retrofits, but not on making new homes energy efficient in the first place. Building our schools and homes the right way is a lot cheaper than coming in afterwards, ripping down drywall, ceilings and floors, to do what we could have done more cheaply in the first place.

The President is asking us to look forward, and save money to boot. The Governor is in effect asking us to spend more by looking backwards.

As a legislator, I'm left with this basic question. What can we do?

Many are requesting a veto override from the Legislature. That was my first instinct too. But (we're still researching this) a veto override may not accomplish anything productive. The Governor has to affirmatively apply for the available federal funds, and promise the President that Alaska will join 49 other states by committing to make the required progress on energy efficiency standards. If Governor Palin won't do that, we cannot receive the federal funds. We can't force the Governor to make that commitment with a veto override.

In the meantime, the smartest thing we can all do is let the Governor know, in e-mails to her and letters to the newspaper, and public discussion elsewhere, what we think. When faced with a logical argument, a reminder of the nation's national security goals, and a vibrant public discussion about local energy needs, Governor Palin would do well to re-think her position.

Sometimes you have to stand on an island, alone, on principle. Sometimes, when you're alone on an island and everyone else is happily waving as they pass by, you need to think twice about your decisions. This is one of those times.

The 49 Governors who are trying to work with the President to comply with our nation's energy efficiency efforts are right. Like them, we could use the funds for needed energy projects, and will benefit by joining the national move towards more energy efficient construction. I hope the Governor thinks again about this one. Staying on this island's getting pretty expensive.

Comments

[SharpDressedMan]

The legislators can do something about Palin's denial of the stimulus funds for energy programs. Next time the governor asks for money for a bridge, road, pipeline or pet project to nowhere, insist on her first approving the stimulus funds to somewhere. Politicians frequently make such deals.

[tompoe]

Alaska is in no position to complain about a shortage of natural gas. The state simply needs to stop exporting to Japan and Russia, and take care of the state residents' needs.

[demimckingwoodtx]

As one that lived in Alaska can report the cost of fuel in the state is a joke, and the black soot that accumulates on the walls and clothes and everything that that is in your home is awful, this should have been #1 on the stimulus list.

[trisha08]

Palin was sold as the energy expert? Really? So, wasting energy is all part of her plan, right?

[nady]

Yes, she would have signed up to receive the money if it was for her to buy clothes. However, since it's serving the interest of the people who elected her in office then her interest is not quite piqued to accept the money. I say Alaskans should vote her brainless behind out of office. She's a total idiot who think that life is all about pageantry.

[conserv47]

Its ok. Let the HATE flow!! Its not good to keep all that inside.

[trisha08]

Give me a break. Just like the GOP is "letting the hate flow" regarding Sotomayor?

[warriorwoman73]

LOL! Don't make me laugh while I'm trying to drink my coffee.

It is a FACT that Sarah Palin vetoed the Alaska Legislature's acceptance of $28 million the President and Congress offered Alaska to create a renewable energy and energy savings plan. What does "hating" have to do with anything?

Why don't you expend your energy toward something worthy of it? Championing simple Sarah on this board will get you nowhere.

[jaybone23]

Yes, this should have been a "no-brainer". Having said that, Gov. Palin, seemingly lacking a brain, STILL should have been able to do the correct thing in this case. Her unwillingness to act in pragmatic fashion on this issue makes me wonder. "What is UP with this woman?" I simply cannot understand the bone-headed moves she continues to make and why some people insist she will be a powerful player come 2012.

[absolutetruth09]

This makes me love Palin.....­I see a 2012 upset.....­.No way the Republicans buy this BS...They better wake up

[mychagall]

Yes this is good news, there will be a Palin upset again!

[Alaska2]

Thank you Rep. Gara. As usual, you are a voice of reason and I appreciate you and your thoughtful post.

[veeesh]

Obama should call her out on this and ask her to defend her position. We should question the motive and true intentions of the politicians in the public spotlight on a position as significant as this, which is favoured by practically everyone for obvious reasons.

[Lee323]

Excellent post, Rep. Gara.

Here's another irony regarding Palin's veto of energy stimulus funds:

Palin is sending a letter to President Obama to ask for federal funds to help with the current flooding crisis in Alaska. Ironically, part of her supporting argument for those funds is the very same fuel/food crisis in the rural villages that she ignored in January of this year.

In ADN and quoted in the blog, Alaska Real:

""Western Alaska communities have the highest average heating fuel ($7/gallon) and gasoline prices ($6.75/gal­lon). Most rely on limited seasonal employment ... Residents were choosing between food and fuel even before the floods and several communities affected by the floods had requested state economic disaster declaratio­ns."

What it doesn't say is that the state denied those requests."

http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/
----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­---

Actually, "irony" doesn't really cover it........ Hypocrisy and cynical political calculation are much better descriptors for Palin's actions in using the energy crisis in rural Alaska as part of her argument for soliciting other federal funds.....­AFTER she vetoed energy funds that could have helped these same villagers prepare for the coming winter!!

On second thought...­...Forget "hypocrisy and cynical political calculatio­n".......t­he descriptors have finally devolved to "crazy and ignorant."

[mychagall]

Hypocrisy works as does political calculation, add in political posturing, add in agenda and crazy, ignorant, destructive, incompeletent, lazy, stupid. Any of these words will work!

[sjones66]

Palin ndoes "energy":

"Her lack of depth was painfully on display last week when she was asked at a Michigan town meeting, "I'd like to know that all that oil we're going to drill here is going to stay here domestically and it's not going to be exported by the oil companies.­" You can listen to her answer here:

"Oil of coal, of course, is a fungible commodity and they don't flag, ya know, the molecules where, where it's going to, where it's not, but and in the, in the sense of the Congress today they know our very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first. So I believe that what Congress is going to do also is not to allow the export bans to such a degree that it's Americans who get stuck holding the bag without the energy source that is produced here, pumped here; it's gotta flow into our domestic markets first."

Not quite Miss Teen South Carolina territory, but borderline gibberish, self-contradictory, and kind of pointless. "

salon again....t­hank you for the word salad energy "policy", sarah:-( and please stay away from public office in the future.

[trisha08]

Wow....wha­t a brainiac. You can tell when Palin is just throwing out bull (which is most of the time), as she just starts to do this little ramble-wor­d-scramble­-thingy.

[sjones66]

" Let me speak specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table, Charlie, and that's with the energy independence that I've been working on for these years as the governor of this state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy.

FactCheck.org notes that this is "simply untrue." Instead of "nearly 20 percent," try "under 3 percent." On Sept. 14, Palin corrected that to: "My job has been to oversee nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas." In fact, as the Washington Post notes, "according to authoritative EIA [Energy Information Administration] data, Alaska accounted for just 7.4 percent of total U.S. oil and gas production in 2005." The Post gives her its highest (which is to say lowest) rating of "Four Pinocchios" for "continuing to peddle bogus statistics three days after the original error was pointed out by independent fact-check­ers." "

http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/09/24/sarah_palin_energy/

[ThinkCreeps]

But La Palin is the US's biggest energy expert: Johnnie Crash-Pants said so.

[Dale07]

You may not post this, but it is amazing how juvenile people get in regard to Palin. School children don't whine this much.

[2008CaliforniaFan]

Unlike the ' whine ' Press Statement that Palin made , through SArahPAC spokesperson, about Levi Johnston going on Tyra....?

You know the one where she said Levi was" making up lies... and doing it just for the money".

How could he be telling lies.... if He hadn't even said anything yet...?
Did she know this through ESP... or something.

She should have been able to tell that Bristol was going to get pregnant if she can ' see the future'.

[Dale07]

I rest my case.