Is your garden ready for spring? The month of March is the time to hop to it, so it’s a good thing mine is almost ready to plant. The weather is finally warming up after a winter where your cooperative experienced record electric demand due to the cold.
As we all tried to keep warm, I couldn’t help but think of the generation plants I’ve been writing about here for the last few months. The Lowman Energy Center was a big investment for PowerSouth, our generation and transmission cooperative, but it is a wonderful asset, especially when the temperatures drop.
But not everyone is as happy about these kinds of natural gas projects. I was recently reading about a natural gas expansion in the Pacific Northwest that a large coalition of environmental activists is trying to stop. They argue that the project would hurt decarbonization goals and lead to more pollution.
More specifically they say since fossil fuel combustion is the main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, we have to make it our top priority to phase out fossil fuel combustion as quickly as possible. According to them, these next few years are a critical time to act. If we don’t, we won’t be able to escape the worst impacts of climate change.
This is something an “overwhelming consensus of climate scientists” agree on, according to the Fox News story. But back in January, I heard a climate scientist speak who isn’t part of that consensus. Dr. John Christy, from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, told us that all science is numbers. While most of his colleagues say Dr. Christy’s numbers are flawed because his numbers are actual data, he says they show that temperatures were warmer in the ’30s, ’40s and even parts of the ’50s than they are now.
So why are activist groups attacking this natural gas pipeline? After all, the pipeline is already established in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. It doesn’t pass through sacred land or require tearing down mountains. The expansion adds more capacity to the existing pipeline to serve the demand for natural gas. It’s like turning on a water faucet to increase flow. If these states do get rid of the pipeline, they will only hurt themselves.
The company that owns the pipeline seems just as confused, especially given the winter we have just experienced. They noted the extremely cold temperatures across the country and how many Americans relied on natural gas for heat. Without it, many more might have died.
I sympathize with those owners and what they’re up against. Their pipeline is critical to keeping energy affordable and reliable across the West Coast. But all these activists care about is their mission. They insist on stopping new natural gas capacity and replacing what’s already there with green energy sources, like solar.
But even then, they aren’t happy. Let’s say you build a solar panel array that takes up 1,000 acres, which isn’t even a big one. That solar farm generates green energy, but it’s going to be used off-site, which means it has to be transmitted to the consumer. But with the current regulation process, it’s a challenge to even get the permits to carry that energy to the end user.
It’s enough to make you want to cry, uncle. Instead, I encourage you to use common sense and look at the numbers. And if you’re concerned about carbon levels, maybe tend to your garden. Grow some green vegetables, turnips, okra, squash, or some of your own favorite vegetables. After all, plants use carbon during photosynthesis. Sounds like a pretty good way to help the climate to me. Until next month.