Biden’s Power Plants Plan

By FRANK LINGO

President Biden is poised to introduce a massive carbon-reducing plan for America’s utilities. According to an April 23 New York Times article, power plants in the United States cause about 25% of our industrial carbon dioxide production.

Biden’s regulation would require the capture or elimination of nearly all CO2 emissions by 2040. Carbon capture technology has improved, according to the article, and tax credits would offset much of the costs borne by the utilities. The pollution preventative is currently used by fewer than 20 of our 3,400 coal and gas-fired plants.

Unsurprisingly, Repugnican politicians are launching a counter-attack on the president’s plan. Of course, that’s because the conservatives’ campaign bills are partially paid by their friends in fossil fuels.

Conservative columnist Stephen Moore had a piece in the New York Sun, an ironically named paper, where Moore claimed that Biden’s plan to shut down power plants is a dangerous assault on America’s free enterprise system. Moore’s claims are easily refuted. Almost 17 years is a long time for them to convert (not shut down), and anyway some of the older plants will be retired before the deadline. There is also the principle that the public good supersedes profligate profit, a concept conservatives don’t consider.

There are some legitimate concerns with the plan, though. One is the idea that those plants should be switched to renewable energy instead of beating the dead horses of coal and gas whose extraction alone can harm the land, air and water. Another problem is timing. The proposal is presented more than halfway thru Biden’s term. The wheels of government turn slowly and unless they expedite the process, like the required public comment period, and the coming court challenges by conservatives, it could fail. If Repugnicans regain control of Congress and/or the presidency next year, the plan will surely be scrapped.

Along with utility emission elimination, Biden has two other important proposals – promoting electric vehicles, and cutting methane leaks from oil and gas wells. Methane is a far worse pollutant than carbon dioxide but switching to sustainable sources solves the situation. The electrification of cars and trucks is hitting snags with a poorly designed and difficult tax credit scheme, along with the slow installation of a nationwide charging network. Having enjoyed the driving experience in a couple of different electric models, I have faith that a majority of motorists will be happy to lose their carbonated cars if their concerns are alleviated.

After breaking his promise to not allow new drilling by approving the huge Willow oil project on pristine land in Alaska, President Biden might have some climate karma on his conscience. You remember conscience, of course, a trait entirely absent from the previous president.

Hopefully, Biden’s triple threat to greenhouse gases will hasten America’s transition to an ecological economy. Millions of careers could be created in the conversion. And we just might mitigate some of the worst effects of the climate chaos we’ve caused.

Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.” Email: lingofrank@gmail.com. See his website: Greenbeat.world

From The Progressive Populist, June 1, 2023

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