Yesterday, I tuned in to a brief conference call with Gina McCarthy, the EPA Administrator. She spoke about the soon-to-be-released rules governing carbon emissions from power plants. “Rules” sound stodgy, but as a green business owner, I welcome them.
Addressing the biggest part of the problem
The call was hosted by the American Sustainable Business Council, of which I am a member. (As a green business, I feel more “at home” with the ASBC than I do with, say, the the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.)
The American Sustainable Business Council hosted Gina McCarthy.
Ms. McCarthy spoke briefly about the intensive process used to craft the rules, and the flexibility with which they can be implemented.
I can’t wait. Really. About 40% of total U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions in 2012 came from power plants. A huge chunk of that comes from coal. It makes sense to go after the biggest part of the emissions problem first.
Still waiting for renewables here…
As a green business person, I would like to run my home and business on renewable energy like wind or solar. Sadly, my latest electric bill shows that Tampa Electric derives 58% of its fuel from coal, and 37% from natural gas and oil. Ugh. No matter how I try to conserve energy, whatever I do use creates more greenhouse gas emissions. And I can’t choose a different power company.
TECO ran its annual lottery for solar panels on April 25, 2014. It sold out within minutes. With 700,000 customers, allotting just $1.5 million per year to solar systems doesn’t make sense. It’s like pouring a teaspoon of water on a forest fire.
So I hope the new carbon rules will – ahem – “motivate” utilities like TECO to change – and quickly.