St Pete Times on energy policy

Following up on my recent blog posts on energy policy and the new Congress, click here to read my article today in the St Petersburg Times.

Here's some excerpts:

.........Energy is likely to be one of the first legislative initiatives pushed by Democrats when the new Congress convenes in January.

..........In fact, energy could be one of the most promising areas for bipartisan cooperation in the new Congress.

........Not since the 1970s oil embargo has energy featured so prominently in an election, activists say. During the campaign, both major parties addressed energy security and the nation's addiction to foreign oil. But Democrats gave it greater prominence, elevating it to one of their top six priorities

.............Nowhere was it more effective than in Florida's congressional District 22, where Ron Klein made energy independence a central theme in his effort to unseat 26-year Republican incumbent Clay Shaw.

................Klein's position won him support from a number of Republican backers. "I supported Ron Klein because he was more in tune with Americans' needs," said Mark Emalfarb, a registered Republican and president of Dyadic, a Jupiter biotech firm on the cutting edge of alternative fuel technology.

..........When activists from Environment Florida, a Tallahassee nonprofit, contacted the Klein campaign in October, they were also pleasantly surprised by his willingness to endorse a "New Energy Future" platform they were touting to candidates.

............"It wasn't much of a battle at all to get Klein to endorse the plan," said Adam Rivera of Environment Florida, who spent a month "bird-dogging" candidates in District 22 with a team of volunteers. Shaw agreed to look at the platform but never endorsed it.

.............."Floridians are coming to terms with the fact that energy lies at the heart of some of our most important problems," Rivera said. "People like Klein were savvy to notice that."

.............Klein says it was a no-brainer. It makes no sense to have a foreign policy based on "where a drop of oil is coming from," he said. "We need to be very proactive in finding alternative sources of energy."

.............He has a drafted a bill that would support increased research and development funding for alternative clean energy, redirect oil industry subsidies to fund challenge grants for new energy businesses, and increase spending on education to change consumer behavior.

Click here to read the full article.

- David Adams

Comments

[Melissa Meehan]

Wonderful analysis David.
This is such an exciting time for Florida and the U.S. Let's hope that both parties can come together and create real, meaningful change that will drive our energy independence and fuel Florida's growth in a sustainable way. Energy security is a win-win for everyone.