Kansas
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at
2:07 pm
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Note: no net metering currently available in Kansas
Filed under: Solar News by State
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By Sarah Kessinger
Harris News Service
TOPEKA – State Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby urged Kansas legislators to get aboard a national movement to cut carbon emissions when he testified before them this week.
While legislative leaders in the Sunflower State question whether global climate change is worth addressing, officials in at least 35 other states are moving ahead with plans to limit their carbon footprints.
“It’s been sort of like popcorn, you see more and more states doing this,” said Judi Greenwald, director of innovative solutions at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Virginia. “They’re kind of feeding off each other, sharing ideas.”
The actions, most taken in the past two years, are a sign that states see change and they’ve grown disturbed the national government isn’t moving on it, Greenwald said.
“Alaska’s melting, the forest fires, the water availability issues, it’s becoming quite real to people,” Greenwald said. “We don’t have a national climate, we have regional climates. A lot of people are seeing regional problems and they are really worried.”
California, Florida and Texas, states headed by Republican governors, have made some of the most notable progress. On Friday, California sued the federal government for refusal to permit the state to set its own standard for auto emissions. Several other states are joining the case.
Multi-state alliances in the Northeast and West as well have formed to tackle carbon output on a regional basis.
Greenwald, who testifies occasionally in states, suggests policymakers start off by holding hearings to learn the science of climate change.
“As with any issue, if people aren’t educated they might say something based on one outlying opinion,” Greenwald said of those who deny that global warming’s caused by humans burning fossil fuels.
Spurred by scientific evidence, however, several states are crafting a variety of “climate action plans.” They include incentives for energy efficient construction, state mandates requiring utilities to use specified levels of renewable power, and “net metering,” which allows residents who own wind or solar generators to sell leftover power back to their local utility. Kansas remains one of the last states without a net metering law.
On the mandated production of renewable energy, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has encouraged voluntary compliance from utility leaders, who have agreed to meet an initial target of 10 percent renewable energy production by 2010. The next goal is 20 percent by 2020.
Greenwald notes the “co-benefits” of encouraging renewable energy and energy efficiency at the state level. They are the economic benefit of new industry and benefits to public health and the environment.
In addition, renewable power sources help to moderate energy price spikes, Pew Center studies show.
One step Kansas has taken in the national green movement is to join the Climate Registry, a non-profit joint effort to measure greenhouse gas emissions on a state-by-state basis.
“We’re one of 33 states who will be considered founding affiliates on January 1,” said Clark Duffy, chief of the air quality control section at KDHE, which signed up for the registry.
Duffy said the program would help to assure that states measure levels of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, in a consistent way from a variety of industries.
The program is entirely voluntary. The state could join without approval from the Kansas Legislature.
Duffy said participants can generally estimate how much greenhouse gas comes from certain entities, but if those entities submit the data then it helps with accuracy.
The resulting measurements are likely to give states more reason to pressure for a national policy, said Greenwald.
“Our view is that we all need to act,” she said.
11/09/2007; 10:56:36 PM