Piper energy column flawed\nBen Piper wrote a column Jan. 7 suggesting that deregulation failed in California because of excessive environmental restraints and that Texas is a model example and a success story for deregulation of electric utilities. While his argument may seem compelling, further examination of his points suggests that his conclusions may need re-evaluation, especially with respect to the State of Indiana.\nPiper claims that "Diminished investment in electric power generating capacity" was a fundamental reason for California's crisis. He says, "In the 10 years prior to deregulating, not a single new power plant was constructed in California even as demand increased." Tragic and inaccurate. The California Energy Commission's "Review of Power Projects" reveals that "In the early 1990s...the California Energy Commission certified 11 power plants."\nPiper holds California's "state imposed retail price caps" responsible for conflict between available power and consumer demand for power. The public interest organization Public Citizen recently published a scathing report regarding Enron's business practices, suggesting that the blackouts in California were not primarily because of "A flawed market design." They reveal that "investigations by state and federal officials concluded that power generators and power marketers intentionally withheld electricity, creating artificial shortages in order to increase the cost of power."\nWithout the heavy hand of government to interfere, Texas has reached many environmental milestones...of a sort. According to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, "Texas ranks number one in a[sic] many categories of pollution and environmental degradation," including "toxic chemicals released into the air."\nIn his conclusion, Piper declares that "Indiana would do well to follow their [Texas legislators'] lead." I beg to differ. The Indiana legislature could instead learn from Texas, hopefully a better lesson than Texas learned from California.
Ronald Garcia\nGraduate Student
Coach Davis good for the team
I find it funny that there was such a controversy over what Coach Davis said about Knight. Like it was such a surprise that Knight was a bully and was intimidating! What a SHOCK! Here all the time I thought he was a pussy cat! I wish that IU would get off the Knight bandwagon and realize that he ain't coming back. Coach Davis is a good coach for IU and in time may even be better than Knight. It is a joy to watch an IU basketball game and pay more attention to the plays than what goes on on the sidelines! Good luck Coach D...
Duane Minch\nBloomington
Universal pass beneficial to all\non campus
Contrary to Wednesday's staff editorial, the universal bus pass is beneficial to the entire campus. For those who ride the buses, the benefit is obvious: It is much cheaper to ride the bus now than it was before the pass was implemented. This has brought increased ridership and thus better service. For those who drive, there are benefits as well. For every person on the bus, that is one fewer car on the street and less competition for parking spaces. Pedestrians and cyclists benefit by enjoying safer streets and less pollution. These people may be paying for a service they don't use, but all of us also pay taxes to build and maintain streets and highways, regardless of whether we use them.\nThe alternatives to the universal bus pass are not good. If the pass were optional, few students would be likely to pay the fee, which means the fee would have to go up. Other ways to solve traffic and parking problems could be to build more garages, which could transform our campus into one like Purdue's. Or the parking fee could be raised even higher, so that only the most dedicated driver would want to park on campus. \nThe editorial had one thing right, though -- both Bloomington Transit and Campus Bus Service have room for improvement. But the best way to improve transit in Bloomington is to use the fees and increased ridership brought about by the universal bus pass to extend lines and increase efficiency. For the benefits the universal pass will have for the entire community, $27 is a small price to pay.
Chris Sapp\nGraduate Student
