A greener Hoosier state

On Monday, Jan. 26, Barack Obama announced he would allow individual states to set their own auto-emissions standards.

While Obama has proposed many federal plans to deal with global warming, he still clearly wants states to play a role in lowering their own carbon emissions.

Over the past few years New York and 10 other northeastern and Atlantic states banded together to form their own carbon-trading scheme. California was the state that originally tried to increase its auto-emission standards, eventually joined by 13 others, sparking a conflict with the Bush administration.

What plans, then, if any, does Indiana have to encourage the use of alternative energy?

For the 2009 session of the Indiana General Assembly, Representative Matt Pierce of Bloomington has already introduced two bills, HB1620 and HB1622, on energy policy.

State Senator Vi Simpson, who also represents Bloomington, has spoken in support of a Senate bill which would require electricity companies in Indiana to supply a percentage of their output from renewable energy resources.

It is important to acknowledge what a change in energy policy can and cannot accomplish. Pierce has claimed that renewables could “save utility ratepayers money in the long run and create jobs right here in Indiana.”

Fighting global warming essentially requires consumers to pay for their own carbon emissions. Forcing a shift to alternative sources that are too costly and unreliable currently to be used by the private sector is hardly the solution to last year’s energy price hikes.

The Indiana General Assembly should also be wary of promising local green jobs. A green economy will be different, but not necessarily more bountiful. There will be new jobs supplying green energy, but at the same time old jobs in the conventional energy sector will disappear.

Regulation should come with as few restrictions as possible.

If utility companies find that out-of-state suppliers offer a better rate on renewables, they shouldn’t be forced to shop in-state. If companies find that solar power comes at a better price than wind or biofuels, legislation shouldn’t force them to buy ethanol.

Fighting global warming is a good cause, and it is nice that politicians are finally taking it seriously. But there are good ways to lower emissions and then there are ways that are simply counterproductive.

We will be watching to make sure our elected officials stick to the former.