Did you know that Utah is ranked 13th in the country for crude oil production and 9th in natural gas production? Well, I didn’t, but I don’t find it surprising either. There is no doubt that much of our economic success can be traced back to our natural resources. But, as we also know, the extraction of these [...]
Archive for the ‘Energy Policy’ Category
Bills to Watch: HB 85 – Responsible Development of Nuclear Power Generation, J. Seegmiller
The ghost of former Senator Scott McCoy is strong, at least it is with HB 85, Responsible Development of Nuclear Power Generation by Jay Seegmiller (D – Sandy – District 49). You see, this bill is, word for word, the exact same bill proposed by McCoy during the last legislative session. For that reason, I [...]
The Death of the Dinosaur
I had an odd realization the other night as I was showing off my new(er) car to my friends: it is possible that this is the last gas powered car I will own. Now I now that we are a long way away from Jetson’s flying car that seems to run only on the hopes [...]
Bills to Watch: H.B. 437 – Obstruction of Natural Resource or Agricultural Production – M. Noel
Mike Noel (R – Kanab, District 73) made a bit of a mistake when he proposed H.B. 437 that could get him, and Legislative Research and General Council, in a bit of hot water. You see this bill violates a state law that requires bill titles to accurately reflect what the bill actually does. In [...]
Bills to Watch: S.J.R. 1 – Renewable Energy System – P. Jones
First off, five points to the political nerds out there who noticed that S.J.R. 1 is not, in fact, a bill. As part of today’s civics lesson, we will be discussing what is a joint resolution is. In short, it is a step above legislators spouting off about something, and a step below actually trying [...]
Bills to watch: S.B. 42 – Nuclear Power Distribution and Generation – S. McCoy
Here I am, picking on Senator Scott McCoy (D – Salt Lake, District 2) again. Apparently he has a firm desire to make it more difficult for Homer Simpson to relocate to Utah! Think of the tax benefits of having a bumbling oaf as your safety manager Scott! It is for this reason that I [...]
2009 – The next 1962?
On September 12, 1962, John F. Kennedy proclaimed these famous words: There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the [...]
On Civil Disobedience
The actions of Tim DeChristopher this past Friday should be lauded. For those of you who may not know, DeChristopher was able to find his way into a Bureau of Land Management auction of various parcels of land around Zion National Park designated for potential oil drilling and bid on them; artificially raising the price [...]
Um, why have gas prices not gone down?
So I was looking around on gas buddy, because, sadly my scooter is not functioning right now and I have to drop back to the ol’ 35 MPG vehicle. Killing a little time at work, I discovered this little chart: As you can see, the price for gas in Salt Lake, on average, has held [...]
Lets send a representative to the House of Representatives
Once again, it is pointed out to me that Rob Bishop is bad for the citizens of congressional district one. I have spoken to Rep. Bishop personally a few times and have been amazingly underwhelmed by his responses. I know that we disagree on an ideological level about how things should be done in this [...]