A couple of interesting stories out of Florida lately. First, there's the outrageous news that when Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection was "told not to use the terms 'climate change,' 'global warming' or 'sustainability.'" A pretty tall order for a state set to be swamped by sea level rise, which was another shunned term, replaced by "nuisance flooding." Miami's Fred Grimm has an amusing piece, but so far our favorite take on this has been from Tampa's John Romano (make sure you read all the way to the end!)
Also at the Tampa Bay Times, Ivan Penn wrote about a case of strange bedfellows that seems to be getting more and more common--conservatives teaming up with greens to support clean energy.
In Florida, a bi-partisan coalition called Conservatives for Energy Freedom has spearheaded a ballot petition to allow Floridians who produce electricity (via solar panels on their roof) to sell directly to others, instead of through a utility middle-man. This initiative, which is arguably a perfect embodiment of the libertarian preference for personal freedom from government interference, has been maligned and attacked by none other than Americans for Prosperity. AFP is one of the many groups built on the cash of the Koch Bros, who espouse the libertarian concept of personal freedom from government.
But in this fight, AFP is siding against the side of personal freedom, with email blasts that Conservatives for Clean Energy called a "campaign of deception." So here's a case where AFP is on the side of big money, and fighting against average Americans who just want to sell solar power to their neighbors without the government needlessly intruding on their quest for prosperity.
It's almost as though Americans for Prosperity cares more about the prosperity of its fossil fuel funders than that of actual Americans. But that's impossible, right? You can't say you're all about personal freedom and prosperity, then try and thwart that freedom and prosperity, can you? Wouldn't that mean AFP's whole personal freedom and prosperity schtick is one big campaign of deception?
Oh. Right.
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Top Climate and Clean Energy Stories:
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U.S. Solar Jumps 30% as Residential Installs Exceed 1 Gigawatt. Developers installed a record 6.2 gigawatts of panels last year, including about 1.2 gigawatts atop homes
A Bunch of 12-Year-Olds Are Schooling Republican Senators on Climate Change
Electric cars could cut oil imports 40% by 2030, says study