Republicans in general are impervious to the fact that wind, solar, EVs, battery storage and more are cheaper than coal, oil, and even gas now, and represent trillions of dollars in real investment opportunities.
Republicans Who Couldn't Beat Climate Debate Now Seek to Join It
I always say
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Gandhi
And then they pretend that it was their idea all along.
Me
From the article:
Republicans…after years of sowing doubt about climate change or ignoring it altogether—are scrambling to confront the science they once rejected. They are holding hearings on the issue, beginning with one Tuesday. And they have pledged to invest in technologies to mitigate its impact and are openly talking about the need for taking action.
Republicans have been meeting in small groups to come up with a strategy on the issue: Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and former 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, now a senator representing Utah.
“There is a growing consensus on our side that man-made emissions are contributing to global warming, that the ‘green deal’ is absurd, and we should be able to find a more appropriate solution to the problem,” Graham said in an interview, adding he had recently been discussing the issue with Romney, who has called climate change a critical issue.
Cassidy said he’s in talks with Republican senators about climate legislation centered around increasing the use of use of natural gas abundant in his state of Louisiana.
Too late. Natural gas’s time has come and gone. it seemed to be less bad than coal, but now it is starting to be replaced for grid storage, because batteries are much cheaper.
Besides, gasbag Lindsay Graham has increasingly been the absurd one.
But we are starting to get through to Republicans outside the Beltway.
State Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, told attendees of the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer during the weekend that he looks at solar and wind installation companies as job creators.
"I see this as a big opportunity not only for the state, but for rural economic development. As this technology becomes more affordable, we're gonna have the ability to become less dependent on foreign oil and other fossil fuels. So, I'm excited," Testin said.
Joining Testin at the fair were representatives from two recently-formed groups in the state, the Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum and the Conservative Energy Network.
Is a Texas Town the Future of Renewable Energy?
A high-wattage Republican Mayor of Georgetown, Texas, has become the unlikeliest hero of the green revolution
May 24, 2018 - As the Trump administration turns away from renewable energy and ... But Abita Springs is one of several led by conservative Republican mayors. .... Lemons received a $1,000 grant by joining the Sierra Club's Mayors for 100 …
The Surprising Story Of Republican Towns Going Green
- Jim Brainard, of Carmel, Indiana
- Jim Cason, of Coral Gables, Florida (served as mayor until April 2017)
- Richard David, of Binghamton, New York
- Kevin Faulconer, of San Diego
- Tomas Regaládo, of Miami
- Knox White, of Greenville, South Carolina
- Faulconer, of San Diego
- Bob Dixson, of Greensburg, Kansas
- Greg Lemons, of Abita Springs, Louisiana
- Dale Ross, of Georgetown, Texas
The Renewables Industry
Alternative Energy Production & Services: Long-Term Contribution Trends
| Election Cycle |
Total Contributions |
Contributions from PACs |
Soft/Outside Money |
Donations to Ds |
Donations to Rs |
% to Ds |
% to Rs |
| 2020 |
$1,717,957 |
$562,399 |
$262,000 |
$791,239 |
$663,733 |
54% |
46% |
| 2018 |
$4,691,462 |
$1,649,773 |
$687,392 |
$2,161,899 |
$1,823,632 |
54% |
46% |
| 2016 |
$4,721,410 |
$1,535,320 |
$432,692 |
$2,818,226 |
$1,489,644 |
65% |
34% |
| 2014 |
$2,931,256 |
$1,225,385 |
$162,750 |
$1,618,733 |
$1,147,023 |
59% |
41% |
| 2012 |
$3,333,189 |
$972,878 |
$64,700 |
$1,958,572 |
$1,284,567 |
60% |
39% |
| 2010 |
$2,487,947 |
$669,270 |
$45,750 |
$1,803,650 |
$625,797 |
73% |
25% |
| 2008 |
$2,402,843 |
$294,863 |
$10,000 |
$1,851,295 |
$546,548 |
77% |
23% |
| 2006 |
$520,605 |
$64,750 |
$0 |
$236,951 |
$266,675 |
46% |
51% |
| 2004 |
$291,983 |
$52,100 |
$0 |
$205,683 |
$86,300 |
70% |
30% |
| 2002 |
$336,325 |
$32,842 |
$173,532 |
$218,903 |
$116,922 |
65% |
35% |
| 2000 |
$967,755 |
$44,815 |
$731,000 |
$579,315 |
$388,440 |
60% |
40% |
| 1998 |
$312,460 |
$28,660 |
$130,000 |
$198,948 |
$113,512 |
64% |
36% |
| 1996 |
$343,550 |
$21,199 |
$120,600 |
$196,675 |
$146,875 |
57% |
43% |
| 1994 |
$134,519 |
$25,269 |
$50,000 |
$60,375 |
$71,894 |
45% |
53% |
| 1992 |
$206,324 |
$18,750 |
$72,324 |
$112,050 |
$94,274 |
54% |
46% |
| 1990 |
$80,289 |
$11,100 |
$0 |
$32,419 |
$47,870 |
40% |
60% |
| Total |
$25,479,874 |
$7,209,373 |
$2,942,740 |
$14,844,933 |
$8,913,706 |
62% |
37% |
Activists
Environmental Groups Were Top Donors In Virginia’s Elections. Now, They Want Results
Right on. Please, sir, may I have another?
‘Generation Greta’: Angry youths put heat on climate talks
It’s safe to say that anyone flying to this year’s global climate conference in Madrid had better have a watertight excuse if they meet Greta Thunberg.
The Swedish teen has set a high standard for government officials, scientists and environmental campaigners attending the Dec. 2-13 talks by deciding to sail back across the Atlantic following a last-minute switch of venue from Chile.
Thunberg’s steadfast refusal to take the plane to Spain is a key plank of the message of the worldwide movement she has helped create, and of the earnestness with which its followers pursue their cause.
Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of mostly young people are expected to rally in cities around the world Friday to demand that governments step up their efforts to curb climate change.
See, that's what I'm talking about. Several other groups are sailing to COP25 in Madrid to demand real plans to shutter coal plants and divest from fossil fuels and all of those other things.
The US will be at COP25 complaining that all of those other countries are being mean to us. I recommend that the rest of the world should step up at the level needed. That's the way to be really mean to Donald Trump.
Living well is the best revenge.
George Herbert
If your enemy is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.
Sunzi, The Art of War, chapter 1
Banks ending funding in fossil fuels
2018 marked a turning point in global bank funding for fossil fuel projects worldwide…
Headed by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, commercial banks including ING, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, along with investors such as BMO Global Asset Management, have announced their intention to phase out or stop investing in coal power generation. Most notably, in April 2018 , HSBC announced the ending of project finance for new tar-sands projects by Canada, including the proposed Keystone XL and Line 3 Expansion pipelines. A year previously, Westpac, Australia’s second-largest bank, announced that it would not lend to coal projects in new coal-producing basins.
[Emphasis in original] It isn't enough, of course, and we have to monitor those banks. As Rachel Maddow never tires of saying, never mind what they say, look at what they do.
And then we have to convince them to lend to poor countries stuck in the Chinese lending trap, who are on the hook for 300 or so coal-fired power plants in spite of massive popular protests.
