Monday, September 10, 2012

Ohio Isn't Better Off with Sherrod Brown in the US Senate: Energy Edition

Sherrod Brown has been a key booster of Barack Obama's policies. He has marched lockstep with Obama on the road to corporatist communism, aka crony capitalism while the rest of us out here in small business land are regulated to death. Donors and buddies get breaks, while others get screwed. Here is how Sherrod Brown has worked to screw over the energy industry:
Brown Supports The EPA’s Job-Killing Cap-And-Trade Mandate

Brown Voted Against An Amendment Which Would Have Blocked The EPA From Regulating Carbon Dioxide And Other Greenhouse Gasses. “McConnell, R-Ky., amendment no. 183 that would block the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.” (S. 493, CQ Vote #54: Rejected 50-50: R 46-1; D 4-47; I 0-2, 4/6/11, Brown Voted Nay)




Knowing Full Well That Obama’s EPA Regulations Could Be “Burdensome” And Could Harm Economic Growth. “A key Midwestern Senate Democrat on Monday called on the Obama administration to reconsider its approach to greenhouse gas regulation, as EPA critics weigh their legislative options for blocking the new rules. Ohio’s Sherrod Brown called the new permitting requirements for large emitters ‘burdensome’ and said they could harm economic growth, echoing the concerns of industry and GOP lawmakers.” (Geof Koss, “Ohio’s Brown Is Latest Senate Democrat To Criticize EPA Greenhouse Gas Rules,” Congressional Quarterly, 2/28/11)

Which Will Kill 53,000 Ohio Jobs



New EPA Rules Threaten 50 Ohio Jobs At Dayton Power & Light Plant. “Facing the prospect of having to shut down a coal-burning power plant that employs 50, Dayton Power & Light said it’s studying a plan to repower the O.H. Hutchings Station plant here with natural gas as a way to keep the facility along the Great Miami River operating.” (Steve Bennish, “EPA Rules To Force Old Coal Plants To Adapt, Close,” Dayton Daily News, 1/6/12)

Dayton Power & Light Plant Is The Latest Among Ohio Coal Plants To Be Threatened By The Obama Administration. “Large Ohio coal plants will go dark within a few years. Duke Energy announced that the Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station in Clermont County east of Cincinnati will cease operating coal-fired units in 2015. … Other Ohio utilities have announced coal-burning power plants headed for closure, including American Electric Power in Columbus. AEP said it would close two West Virginia plants and one Ohio plant, Picway. Two other Ohio plants, Conesville and Muskingum River, would close generating units.” (Steve Bennish, “EPA Rules To Force Old Coal Plants To Adapt, Close,” Dayton Daily News, 1/6/12)
The EPA’s Regulation Will Shut Down The Muskingum River Coal-Fired Power Plant. The Muskingum River coal-fired power plant in Ohio is nearing the end of its life. AEP, one of the country’s biggest coal-based utilities, says it will cut 159 jobs when it shuts the decades-old plant in three years — sooner than it would like — because of new rules from the Environmental Protection Agency. (Jia Lynn Yang, Do regulations cost jobs?,Washington Post, 11/15/11)

And Increase Energy Rates On Families In Ohio By 13 Percent





OHIO MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION: National Economic Research Associates, a firm that evaluates economic impacts for government agencies, associations and businesses, in a preliminary analysis for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity projects that Utility MACT and CSAPR will result in 1.4 million lost jobs nationally over the next nine years, including 53,500 jobs in Ohio. And that’s net job losses, because the research takes into account jobs created by the two new rules as well those that will be lost. Additionally, according to NERA, utilities’ compliance costs for the two regulations would total $17 billion annually and electricity costs in Ohio would increase by about 13 percent. (Kevin Schmidt, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, Columbus Dispatch , 10/20/11)


So, while Obama and Sherrod Brown pat themselves on the back for regulating Carbon Dioxide, SOMETHING WE ALL BREATHE OUT AND SOMETHING PLANTS NEED TO LIVE, Ohioans are going hungry and losing jobs, and very soon are going to be experiencing longer and more frequent blackouts. Motivate Sherrod Brown to get a new job. Vote for Josh Mandel for US Senate!