That's not the only major climate news today.  Colorado is shuttering two coal plants replacing the lost energy with renewables and efficiency.  Meanwhile, Virginia is trying to build a new coal-fired power plant.  What is Virginia going to do when Congress mandates carbon cuts and we're dumping billions of Dominion customer dollars into a brand new carbon-intensive coal plant and a new transmission line?  Abandon them?

And the Bush administration?  Still in denial.

They won't be able to do anything substantial until 2009.  And even when they do, it depends on the measures included in their legislation.  If they do cap-and-trade, then Dominion can just buy credits while they work on sequestration.  It is doubtful that they are going to come up with something so dramatic that it would force Dominion to shutter its facilities and buy out-of-state renewable power (in which case they would really need those transmission lines). 

49% of the U.S.'s power generation comes from coal fired generation.  It is highly unlikely that Congress will pass some measure that will result in massively higher energy bills for consumers or jeopardize the power supply.

No, really - what's Tim Kaine saying about why Virginia's not part of this? 

It seems that the org sponsoring this accord is also pushing for passage of a bill sponsored by VA's John Warner:

The advertising campaign is underwritten by Environmental Defense, an advocacy group that is pressing for quick action on a climate change proposal sponsored by Senators Joseph I. Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia.

The Lieberman-Warner legislation would cap carbon emissions at 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and set up a system for polluting industries to trade emissions credits to meet the goals. Like other such bills before Congress, it would provide incentives for research on capturing and storing carbon dioxide from power plants and subsidies to help the poor handle the higher costs of electricity in a carbon-constrained economy.

(from a recent NYT editorial)  Neither of those names inspire trust on my part, but I'd love to see any analysis of it by folks here. 

There's been some debate about the bill here at RK.  I personally think it has some potential, particularly because it has attracted some moderate Republican support without giving away the farm. 

Re: the main players -- Lieberman, though a troglodyte on foreign policy, has consistently been strong on environmental issues.  Warner does not have a good track record on the environment, but as a lame duck, he has no obligation to the special interests anymore and seems interested in doing some good on this issue before he retires.

I would also note that Barbara Boxer, no conservative, is pushing hard as Chair of the Environment & Public Works Committee to get this bill to the floor of the Senate for consideration.  It's a rare chance for Congress to actually pass global climate change legislation, which it has never even come remotely close to doing to date.

See Pew Center for Global Climate Change comment on this bill and comparison with other bills.

Check out your friend Mr. Connolly's increase in Dominion Power stock benefits? 

It gets worse -- we have even fallen behind the home state of George W. Bush.  Texas, believe it or not, is now the leading state in wind power production.

Texas has a large coastal plain and is the Southern terminus of the Great Plains.  So, there is a lot of flat land with good wind speed, perfect for building wind turbines.  Those are just some of the many natural gifts of the state, but it doesn't really have much to do with any foresight or great effort on the part of the Texas Legislature.  So, I wouldn't knock VA for that. 

...couldn't we better using the resources that we do have for alternative energy production, whether wind, solar, biofuels or other?  I've just seen no action at all here in Virginia.  Somebody in Texas did have the foresight to actually employ the resource that they have, which doesn't always happen.

Virginia has excellent wind energy potential.  We've just chosen not to tap it, instead choosing to proposal a $1.6 billion coal-fired power plant.