According to an account by State Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R) (as recounted in his “Cuccinelli Compass”), Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) displayed an astounding lack of knowledge of energy and economic issues. Here is Senator Cuccinelli’s account:
... while debating new, higher, 'voluntary' renewable energy requirements and the effect on higher prices, Chap said something to the effect of "this bill will both raise prices and help the environment." And he said it with this air of unveiling a pleasant surprise...
This is somewhat reminiscent of President Barack Obama, who said during the campaign
When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas…you name it…whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations.[Emphasis mine]
Now this kind of cluelessness when it comes to energy policy will certainly lead to higher prices without any benefit to the environment. After all, the earth has been on a cooling trend for the past ten or more years, and “global warming” climate modeling has been shown to be quite error prone. Forcing people to spend more on energy will not help anyone.
In addition, look at countries in which their populations cannot afford the forms of energy that we enjoy. Is the environment any better when people have to cut down trees and light fire from dung? Maybe Senator Petersen needs to step out of Fairfax and live in such paradises.
And with three kids, my guess is that Mr. Petersen owns at least one vehicle that is not tops in fuel economy. Cramming three kids in the back of a Toyota Yaris? I DOUBT IT!
It’s not hard to figure out that the holes in Chap Petersen’s logic are bigger than those in Joe (“I opposed the Alaska Pipeline”) Biden’s doughnuts. In fact, it’s a piece of “cake.”
