Durbin: Sebelius made right decision
Governor’s pulled support for coal plant will prevent pollution
Friday, October 26th, 2007
When it comes to politics, the term “flip-flopping” is usually associated with an underlying negative belief. In fact, during the last presidential election the term became a comic rerun for John Kerry’s opposing nominees. However, Governor Kathleen Sebelius recently flip-flopped on an issue involving a coal-fired plant in western Kansas because of possible political purposes.
In December 2006, Sebelius supported a proposal presented by Sunflower Power Electric Corp. to build two 700-megawatt plants near Holcomb. Nonetheless, many believe that her decision stemmed from her potential positions in the 2010 elections, and her possible nomination for the U.S. Senate or a highly ranked position on the Democratic presidential administration. The question facing Sebelius was whether the Democratic Party would stand by her decision to allow the plants, or if political suicide was in order.
This year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the greenhouse gasses being produced by the coal plants in this country are in fact an air pollutant, and can/should be regulated under the Clean Air Act; beneath this decision, many coal-fired plants nationwide have now been cancelled. Ironically, the plants facing decision here in Kansas would have emitted 11 tons of carbon dioxide per year. If Sebelius did take over a top position on the Democratic administration operating under the new C02 trouble, being attributed to part of the cause (allowing the plants) would not have been in her greatest favor.
Nevertheless, whether or not the decision was politically motivated, or if in fact Kathleen Sebelius really does give a crap about the environment, her decision to deny the permits was the right one. During the past few months a number of environmental groups came forward arguing their opposition to the plants, and it was easy to see that their concerns were not being taken seriously by Sebelius until now. With growing concerns coming not only from the U.S. Senate, but from the large number of environmental groups, the issues surrounding the carbon dioxide emissions were taken into consideration according to Sebelius.
As a resident of the state of Kansas, I was outraged with the thought of allowing Sunflower Electric occupy part of our state and create an unnecessary amount of pollution. Not only that, but according to Sunflower Electric, Kansas was only going to get part of the electricity being generated while the rest of it went to a rapidly growing portion of eastern Colorado. This decision marks a victory not only for environmental groups, but for the state of Kansas as well.
Being a conservative Republican stronghold, Kansas is not always considered a leading advocate for environmental causes, but the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has become the first agency in the US to cite C02 emissions as a reason to reject an air permit for coal-fired electricity plant. Kansas is raising itself to new standards and possibly leading the way for other states to help fight the crisis of global warming. I believe that energy is obviously an important issue and it’s something none of us can live without in this day and age, but using our resources the best of our ability is a must; wind power anyone?
Durbin is a Hays junior in journalism and English.
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great article. the kansan did well with hiring you.
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