According to the latest decision of the Arizona Corporation Commission, effective Jan 1, 2009 TEP customers will pay nearly $5 a month extra just to get 2% of our electricity to be produced by renewable sources...... at this rate, it will cost ratepayers an extra $35 a month when it gets up to 15% renewable in a decade or so, a goal that is set in law.
I can afford that type of increase, but how about those on fixed incomes or the poor families?
Renewable energy may be a laudatory goal to many people, but APS can't find financing for its slated solar-thermal plant near Gila Bend, and we're not a great state for wind energy, either according to the wind power folks' own studies. Given our low rainfall and ongoing drought, even small-scale hydroelectric (no dams, just diversion of water in the stream to turbines) isn't very feasible
Arizona's cheapest electricity already comes from nuclear power. It doesn't pollute the air, and even those people alarmed about global warming see nuclear power as a good alternative to fossil fuels.
I think Arizona should expand its use. We have plenty of empty rural counties that could use the economic benefit of such plants, and nuclear power plants are a proven technology, a safe technology, and can be depended on 24/7. Nuclear power plants in the US have the best utilization rate of any electricity generation source - on-line and producing power 92% of the time. In contrast, wind is about 30% and solar around 50% or less.
As for the nuclear waste issue, there's two answers: 1/ The new president and the Congress need to stop stalling and get the repository at Yucca Flats in Nevada open and accepting shipments and 2/ We need to terminate the wrong-headed policy passed by Pres. Carter in 1977 of bannign the reprocessing of nuclear fuel. Reprocessing using new methods can prevent nuclear waste from being able to be used in weapons, plus it keeps the US from having to mine or import more uranium through being able to use the reprocessed fuel in nuclear power plants.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Tucson City Council has clearly lost its way
A City Council that goes ahead and OKs Rio Nuevo bonds while cutting vital services like police and fire academy classes is a City Council that's clearly lost their way. It is as out of touch as those AIG execs that still held their conferences at luxury resorts after the bailout, or the Big 3 Auto CEOs who flew into Washington in Nov. on Learjets looking for a bailout.
Public safety is one of, if not, the most vital function of local gov't. Before you cut police and fire, a municipality should make every other cut possible to non-vital services. So why weren't things like Channel 12, Access Tucson, and numerous arts programs eliminated first? Those are nice to have, but not essential community services.
Cutting $1 million from new vehicle purchases is a step in the right direction, but let's not stop there. The city needs to integrate economy of scale into every aspect of its financial decision-making. In short, it must get into the habit of making sound economical decisions in every aspect of its purchasing that will pay continuing dividends adn create a culture of efficient purchasing and sound management of the public's money.
For example, when it buys new vehicles, it needs to buy the cheapest, most fuel-efficient vehicle that will get the job done, not the trendy but costly Prius, or the SUV that never goes off-road. I want to see city officials driving Civics, Cobalts, and Yarises, not Priuses and SUVs. You can buy 2 of these compacts for every Prius or SUV. Even at $5-6 a gallon, a Civic or Yaris has much lower life cycle costs than a Prius.
Public safety is one of, if not, the most vital function of local gov't. Before you cut police and fire, a municipality should make every other cut possible to non-vital services. So why weren't things like Channel 12, Access Tucson, and numerous arts programs eliminated first? Those are nice to have, but not essential community services.
Cutting $1 million from new vehicle purchases is a step in the right direction, but let's not stop there. The city needs to integrate economy of scale into every aspect of its financial decision-making. In short, it must get into the habit of making sound economical decisions in every aspect of its purchasing that will pay continuing dividends adn create a culture of efficient purchasing and sound management of the public's money.
For example, when it buys new vehicles, it needs to buy the cheapest, most fuel-efficient vehicle that will get the job done, not the trendy but costly Prius, or the SUV that never goes off-road. I want to see city officials driving Civics, Cobalts, and Yarises, not Priuses and SUVs. You can buy 2 of these compacts for every Prius or SUV. Even at $5-6 a gallon, a Civic or Yaris has much lower life cycle costs than a Prius.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The U of AZ Regents are letting us down
I have a friend who got a full athletic scholarship and went to the U of AZ 20 yrs ago. In 1988 the U sent him a statement of tuition costs showing how valuable his scholarship was. He said tuition was $900 a year then. Now it's approaching 7 times that.
In other words, tuition is increasing at an average rate of about 35% per year for those 20 yrs, with most of the increase during the past 10 years and, specifically, during Napolitano's "education governor" administration. Even during the housing boom, prices weren't appreciating that fast for homes.
While the university can complain about the legislature's appropriations, the fact remains that new buildings have gone up everywhere over the past few years. I think the big problem is that we have an entire generation of administrators at all levels of gov't and academia who have never had to do crisis management, adhere to strict budgets, or determine and set priorities due to the generally robust economy of the past 20-25 years.
BTW, the scholarship program worked well in my friend's case, as he became a well-paid professional, and has returned a lot of income to the state through income and other taxes through his earnings.
In other words, tuition is increasing at an average rate of about 35% per year for those 20 yrs, with most of the increase during the past 10 years and, specifically, during Napolitano's "education governor" administration. Even during the housing boom, prices weren't appreciating that fast for homes.
While the university can complain about the legislature's appropriations, the fact remains that new buildings have gone up everywhere over the past few years. I think the big problem is that we have an entire generation of administrators at all levels of gov't and academia who have never had to do crisis management, adhere to strict budgets, or determine and set priorities due to the generally robust economy of the past 20-25 years.
BTW, the scholarship program worked well in my friend's case, as he became a well-paid professional, and has returned a lot of income to the state through income and other taxes through his earnings.
Monday, December 1, 2008
We need a high-speed train, not a streetcar!
Tucson lives in the shadow of Phoenix, a city whose metro area is several times larger than Tucson's and which dominates Arizona and the entire Southwest. We need to make the presence of Phoenix an asset, not a liability. We can do that by building a true high speed rail link between Phoenix and Tucson.
We read last week how fewer and fewer airlines serve Tucson Int'l Airport. If we had a 200 mph+ train running on dedicated lines you could reach either city in under an hour, thereby permitting area residents and businesses to use Sky Harbor Airport easily.
Phoenix area businesses would open branches here if their employees could be whisked here inside of an hour. Even better, Phoenix businesses operating here would slowly raise the pay scales for the Tucson workforce.
Tourism would get a shot in the arm as visitors could fly into Sky Harbor instead of dealing with TIA, and visitors to the Phoenix area could easily add on trips to the Old Pueblo. Tucsonans could more easily visit Phoenix's many attractions.
Finally, there's two large groups that tend to either avoid driving or don't have vehicles: senior and college students. Such a link would enable them to travel to either city and patronize its various attractions and businesses.
The cost would be over $1 Billion, but the dividends would be huge, and expanding the highway wouldn't be much cheaper and not add any of the benefits I outlined above.
We read last week how fewer and fewer airlines serve Tucson Int'l Airport. If we had a 200 mph+ train running on dedicated lines you could reach either city in under an hour, thereby permitting area residents and businesses to use Sky Harbor Airport easily.
Phoenix area businesses would open branches here if their employees could be whisked here inside of an hour. Even better, Phoenix businesses operating here would slowly raise the pay scales for the Tucson workforce.
Tourism would get a shot in the arm as visitors could fly into Sky Harbor instead of dealing with TIA, and visitors to the Phoenix area could easily add on trips to the Old Pueblo. Tucsonans could more easily visit Phoenix's many attractions.
Finally, there's two large groups that tend to either avoid driving or don't have vehicles: senior and college students. Such a link would enable them to travel to either city and patronize its various attractions and businesses.
The cost would be over $1 Billion, but the dividends would be huge, and expanding the highway wouldn't be much cheaper and not add any of the benefits I outlined above.
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