Conservatives for conservation? Smarter energy for all
By Jim Roth | Phillips Murrah P.C. |
The Journal Record
[ MAY 4, 2009 - OKLAHOMA CITY, OK ] - It is often said that “Politics make strange bedfellows.” That certainly can be the case on many issues in our democracy. However, I have often wondered why “liberals” have claimed the issue of energy conservation and why political “conservatives” aren’t more involved in preserving our natural resources. After all, the words ‘conservative’ and ‘conservation’ sure suggest they ought to be working together, at least. Well, the times are a-changing.
I remember a friendly debate with a conservative fellow student in college, who was bragging about his large gas-guzzling SUV, his long commute and his refusal to recycle anything. He delighted in his use of resources and bragged that his overall high rate of consumption was consistent with his conservative philosophies. I didn’t fully understand it then in 1990 and even less so in today’s world of economic and environmental fragility.
I have found hope this week in a conservative friend, who has taken his message from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C., to remind us all that conservatives do practice conservation and that energy efficiency is a virtue for which all Americans can aspire.
Bill Price, an attorney with Oklahoma City-based Phillips Murrah P.C., former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma and the 1990 Republican nominee for governor, recently spoke at an energy policy reform panel for The Reform Institute’s national energy symposium in Washington, D.C. Bill’s Oklahoma roots are strong and so are his conservative credentials.
The Reform Institute is a think tank that advocates for reform in key areas of our democracy’s public arena. According to their Web site’s mission statement: “The Reform Institute is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit educational organization working to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and build a resilient society. The Institute formulates and advocates valuable, solutions-based reform in vital areas of public policy. These are conservatives and they are working to make things happen.”
Keynoted by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the “Reforming American Energy: Encouraging Innovation, Producing Solutions” symposium focused on conservation, energy usage efficiency and alternative energy methods.
Oklahoma’s own Bill Price praised the American natural gas industry’s incredible job in increasing domestic gas reserves and for providing an energy solution that is abundant and American. Others warned that progress toward self-reliance and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy could be destroyed by the administration’s proposed oil and gas tax policy.
Price spoke of areas of energy policy that draw a bipartisan consensus of conservatives and liberals. One such area is conservation. Many government and private buildings are tremendously wasteful of tax dollars spent for utility bills and energy audits usually reveal that simple procedures like replacing lighting fixtures can pay for themselves in savings in less than three years. Price proposed utility bills and square footage of all government buildings be posted on a transparency Web site so policymakers and taxpayers can have the information necessary to follow their taxpayer dollars.
Bill advocated smart-grid technology, which encourages energy use in off-peak hours and provides price transparency for the consumer. The idea is to create a more conservation-minded consumer, while assuring energy producers that smart-grid technology will boost their profits by requiring fewer collateral costs to them. That means fewer truck runs and field repairs, because the system is actually communicating for you when an outage occurs. It also means the consumer gets to make informed decisions.
Symposium attendees included business executives, environmental groups, policymakers, regulators, utility companies and national political figures. The perspective is important and America is well-advised to hear all sides.
Among Oklahoma leaders in attendance were American Wind Energy Association CEO and former Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode and former J.C. Watts staff member Pam Pryor, who currently serves as a board member for The Reform Institute.
It is clear that the issues confronting our nation and this world are so large, some might even say “global,” that no one group along the political spectrum can create the solution alone. It’s going to take all of us, reaching across aisles (and even oceans), listening and engaging all perspectives to build a pathway that makes sense and that works.
So let’s put labels aside and let’s get going. Thanks, Bill.
Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma corporation commissioner, is an attorney with Phillips Murrah P.C. in Oklahoma City, where his practice focuses on clean, green energy for Oklahoma.