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Contact Jim: jdipeso@rep.org (253) 740-2066 / 2009 Archive / 2008 Archive / 2007 Archive / 2006 Archive / 2005 Archive
A Curious Gust of Wind from Joe Barton
April 21, 2009
Texas has made a lot of money and put a lot of people to work thanks to wind energy. The state is number one in wind power development, and has more wind generating capacity installed than the number 2, 3, and 4 states combined. And Texas is pulling away from the pack, with lots more wind projects under construction.
With that in mind, here’s what Texas Congressman Joe Barton had to say about wind energy recently:
“Wind is God’s way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it’s hotter to areas where it’s cooler. That’s what wind is. Wouldn’t it be ironic if in the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up? Now, I’m not saying that’s going to happen, Mr. Chairman, but that is definitely something on the massive scale. I mean, it does make some sense. You stop something, you can’t transfer that heat, and the heat goes up. It’s just something to think about.”
Barton’s ramble begs a few questions. Is the Dallas-area Republican raising critical questions about one of the state’s leading industries and if so, why? Is Barton worried about wind energy development? Does he oppose more wind development in Texas? Would he rather see all that wind energy money and all those wind energy jobs to go to California or, heaven forfend, to Oklahoma?
It’s just something for Barton’s fellow Texans to think about.
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