Environment Archives - Page 21 of 21 Voice For Liberty

Apr

Holcomb, Kansas Coal Plant Water Usage in Perspective

An argument opponents of the proposed Holcomb Station coal-fired electricity generation plant make is that its water usage is excessive and will lead to, depending on who is speaking, little water left for other uses. Even drinking water, according to some critics, could be threatened. Together, the proposed plants will use 16,000 acre-feet of water -- about 5.2 billion gallons – annually. While that seems like a tremendous amount of water, especially in dry western Kansas, we should put that water usage in context before making judgments. According to the Kansas Water Office, in 2006, 3,496,586 acre-feet of water was…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Regulatory uncertainty weakens Kansas’ economy

In this article, Karl Peterjohn states that the professional staff at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment approved the permit for a new coal-burning electricity plant in Kansas, but the agency's Secretary, Rod Bremby, overruled that staff. It seems as though he and Governor Kathleen Sebelius were trying to stake new political ground in America. Why they would want to do this is not clear to me and many other Kansans. China builds a new plant like the one proposed for Kansas every seven to ten days. India builds many, and so do some other countries. Since it's not…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Are you polluting Kansas?

Lost in the debate over the building of a coal-fired electricity plant in Kansas is the fact that China builds a plant like this every week to ten days, according to the New York Times. Nonetheless, newspaper editorial writers like Randy Scholfield of The Wichita Eagle want to saddle Kansans with higher utility bills and a stifling regulatory structure. There is no doubt that other forms of producing electricity are more expensive than coal. Mr. Scholfield's newspaper is full of stories of woe about how people can't pay their bills when the price of natural gas or gasoline goes up.…

Oct

By Bob Weeks

Global warming: the real threat

Those sounding the alarm over global warming are full of evidence of rising temperatures and man's contribution to them. Rarely, however, do I read of what these advocates proscribe as the cure for global warming, and if one is given, we don't often hear of the grave damage the cure would do to our economy and standard of living. The following article by George Resiman explains what caps on carbon dioxide emissions mean in terms of our economy. I wish that Roderick L. Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, had read this article before making his…

May

By Bob Weeks

Recycling in Wichita: Be Careful What You Wish For

The Wichita Eagle editorial board, particularly Randy Scholfield, has been pressing for mandatory recycling. Here's an example of the type of legislation we might see if reason fails us: AN ACT concerning newspapers, and the recycling thereof, in observance of our state's relationship to Nature, and general lack of trees within this State. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas: Definitions. Sec. 1. As used is this act: (a) "Newspaper" means a publication printed primarily on newsprint, usually daily. (b) "Recyclable newspaper" means a newspaper upon which a deposit of at least 10 cents has been…

Apr

By Bob Weeks

Recycle, if you wish

Should we in Wichita or Sedgwick County be forced to recycle? Prices for commodities and goods represent the best available information about the worth of them -- that is, unless the government is manipulating prices. The prices people are willing to pay for recycled goods, therefore, tell us everything we need to know about their worth. These prices tell us that there isn't much worth in most recycled goods. It's not that there aren't markets for recycled goods. About 75% of automobiles are recycled, and used cardboard is often recycled in commercial settings. That's because the price paid for these…