|
|
 
|
Farmers tout new approach to clean energy, clean air (Tuesday, July 15, 2003 -- CropChoice news) --From a news release
Contact: Larry Mitchell (202) 835-0330
Washington, July 15, 2003-- The Alliance for Rural America (ARA) and its eight member organizations today delivered a resolution to the Congress supporting a multi-emissions approach to improving the nation's air quality. While supporting the continued cleanup of the emissions that are responsible for smog and haze the Alliance reiterated its opposition to government mandates for the regulation of carbon emissions, saying such mandates will further increase natural gas prices to farmers.
ARA National Spokesman Larry Mitchell said "While farmers applaud the progress made under the Clean Air Act, we are calling on Congress to pass new multi-emission legislation that will reduce pollution by another 70 percent and do it without the catastrophic increases in natural gas prices that we have seen under the Clean Air Act."
While there are several proposals to address clean air issues Mitchell said "the ARA is supporting multi-emission legislation sponsored by Senator Voinovich, R-Ohio. Senator Voinovich's bill will cut emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury by 70 percent. And this clear goal will be much simpler for businesses, including farmers, to achieve."
The resolution said the current Clean Air Act has resulted in massive fuel switching to natural gas, resulting in price spikes and shortages over this increasingly scarce resource.
For farmers the natural gas price increases have dramatically increased production costs for plant nutrients, irrigation fuel, as well as crop drying harvesting costs.
The Alliance also believes that carbon mandates will force business and industry to use more natural gas, pushing prices to new highs for farmers and other consumers.
The ARA's resolution (see attached) follows meetings with key Senators during which farmers described the plight of rural America as natural gas and other energy sources continue to bite the farm budget.
(30)
The Alliance for Rural America's eight member organizations represent over 550,000 farmers and farm families. The ARA was formed in 1998 to represent the farm community on energy and environmental issues.
American Corn Growers Association
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS The Alliance for Rural America supports improving the environment, as farm and ranch families are the first and true stewards of the land, air and water we utilize to feed, shelter, cloth and fuel all of humankind, and
WHEREAS The Alliance for Rural America supports improvements in the implementation of the Clean Air Act to further improve our nation's environment, and
WHEREAS The Alliance for Rural America supports cost effective programs to reduce air emissions from all sources of pollution, and
WHEREAS The Alliance for Rural America recognizes the uncertainty over current regulations, and the prospect of new proposed punitive regulations, which will increase fuel and power costs, drive up prices to consumers and threaten reliability of adequate power, especially in rural America, and
WHEREAS The Alliance for Rural America recognizes the consequences of the current implementation of the Clean Air Act, which has resulted in forcing nearly all new electric generation plants to use natural gas. This "fuel shifting" has resulted in greater demand on limited natural gas supplies. The resulting price spikes and shortages of natural gas have dramatically increased production cost to farmers for plant nutrients, irrigation fuel, as well as crop drying and harvesting cost.
BE IT RESOLVED that The Alliance for Rural America supports a "multi-emissions" approach to improve air quality to provide some certainty as to how much emissions will need to be reduced and when, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The Alliance for Rural America cannot support mandates on the regulation of carbon emissions, which will further exacerbate the aforementioned fuel shifting problem.
Larry Mitchell | |
