Miracles do happen, but the most likely outcome of Arizona's California inspired Proposition 127, if passed, will be anything put miraculous. A California-like energy plan will give Arizona California-like energy rates. According to the US Energy Information Agency, that's 20 cents a kilowatt hour, 8 cents more than Arizonans currently pay.
Arizona's air won't get cleaner or healthier. According to the EPA, by far most of Arizona's pollution is produced by cars, trucks, airplanes, agriculture, mining and construction. Arizona's cleanest air is where the coal-fired power plants are. In any event, Arizona's coal-fired power plants are going away with or without 127, since they're being replaced by plants that use clean-burning natural gas.
127 definitely won't save the planet. Arizona produces only a tiny, tiny amount of the world's global-warming CO2 gas emissions, and even then most of that is produced by Arizona's cars, trucks, and mining.
Miracles can happen. So far, California and Germany are still waiting for theirs. Their renewables generate too much power when it's not needed and too little when it is. California's renewables generate so much unneeded electricity that to prevent their electrical grid from melting they pay Arizona to take the electricity California can't use. Who will Arizona pay to take its?
Miracles can happen. So far, California and Germany are still waiting for theirs. Their renewables generate too much power when it's not needed and too little when it is. California's renewables generate so much unneeded electricity that to prevent their electrical grid from melting they pay Arizona to take the electricity California can't use. Who will Arizona pay to take its?
No one can predict the future with certainty ... and that's a very good reason not to hope for miracles and not to put a cargo-cult renewables straitjacket in the Arizona constitution.
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