Under Oregon’s Climate Protection Program, natural gas will cost a lot more in years to come.
Where was the “No Kings” crowd six years ago? That’s when Oregon’s governor bypassed the legislature and issued an edict that now threatens to undermine the state’s agriculture and industry.
It was in March 2020 that Governor Kate Brown issued executive order 20-04. I wrote about it at the time here. The order told state agencies to take steps intended to all but end the burning of fossil fuels in Oregon by 2050.
One result was that the Department of Environmental Quality created its Climate Protection Program. The program requires fuel companies to reduce their emissions and, if they don’t, to pay increasing amounts of penalties into a state fund.
There was no popular uprising against this order, even though Brown issued it after the legislature had failed to pass a bill on the same subject, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There were no street demonstrations, no protests over this authoritarian imposition of additional rules and costs without any kind of vote.
Now, reporter Nigel Jaquiss of the Oregon Journalism Project has highlighted one of these costs. “Industry estimates show over the next 11 years that the penalty for using natural gas in Oregon could reach nearly $5 billion,” he writes in a story that appeared in several of Oregon’s remaining papers.
His story starts with a report on a huge plant nursery, which burns natural gas to heat its vast greenhouses over the winter. The owners fear greatly higher heating costs will shut the business down and wipe out 300 jobs. Other companies affected are an array of Oregon heavy industries.
Some other states have similar climate programs, Jaquiss reports, but none as expensive as Oregon’s.
And what is all this for? To slow or stop climate change? None of it will preserve or do anything else with Oregon’s climate. West of the Cascades, summers will continue to be dry and warm, and winters will continue to be cool and wet, more or less, from year to year.
The only thing that will change is that life in Oregon will get more expensive, work will be harder to find, and coming generations will find it even more challenging to make a go of it in this state.
Unless.
Unless we get a governor next year who cancels executive order 20-04 and everything it entails. (hh)
Hasso, this is nothing but a political ad for Republicans. If you continue to make these kind of statements on your supposedly friendly blog, I will quit reading. I hope everyone else reading recognizes what this is.
Bye. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Please, please, just do us all a favor and quit reading. I can promise you that you won’t be missed.
I recognize it. Thanks for writing.
Get your head out of your a.. and pay attention to realities. It will cost more to live here. Ignore reality. We will pay more. So, please quit reading if this is too difficult for you to bear
Help me to understand your post. You feel that only opinions you agree with should be posted? It does not seem like you are offering a counter argument, or any type of persuasion, only an ultimatum of …petulant behavior?
There are certain people who believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion…as long as it aligns with theirs.
Avidreader69: Who cares, see you later stop reading nobody’s gonna miss you.
Ah, I see you want to be a dictator and only allow opinions that you approve of. That seems to be a democrat problem..mandating only what they want us to now to
No where in his article does he state this is one party against the other. He is only reporting on a tyrant overstepping her boundaries and costing our state more money than is reasonable. And that we may be able get someone in there that rectify this. And maybe we can start over and come up with something that supports our state and climate together.
The sun is an unlimited source of clean energy for Oregon. Solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries can power the entire state.
Batteries are toxic as hell!
They are having trouble disposing of old wind turbine blades (they don’t last forever) and are doing expensively stupid things to recycle them for “feel good” projects like bicycle shelters etc. Would you build a shed out of curvy parts or straight? One requires different length braces etc, depending on the blade position that needs to be anchored. The other allows you to cut all the braces to the same length.
Solar panels also deteriorate over time and have toxic recycling issues.
“Would you build a shed out of curvy parts or straight?”
Hmm… Dunno, but back in the day, there’s been a “gazillion” Quonset huts built… :-)
They aren’t complex curves like a propeller blade. Of course one wouldn’t expect you to think of that. A Quonset hut uses the same parts until you decide it’s long enough and put ends on it. A wind turbine blade takes up far more ground space then necessary, thus wasting the planet.
Your comment is a joke as is the ban on natural gas. As the economy of Oregon continues to suck, the future looks grim with the current leadership.
Seriously? I’d love to see that math. 1200 acres of solar in south linn county is projected to provide power for 200 homes. That projects out to 6 acres per home. How many homes are there in Oregon? So much for urban growth boundaries and saving our valuable farm land.
I would love to see your math. An area the size of a roof can power a home. Not acres of panels.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-natural-gas-supply-outlook-hinges-three-key-shale-basins-2026-04-01/ – or the supply will go down when those fields are used up. Then we need something else, like fusion reactors and reneweable energies. And a large part of electricity in Oregon is generated for free from water power. So it’s a good decision.
Avid Reader: what portion of the Oregon Journalism Project report is troubling for you? How will this law balance climate issues with costs —not only for commerce but also for homeowners? If this was such a good idea why didn’t the Legislature take action?
Hasso, Our summers are not “dry and warm;” our winters are not “cool and wet.”
Our summers are TOO HOT and TOO DRY; our winters are TOO WARM and NOT WET ENOUGH and DO NOT HAVE THE SNOW FALL in the mountains that we need.
…and the Governor’s executive order will change our climate how?
Since Hasso allows this type of talk….Get your head our of your a**…. Lessoning carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels is what Governor Brown was working toward.
‘It is 77 degrees outside at 5:20 p.m. on April 6th (today). That is too damned hot for April 6th in this valley. I’ll wager that I’ve lived here more years than any of the rest of Hasso’s blog followers, and 77 degrees in the first week of April is too hot.
Liberals choosing idealogy over common sense.
There are none more authoritarian than governors in blue states that have taken over their state capitol with Democrat super-majorities. It allows unfettered tyranny and zero checks and balances. Thank you HH for pointing out true tyranny
How about an Albany City Council/MAYOR that proclaims June to be “pride?” month for perpetuity?
The same people that can spend $22-23 MILLION for red bricks, but can’t exercise the least bit of good faith effort to honor our MIA/POW as required per ORS 186.110.
Why not a No Kings march at your next city council meeting. Or are they even open to the public without computer access?
Of course industry will complain – as it ALWAYS does. Nothing new under the sun there. And it happens with all fossil fuel companies (not just Natural gas) and Pharmaceuticals too. And then the usual happens. After fighting the rule-changes (from wherever it promulgates), they adapt — and pass along those raises to the users. Customers adapt the best they can. Tangentially, there will *always* be winners and losers — regardless of the decision of any kind. Rarely is it the end user/customer who benefits…
Good comments, Ray.
I recognize it and commend Hasso for pointing out the obvious. Oregon is in desperate need of new leadership. Vote Republican!
This is not a political page so leave your opinion to vote on a different page .This a decision about a bill and what it can effect in the state of Oregon .It has nothing to do with election are who you should vote for if you want to spew y
our hatred go somewhere else .
“….if you want to spew your hatred go somewhere else .”
So suggesting one votes Republican to reverse this poor decision is “spewing hatred”?Spoken like a true “inclusive, tolerant” liberal.
If a particular business model relies upon cheap resources whose use is harmful to the Creation (or the environment, if you prefer), that business can’t expect to continue operation without some responsibility and some reckoning.
Thank you Hasso. Imagine the infrastructure it will take of solar and wind power to generate enough to support the state of Oregon. By 2050 it means every car, bus, truck, semi truck, tractor, etc. This would completely cripple the economy and put a majority out of business. Look at the current businesses leaving the state. Our current electrical grid is not adequate to support our current needs and we only have a very few percentage of electric vehicles on the road. Imagine the hazardous waste created with all the used batteries and turbine blades. They are already warning of rolling blackouts here in Oregon. We are only 24 years away and nothing has been done to support this kind of infrastructure. If you think our failed state leadership can pull this kind of major project off just stop and look at ODOT!
How’s the price of gas and other commodities doing today? Maybe that leadership change you mentioned should start at the top in Washington, immediately?
We haven’t had issues with Iraq for a couple decades. I wonder why?
Always ends with orange man bad…orange man didn’t spend 22 million on a brick road
nice to see you w/o caps LOL
NOW. WE. KNOW.
As far as wind and solar go for replacements, see how Germany is doing, they have had to go back to burning wood to heat their homes.
Everybodys got opinions. Lets read em all. I like apples and oranges. Walnuts are a really good nut. Keep Up The Good Work that you do HH. You got my eye>
No source of energy is inherently bad. It is the continued need for more that is bad. The continued need or more is driven by overpopulation and the idea that more and more growth is a good thing, when in actuality, it is impossible. .