The Missouri legislature a few weeks ago did the citizens of the state no favors when they voted to overturn Proposition C, which maintained that utility companies in Missouri had to provide 15% of their energy production from renewable sources by 2021. This was a modest Renewable Energy Standard that was passed by 66% of the voters in 2008. Missouri legislators now subverted the public will to allow Missouri utilities to buy power from anywhere and in any way they please, and not have to buy from Missouri wind farms, or solar arrays or geothermal projects. A 2008 University of Missouri-St. Louis study concluded, without the negative changes recently approved by legislature the Renewable Energy standard would CREATE 9,591 jobs and GENERATE $2.86 billion of economic activity in Missouri by 2021.

In short, Missouri legislators listened to the utility companies instead of the voice of the people regarding energy. They voted to continue to keep us dependent on dirty coal (Missouri is the number 10 producer of CO2 in the US from coal-fired power plants) and not to solve our long-term energy problem by renewable means. Burning coal is also the number one source for mercury poisoning our fish. Even our relatively clean Scenic Rivers contain unacceptable amounts of mercury and MDC has issued fish eating advisories for our rivers.

Missouri’s legislators decided to keep us in the 19th century, burning coal, rather than try something called conservation, innovation and efficiency. Using those methods we could have a truly 21st century energy program and perhaps even retire some existing power plants.

Thank the Missouri Legislature for keeping us safe, dirty and in the 19th century!

-Tom Kruzen,
Missouri Water Sentinel Volunteer

Missouri Legislators' votes on this issue:

Recent Missouri House and Senate Vote Concerning the Renewable Energy Standard

These are the votes on SCR 1, which modifies the Renewable Energy Standard to allow utility companies to by credits anywhere in the world instead of forcing them to produce renewable energy for Missourians. The Senate passed the resolution on January 24, 2011 and the House of Representatives passed the resolution on February 1, 2011.

An AYE vote is a vote against renewable energy in Missouri, a NO vote is a vote for renewable energy.

Many representatives were absent due to a snowstorm.

Missouri House of Representatives

AYES: 122

Allen Asbury Aull Bahr Barnes Bernskoetter Berry Black Brandom Brown 50 Brown 85 Burlison Carter Casey Cauthorn Cierpiot Colona Conway 14 Conway 27 Cookson Cox Crawford Cross Curtman Davis Day Denison Dieckhaus Diehl Dugger Elmer Entlicher Faith Fallert Fisher Fitzwater Flanigan Fraker Franklin Franz Frederick Fuhr Gatschenberger Gosen Grisamore Guernsey Haefner Hampton Harris Higdon Hinson Hodges Hoskins Hough Houghton Hubbard Hummel Johnson Jones 63 Jones 89 Jones 117 Keeney Kelley 126 Koenig Korman Kratky Lair Lampe Lant Largent Lasater Lauer Leara Lichtenegger Loehner Long Marshall McCaherty McGhee McManus McNary Meadows Molendorp Montecillo Nance Nichols Nolte Pace Parkinson Phillips Pollock Quinn Reiboldt Richardson Rizzo Rowland Ruzicka Scharnhorst Schatz Schieber Schieffer Schneider Schoeller Shively Shumake Silvey Smith 150 Solon Stream Swinger Talboy Taylor Thomson Tilley Torpey Wallingford Wells Weter White Wieland Wright Zerr

NOES: 16

Anders Atkins Carlson Kelly 24 Kirkton McDonald McNeil Newman Peters-Baker Redmon Schupp Smith 71 Spreng Still Swearingen Wyatt

ABSENT: 25

Brattin Brown 116 Curls Ellinger Funderburk Holsman Hughes Kander Klippenstein Leach May McCann Beatty McGeoghegan Nasheed Neth Oxford Pierson Riddle Sater Schad Sifton Walton Gray Webb Webber Zimmerman

Missouri Senate

AYES: 29

Brown Callahan Chappelle-Nadal Cunningham Dempsey Dixon Engler Goodman Green Kehoe Kraus Lager Lamping Lembke Mayer McKenna Munzlinger Nieves Parson Pearce Purgason Richard Ridgeway Rupp Schaaf Schaefer Schmitt Stouffer Wasson

NOES: 02

Justus Keaveny

ABSENT: 02

Crowell Wright-Jones

-Michael Berg/Missouri Sierra Club
02/24/2011