Wingnut of the Day: James Inhofe

It is a fucking disgrace that James Inhofe is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Unsurprisingly, oil and gas is the number one industry donating to Inhofe's campaigns. Dirty Energy Money has a graph that shows a who's who of energy companies donating to the Senate's leading science denier. Campaign cash might explain why Inhofe makes incredibly stupid statements like this.

“I have offered compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax. That conclusion is supported by the painstaking work of the nation's top climate scientists.”

Fun fact: Koch Industries, an oil companies of the Koch Brothers, is one of Inhofe's leading donors.

Renewable Energy Fight In Cape Coral

Cape Coral resident Robin Speronis is using solar power and rain water for her home. Special Magistrate Harold S. Eskin told Speronis that she must pay for water service she does not use. Speronis uses waste water for her garden.

“I know how to live off the grid completely and in a sanitary way,” Speronis responded in an email to the action. “That's what seven months in living in the woods taught me. I do have an alternative toilet from my days of living in the woods.”

At issue is Speronis is not paying for waste water.

“This resident provided testimony at the code compliance hearing that she has been living in the home for the past year and using the city’s wastewater system without paying for the service,” said Connie Barron, a spokeswoman for the city.

Speronis intends to fight the Cape Coral city codes. I am interested in how this will play out. The Koch Brothers and ALEC are behind an effort to making solar panel users pay a fee to utility companies.

The solar power industry called the new rule a victory only because power companies in the state were demanding assessments of as much as $100 a month — more than high enough to deter families from considering switching to solar.

Renewable energy is not in the financial interest of the oil industry.

Quote of the Day

"They may be a Kansas business, they may be the biggest company run by a single family, but they need to be asking the question "What can we do for Kansas?" and not "What can Kansas do for us?" Koch Industries is just a terrible, terrible citizen as far as I'm concerned. I think Koch Industries has done a major disservice to the state of Kansas."

Tim Owens, Kansas Republican state senator.

Owens is a moderate who lost his primary by 20 points.

Scott At Koch Brothers Conference

Gov. Rick Scott finally fesses up to being at the Koch brothers weekend conference.

“It was very interesting,” Scott said. “They wanted to know basically … what am I doing in Florida.”

There have been questions whether Scott attended the private weekend gathering of conservative-minded leaders but the governor’s office has refused to say. “I told anybody who asked me,” said Scott, who hosted a breakfast gathering at a bio tech conference in Washington, D.C.

The Koch brother wanted to know what Scott was doing for them in Florida. More Exactly.