Pickens Plan District Group AZ-08

Comment

Comment by Robert J. Butler on November 3, 2009 at 3:41pm

Steve -- Here it is verbatim. RJB
November 2, 2009

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Butler,

Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 1835, the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act of 2009. I appreciate your interest in this critical energy policy topic.



As you probably know, this bill would support natural gas transportation initiatives. The key provisions of the bill include:

o Incentives to purchase and use natural gas vehicles (NGVs) with an emphasis on heavy duty vehicles and fleet vehicles

o Incentives for manufacturers to produce NGVs

o Incentives to install natural gas fuel pumps and service stations and depots

o A requirement that by 2014 at least 50 percent of all new vehicles purchased by the US government shall be capable of operating on natural gas



I believe there is an important role for natural gas as a "bridge" fuel to a low-carbon future. Compared with coal or oil, natural gas produces significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants to generate a given amount of energy. Substituting natural gas for other fossil fuels offers an excellent way to reduce emissions and pollution rapidly.



In addition, recent advances in drilling technology, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have opened up significant new natural gas supplies from shale formations in the United States. Until recently, it was assumed that increased use of natural gas would require a significant increase in imports. That would not have made sense from the perspective of trying to reduce our dependence on foreign energy. It now appears, however, that there are ample domestic supplies. There are some legitimate concerns about the environmental impacts of these new drilling techniques, but it appears those issues can be responsibly managed. For these reasons, I believe our national policy should create incentives to use of domestic natural gas.



However, while I do not oppose using natural gas as a transportation fuel, I do not believe we should create incentives for widespread use of natural gas for that purpose. Instead, I believe natural gas should be used to generate as much electricity as possible, ideally as a substitute for other fossil fuels. This is a simple issue of getting the most bang for our buck and stretching the resource as far as possible. The average natural gas-powered electrical plant in the United States is approximately 39 percent efficient meaning that 39 percent of the energy contained in the fuel is converted into electricity. The newest natural gas power plants are even more efficient than that, at approximately 60 percent. This is more efficient than the use of natural gas in an internal combustion engine, which is about 15-20 percent. Internal combustion engines are so inefficient that it would be far better better to transition to electric vehicles and run them on electricity from natural gas than to run vehicles on natural gas directly. Considering that numerous automobile manufacturers are planning to introduce all or partial-electric powered vehicles within the next year or two, I believe that is a better strategy.



In addition, natural gas provides an ideal complement to solar and wind power. Natural gas can effectively "firm" the output of these renewables, filling in the gaps in production when the wind drops off or a cloud passes over the sun. The combination of natural gas and renewables can be an effective source of baseload power.



Some people point out that you can't run an 18-wheeler on batteries, which is true, at least for now. However, we can't forget the problems we are trying to solve. We want to reduce energy imports and reduce environmental impact. Using domestic natural gas for electricity and transitioning to electric transportation would achieve those goals. We can continue to run heavy vehicles on diesel for the time being, giving efficiency, biofuels, and battery technologies more time to improve. This would avoid the expense of investing in a natural gas transportation infrastructure that will ultimately be obsolete anyway when we transition away from fossil fuels completely, as we must.



H.R. 1835 was introduced on April 1, 2009 and has been referred to House Ways and Means Committee, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the Science and Technology Committee. Should this bill come to the House floor for a vote, I will keep your thoughts in mind.



Solving our energy problems is essential for the sake of our economy, our environment, and our national security. I sincerely applaud the authors and cosponsors of the NAT GAS Act for all they are doing to raise awareness of these critical energy issues and of the potential for natural gas to contribute solutions. However, I do not agree that natural gas should be used as a widespread transportation fuel - it is too valuable and more effective in other applications. Instead of burning natural gas in our vehicles, we should use it where it will have the greatest impact?"generating electricity?"as we work to electrify transportation, improve efficiency, and develop effective biofuels as quickly as possible.



I always appreciate hearing from constituents, like you, who are informed and interested in the important issues affecting Arizona and the nation. My job as your representative is to help you connect with federal agencies, access services and get your questions answered thoroughly. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if you require assistance.





Sincerely Yours,



Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress

P.S. To receive regular e-mail updates on my work as your U.S. Representative, visit
www.giffords.house.gov to opt-in to my e-newsletter. It allows me to keep Southern
Arizonans, like you, informed about the most recent activities in the House of Representatives
and upcoming public forums I am sponsoring in the district.

Comment by Steven E. Sexton on November 3, 2009 at 10:14am

Robert - Please send me Rep. Giffords response with her data and rationale on NG vehicle efficiency. I would like to understand her position in this matter.

Steve Sexton - sesexton@vocgen.com

Comment by Robert J. Butler on November 3, 2009 at 2:08am

Dani -- Last August we asked you to respond to Rep. Giffords, D8-AZ who has declined to support NGA because she believes NG has low efficiency numbers as a transportation fuel (>20%)
I have written to her twice asking for her support and twice she has responded with the same data. Why have you not refuted her position? She is a great representative for our district and is quite reasonable on facts. We need your help on this. Let's talk. RJB

Comment by Dani Lanz on November 2, 2009 at 2:08pm

Let’s get to 120 by 11/20/09

Army:

What a couple of weeks it’s been and I have lots to report and something very important to ask.

There’s a new Natural Gas Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives which is headed by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK). The more than 40 bi-partisan members of the caucus held a major hearing on Capitol Hill. The Natural Gas Caucus talked about how the development of America’s natural gas resources will help set America on a path to energy independence and create millions of new jobs. It was a great event and an important message to get out there.

But here’s the really important part.

We’ve got just under 100 cosponsors of the NAT GAS Act (H.R. 1835) in the House—and that’s great—but I think we can educate more Members of Congress, build on that support and do a lot more.

Click here to email your Member of Congress and ask them to become a cosponsor of the NAT GAS Act.

I think we can get at least another 20+ cosponsors in the coming weeks so I’m calling on every member of the Army to reach out to their Member of Congress right now so that we can get to at least 120 sponsors by November 20th. I’m calling it 120 by 11-20.

I’m going to be working the phones and I need you to as well. Army, we can get this done and show Congress that it’s time to end our dependence on foreign oil.

Click here to email your Member of Congress and ask them to become a cosponsor of the NAT GAS Act.

Stay tuned because we’re going to post regular updates about our progress and highlight those members who are working to get us off foreign oil.

Let’s keep the pressure on!

– Boone

P.S. We recently ran an ad in the news publications which cover Capitol Hill. Click here to view the short video we did about this really unique ad. It’s getting people’s attention.

Comment by Dave Clement on October 16, 2009 at 4:08pm

The Honda GX and Civic were manufactured in Ohio for many years and were recently relocated to a factory in Indiana. It is made here in the United States!
The lines anymore between local and foreign are very much blurred with all companies.

Comment by Robert J. Butler on October 16, 2009 at 1:19pm

I just love Honda -- personally own a CRV.
How can the Japanese do this year after year?
My wife says GM should fire all the attorneys and hire Japanese engineers...

Comment by Dave Clement on October 16, 2009 at 12:08pm

The Cleanest Car on Earth, per the EPA, The Natural Gas Honda Civic GX is available at Chapman Honda in Tucson

See Fred or Dan at Chapmans for more information!

Comment by Dave Clement on October 16, 2009 at 10:04am

Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of Tucson's Newest Public Natural Gas Station!

Comment by Dave Clement on October 14, 2009 at 2:32pm

Grand Opening of Tucson's 2nd public CNG station on Thursday,
11:15 AM
Kino/Winsett- 1744 E Winsett St
Dignitaries from Raul Grijalva's office, City of Tucson, Tucson
Schools, Pima Schools and Clean Energy will speak.
Thursday Oct 15, lunch to follow.
RSVP Lucinda Williamson, 480-785-2962 or lwilliamson@cleanenergyfuels.com

Comment by Robert J. Butler on October 14, 2009 at 10:44am

Pamela -- Here is my request to Senator McCain. I am drafting a guest opinion piece for the Arizona Daily Star if we are turned down...

Dear Senator:
We note the dedication of Dry Lake Wind Farm in Heber, AZ last week and we would like to pursue the subject of renewable energy here in Arizona including prospects for expansion of solar and wind resources. We are also interested in the Natural Gas Act currently pending in the Congress. Two of us live here in Tucson and would prefer to meet you at the Tucson office. Please advise by return email when you may be in Tucson and when we may have the opportunity to discuss this issue with you.
Thank you for your acknowledgment of interest in this matter.
RJB

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