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Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins writes about Anchorage city government and politics. He covered last year's campaign for governor, and has blogged extensively about Alaska politics for the past year. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and was a reporter at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com

Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He spent three years based in Juneau for the Daily News before joining the Tacoma News-Tribune two years ago to write about Washington state politics. He went to Iraq twice for the News Tribune, and previously wrote about Alaska government and politics for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Now he's back in Anchorage. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Erika Bolstad

Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau this summer, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.

Green reaction to Palin

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: May 16, 2008 - 10:40 am

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Looks like Gov. Sarah Palin could get some environmentalist pushback for her plan to hand us all debit cards for the filling station.

Longtime Alaskan environmentalist Deborah Williams (now with Alaska Conservation Solutions) had this to say today about Palin's energy cost relief plan.

"While well intentioned, the Governor’s recommendation takes our state down the wrong path. It will have numerous adverse consequences, including increasing our dependence on fossil fuel based energy. It will increase our carbon footprint. And, I would predict, that it would negatively affect Alaska’s appropriations in Washington DC. As a political matter, it would also be extremely hard to discontinue this new “entitlement” in 12 months once it is initiated (consider how fiercely people protect their income stream from the Permanent Dividend checks)."

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16 May 20, 2008 - 4:38pm | hey_georgie_girl_98

Deborah Williams, "It will have adverse consequences"

Increase our carbon footprint
It would negatively affect Alaska's appropriations in Washington DC
I agree!
It will be taxed as income
Adverse consequences!

May 20, 2008 - 4:45pm | rfn

I never ceased to be amazed

by people who will refuse tens of thousands in income because it might cost them hundreds of dollars in taxes.

May 20, 2008 - 4:58pm | hey_georgie_girl_98

on the other hand, if it's taxed as a gift

It will not adversely affect families whose incomes have capped to qualify for other programs.

15 May 18, 2008 - 6:40pm | Stags_Leap

Palin's Plan is socialism run amok

whatever happened to the fiscal conservative platform she allegedly followed? Palin is now going to give away millions of our money to milk those popularity poll numbers instead of doing something of substance like getting a viable gasline contract in place involving all three producers. How about crime, gang violence, unemployment, suicide rates, domestic violence rates, and sexual assual rates? How about doing something of substance instead of foolishly giving out subsidies that won't help anyone long term?

May 18, 2008 - 6:50pm | rfn

Part of the answer

will soon be a-building at Point McKenzie.

Now all we need is some new judges who'll fight criminals instead of fighting the police.

13 May 17, 2008 - 4:29pm | Stags_Leap

Palin's Plan -Give Away Money

to buy good poll ratings. Huey Long used to do the same thing, except the Kingfish was smart -unlike Palin, and he always had a long term plan...though not always on the up and up so to speak.

Palin's plan does nothing more than give away money -instead of encouraging conservation and greater use of public transportation.

Frankly, I hope that gas goes to $7/gallon, so the knucklehead elected officials will realize that we need long term strategic planning -not short term fluff and media spin or political gain.

Fact is -Palin can continue to give away our surplus until the next election, and buy herself another 4 years at "governing" from the Valley. But at the end of her 8 year reign -our economy will be in a shambles. Try long term planning using solutions that are effective, instead of pandering for higher popularity poll ratings. Shame on you, Sarah Palin.

May 17, 2008 - 4:37pm | Emperor

Stand by...

...and watch as families lose their homes, jobs and businesses because the state doesn't share the windfall profits that come at the expense of Alaskans.

Yeah, that will show them alright.

12 May 17, 2008 - 10:25am | kaisersoze

Giveaways?

I appreciate the Governor trying to do something to help a dire situation. My vote goes to helping only those who have little income or a fixed income as many elderly do. Enabling those who refuse to do their part to use fuel wisely prolongs the pain we are all feeling, and will likely feel for many years if we do not change our attitude toward this subject.
Our Governor should be encouraged to pass laws that require all of us to be responsible with energy. There are too many out there with more money than sense--they need to be stepped on--hard. Park the Hummers (idiots) or enjoy the boot on the back of your neck.

11 May 17, 2008 - 12:35am | robindevoe

Energy subsidy debit cards are a VERY bad idea

Utility subsidies are a good idea. But the debit cards will encourage bad behavior. As Sdog so eloquently explains below, way more than 10% of Alaskans don't even spend $1200 per household member on energy now. (I live alone and spend about 8 or 9 hundred -- but I do bike often and conserve by doing crazy things like turning my water-heater down when I leave for work.) Anyway, this will cause people to drive more, to not worry about turning down the heat, etc. Then when the subsidy goes away (if ever) people will be worse off then before. (Granted, this is an Anchorage-centric post -- too bad there's not a way to tie the amount of the debit card to the average price of fuel in your geographic area.)

May 17, 2008 - 4:44pm | Emperor

So give..

...your card to a charity to use. But before you do, think about the cost of energy in everything else you buy including your food. Consider how much of a negative impact that higher energy prices have on small businesses which will suffer with less disposable income.

Why is it so wrong for the people to share in the windfall profits the State has received as a result of higher oil prices?

May 17, 2008 - 7:32pm | robindevoe

We should share in the oil profits, absolutely

I think this is just the wrong mechanism, that's all. And giving my debit card to charity will solve none of the problems if this thing goes thru. Which I kind of doubt it will, seeing how the legislative leadership is not too thrilled with it.

May 18, 2008 - 5:08pm | Emperor

I'd rather..

...put the money in the pockets of Alaskans over politicians and bureaucrats.

People don't have time for the government to study, debate and pontificate ad nauseam.

Famlies and small businesses were struggling before to make ends meet. Now, with no end in sight for escalating energy costs, we'll see more people losing their homes, their jobs and their small businesses.

Yes, we need a long term plan, but we also have to deal with the existing emergency. The debit cards are the quickest and most efficient way to get help to the people that need it.

I understand the risks of fraud and creating a new entitlement, but measured against the needs of fellow Alaskans, those are risks I'm willing to take.

May 18, 2008 - 8:47am | just_a_note

what is your plan, or did I miss that if you already posted it?

May 18, 2008 - 11:24am | robindevoe

I was just saying the debit card is NOT a good plan

And didn't really offer an alternative. But how about taking the billion and investing in wind, hydro, geothermal, bullet gas line? Or feed a state owned refinery subsidized oil from Prudhoe? (I got that idea off someone else on this blog.) That's all medium to long-term of course. As far as short-term, keep Palin's utility subsidy idea at least. But lowering the price of heating oil in the Bush should be a first priority, and I cant think of another solution for that right now; but surely someone smarter and more creative than me could come up with something better than the debit cards, which will have many external and negative impacts IMHO.

May 18, 2008 - 5:11pm | Emperor

...many external and negative impacts...

what would those be? What would be worse than people losing their homes, their jobs and their small businesses?

May 18, 2008 - 5:52pm | just_a_note

How would you

lower the price of oil in the bush? And, it isn't JUST the bush where folks are feeling pain. A working family anywhere in Alaska who has to budget every penny of income to keep shoes on the kids and food on the table is now faced with harder choices since the price fo going to work went up and the price of groceries just went up too...Don't you think that unless you can come up with a better short term solution you should support a plan that might bring some relief to your working neighbors? I might find a way to weather this but I also feel there are folks out there who don't have choices. You gotta remember that this was not anticipated, at least not by most folk and it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. This is not money out of your pocket, no one is asking you to give up anything, in fact you would benefit too. So just why do you think this is such a bad idea?

May 18, 2008 - 6:45pm | Emperor

just a note

was that a response to me? I think we agree.

10 May 17, 2008 - 12:22am | tlamb775

While

drinking a beer, er, latte on a lunch break from work, I had the opportunity to listen to Fagan for one hour and one caller in particular made one good point.

She was a disabled woman in her sixities on Social Security.

Now I can understand the woman in that my mother is on social security, disabled, pays for her own health insurance, paid 4 grand for new windows, pays property taxes, pays her electric, gas. Car insurance and food.

And a good conservative.....

I will say that these people are the ones who need help.

Interesting take on Fagan and Williams.

The magnetic poles must be shifting ................

9 May 16, 2008 - 9:06pm | akmooster

this is probably the most....

asinine idea she has come up with to date. Why should a family of 6 in Anchorage with a household income of $300,000 a year get $600 a month and a single old man in a village who is paying $10 a gallon to heat his home get $100?
Come on Gov. If you want to help, send money to those villagers who are really in trouble with this.
By the way, Gov., did you notice that after you guys raised taxes on big oil, that Alaska is now the most expensive place in the country to buy gas? I'm sure it has nothing to do with retribution, but if it does, don't forget we also have one of the lowest taxes on gasoline. Maybe you could ask them about that. Thanks.
We now are using our dividends to pay big oil so they can pay for the bloated state government.
One last idea, why not spend $1.2 billion on fostering some kind of business investment in alternative fuels work IN ALASKA?

May 19, 2008 - 7:16am | Aklabwalker

+ one

and make sure to contact your elected representatives, in Juneau with your concerns and alternatives. I have.

May 16, 2008 - 10:26pm | rfn

There's this little problem

with the constitution.

The very young don't realize that an initial plan would have had the amount paid from The Alaska Permanent Fund to each individual determined, in part, by how long said person had lived in the state.

Unconstitutional.

Give a general subsidy to one; give it to all or give it to none.

I can sympathize that a handful of rich people in Seattle-North don't need the help as much as the old man (or family) in a village but, to give it to the village person means it has to be give to everyone.

Better to keep it from everyone than to give a little extra to some consumed by greed?

I DO wonder if it would be legal for the state to allow individuals to refuse the help and put it back in the pot. Of course there's nothing compelling them to spend the money. They could just let the cards expire unused. If they're perhaps consumed by guilt they might consider contributing a proportionate amount to some charitable organization that needs electricity or heat but, not being PFD eligible, gets no subsidy.

Would be nice to invest a whole lot of the surplus in practical alternative energy. Like, for example, funding a bullet line to South Central AND developing vehicles that can run on natural gas. Maybe subsidizing conversions for those who can't afford the cost. Not free natural gas; just available natural gas in sufficient quantity as to displace the (allegedly) scarce petroleum.

Seems mighty churlish of folks who are rolling in money to want to deny help to those who are being throttled by energy and food prices. But, whatever floats their boat!

May 16, 2008 - 9:41pm | Talkradio

The Villages do get help

Have you heard of power cost equalization? That's a state hand-out that's been going on for years..

Eddie Burke

May 20, 2008 - 11:01am | mark_springer

PCE is not a hand-out

Mr. Burke- What part of the word Equalization is hard to understand? When the State of ALaska was on a binge building electrical interties (effectively subsidizing local utility rates in the railbelt) Rural legislators rightly pointed out that there was no mechanism to effectively subsidize local ratepayers off the Railbelt. PCE, based on the cost of gas-fired electrical generation was the mechanism that was devised to EQUALIZE power costs between urban and rural Alaskans. Fair is fair! Now that Juneau is buring diesel, by the way, they are also benefitting from PCE (and taking a chunk out of it to boot!).
I really wish people would stop with the Rural hand-out paintbrush on so many of these issues. We are all waiting for the first fuel barge to get here to Bethel and see if a gallon of gas and a gallon of HF is going to cost as much as a gallon of milk does.

Mark Springer
Bethel

May 20, 2008 - 11:18am | akgen

quyana Mr. Springer

quyana...

8 May 16, 2008 - 8:23pm | akartisan

Come On Deborah Williams

Here is the smart bet. Don't oppose this thing, it is only going to buy you opposition. The smart play on the environmental activist would be to attempt to partner a similar investment in energy alternatives to create permanent systemic change.

No amount of nattering against helping the citizens of this state will stop the issue. What can happen is it can be improved.

Get to work and stop complaining.

May 16, 2008 - 9:45pm | Talkradio

enviro-wacko's are whinning

The enviro-wacko's want the price of fuel to be at 7 bucks to force us out of our cars.. Thats the plan. Now with Palin doing this, a family of 3 pays nothing for fuel.

Eddie

May 17, 2008 - 12:17am | robindevoe

Wrong

I'm sure I'm what you'd consider an "enviro-whacko" and I'm praying for gasoline to go up to $10 a gallon! Hummers and even large trucks have always been ridiculously stupid (unless used practically to carry large loads). Now people actually have to pay out of there own pockets for the damage they've been causing the environment for years. Boo-hoo. I, for one, am loving it. (As for the high prices of heating fuel oil, that is a damn shame and I certainly wish those prices could go down, especially for our friends in the Bush.)

May 17, 2008 - 12:24am | tlamb775

Tsk tsk

you can't have high prices and your low prices too....

May 17, 2008 - 10:03am | Talkradio

People should revolt

Liberals are terrorist and should be treated that way. People should be confronting their neighbors who belong and support these left-wing- wack-O groups who have blocked exploration for decades. You see how absurd they sound; I'm happy gas prices are up, but too bad about heating fuel.

These people and groups should be held accountable. As people find themselves unable to drive their children to school or heat their homes they may start to revolt. If I was someone who sported around a Left-wing bumper sticker, I would most likely take it off.

Eddie Burke

May 19, 2008 - 10:10am | akartisan

Keep Using That Word

Just like your hero George Bush has done. Each time you utter it, you dilute it's meaning. A couple more years and it will mean nothing to us except the catalyst to many suffering hours at the hands of TSA.

May 19, 2008 - 7:24am | Aklabwalker

Held accountable for cleaning up our

planet? I'm okay with that. Don't mind contributing to and belonging to the following organizations: The Sierra Club, Green Peace, the ACLU and Amnesty International. If Palin's plan moves forward I will use the additional funds to support one or more of the above-cited groups. See ya in court big boy!

May 17, 2008 - 7:23pm | robindevoe

Wow

I'm very liberal Eddie, but guess what? I'm not a terrorist at all. You're sounding a bit absurd yourself, my friend! And drilling ANWR wont solve your high gas prices problem. Maybe if the President you no doubt voted for hadn't started a war of choice in Iraq, prices wouldn't be so high.

May 17, 2008 - 11:30am | _Syrin

Liberals are terrorist and should be treated that way.

Guess What People? Sarah is a liberal and terrorizing the economic stability of MY state...... Let's Stop Her!

May 17, 2008 - 11:06am | AK_Lady

I dare you to mess with my vehicle, Eddie Burke.

And since when do people need to drive their kids to school? I see bright yellow school buses everywhere!

May 17, 2008 - 6:19pm | Talkradio

Dont worry

I would not worry about people messing with your car.. If I were a liberal, I would worry about people messing with me. By the way.. Many parents do drive their kids to school. Just go to any school in the morning.

Eddie Burke

May 17, 2008 - 7:44pm | robindevoe

Are you threatening liberals Eddie??

Or trying to foment violence? Cause neither action is very cool or nice. Please try to aspire to your higher nature.

May 17, 2008 - 8:56pm | Talkradio

Call it what you want

Call it what you want. People may get to a point where they will hold accountable those who are responsable. If the shoe fits.. wear it. People abey laws in good times, but in bad times, people administer their own justice.

Eddie Burke

May 18, 2008 - 11:16am | robindevoe

Dont want to put words in your mouth

But are you saying liberals are to blame for high gas prices by not supporting drilling in ANWR? Because a well-drilled ANWR will have a negligible impact on world oil supply. Isn't it far more likely the war in Iraq is having a much larger effect on gas prices than ANWR ever could? Do you really think we can drill our way out of this problem? Or do we need some need creative thinking, i.e. changing the way we live, investing in renewables, and maybe (just maybe) not driving around huge mobilehomes and SUVs quite so much?

May 18, 2008 - 3:56pm | Talkradio

Blame those liberals

I'm blaming liberals on blocking exploration all over the country. They are responsable and should be held accountable.

Eddie

7 May 16, 2008 - 3:48pm | yours_truly

I'm surprised....

Palin has been so cozy with the greenies lately too.

6 May 16, 2008 - 3:08pm | akhalfwit

what the greenie says

I agree. From now on out in support of all the environmentalists out there I will only burn wood. I will kill and burn wood by the tractor trailer full. I will kill every tree I see that looks like it would meet my needs in a wood stove. Gotta love greenies for splaininit all to us so well.

5 May 16, 2008 - 2:13pm | firedragon007

nonsense

This will not increase energy use, as most people will pay for services they are already consuming. I think that the way she sees it, she would like people to start using bikes and alternatives to driving instead, which is a completely different story.

May 16, 2008 - 7:32pm | just_a_note

160 miles RT for groceries on a bike

That would have been a lot of fun! I get the feeling that so many who post here don't face any challenges getting to the store or to work because they live in Anchorage. Suggesting riding public transit, taking a bike or walking to work, well that is in another world from mine, and there are a lot more like me.

May 16, 2008 - 7:51pm | rfn

Remember,

some folks who blog here thing that Alaska consists entirely of the land within the boundaries of Seattle-North (which they playfully call "Anchorage". They also believe that everybody in this state should be forced to move to Seattle-North.

We must try to find it in our hearts to forgive them.

But not expend too much effort (energy) on that....

May 16, 2008 - 4:03pm | chilcoot

Of Course It Will

Of course these plans will increase energy use. We're about to artifically stimulate demand by reducing cost.

We're putting money in people's pockets that can only be used for energy. People will be less resistant to taking long drives and keeping the thermostat up.

It will increase energy use relative to the amount that would be used if no new programs were put in place.

May 16, 2008 - 4:57pm | Emperor

That's nonsense 'coot.

The cost of EVERYTHING is going up with the cost of energy. It's not just fuel for our cars or heating our homes. The energy subsidy will offset the increase in costs in those other areas as well.

People aren't going to drive more or turn up the thermostat because of the subsidy.

May 16, 2008 - 6:31pm | TheSdog

Really emp

so people who get these cards will not use them for fuel for their boats or off road vehicles?

When you give this to everybody there are plenty of people with disposable income (and some without) who will shift their money to other activities.

People will think less about the thermostat and leaving lights on and leaving TVs on and leaving computers on and making only one trip for errands, etc.

Face it, it is a valid point.

May 16, 2008 - 8:13pm | truthseeker

No dog..............

I will be putting my surplus funds into knitting supplies and will sit at home and not drive, knitting a new sweater which I will need because I will have the heat turned down to sixty to save the polar bears because we have already destroyed all the penguins on the north slope by our stupid energy use extravagance.

Saving the world one person at a time.

I have also witnessed the destruction wrought by clear cutting all the forests in the aleutian islands which is apparent to everyone who has ever been out there. You can't twick me!!!!!!!!

No sir.

May 16, 2008 - 7:55pm | rfn

There is no practical way

to control stupidity. Greed? Well, it might be possible to outlaw use of any kind of fuel in rich-kid toys though that's unlikely.

Still, I can see the viewpoint of the elitists who knows their own propensities to wanton waste and projects those onto others.

Comes the revolution..........

Hey, if we're all socialists ya gotta expect us to act like socialists!

May 16, 2008 - 7:50pm | Emperor

There will be...

...some of those I'm sure.

How many do you think? 1 out of 10?