Arizonans might vote to double their own electric bills

.

There is a myth that people who oppose “clean, renewable energy” hate the planet and that they’d like to spend their free time polluting the water supply with mercury. Nothing could be further from the truth, but the truth has very little to do with an emotional argument. An emotional argument is what environmentalists are making in lieu of a rational one in an attempt to manipulate the public.

Emotions are funny things; they make life worth living (e.g. love and joy) but they are also powerful tools for manipulation. Fear and anger motivate much of what people do every day. Tapping into those emotions and using them as a means to an end is a trick politicians and activists have been using against their fellow humans since politicians and activists came into being.

In states across the country, voters and elected officials are being asked to vote for economic suicide, or at least an economic self-knee-capping, under the guise of “protecting the future” or “saving the children.” Massachusetts is being pressured by activists to impose regulations that significantly increase energy costs for its citizens, particularly the poor, in the name of the environment. But while forcing “renewable energy” on the public long before it’s ready to meet demand may allow the elites to pat themselves on the back, winters happen in New England, and there is nothing noble about freezing.

Outside of the mountains, Arizona doesn’t face the brutal winters of the northeast. But summers, on the other hand, have unrelenting heat that can make a blizzard feel like a walk in the park.

That’s why it’s so odd to see Arizonans considering artificially inflating the cost of keeping themselves cool when the sun has other ideas.

This November, voters in the Grand Canyon state will vote on Proposition 127, which “would require electric companies to rely on solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and other renewable power sources for half their supply by 2030.” Proponents of Prop 127 aren’t making a rational argument based on science, they’re proposing classic manipulation to the voters — an immediate reward of feeling good, that you’re “doing something,” in exchange for avoiding a future calamity. If you listen to proponents, it’s a win-win, so there’s no real choice at all — as long as you don’t think about it.

If you do think about it, the Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University found has some bad news: If implemented, Proposition 127 would essentially double most Arizona resident’s utility bills every year. For a typical customer of the state’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, this will cost about $1,900 a year.

As if this weren’t bad enough, the state’s public schools could lose $435 million in tax dollars from lost property tax receipts over a 43-year time period. In other words, progressives will damage public schools and saddle low-income families with higher utility bills, all in the name of green energy.

In addition to ASU’s troubling findings, a state agency, the Residential Utility Consumer Office estimates rates will increase by at least $450 a year in Tucson and $630 a year in Phoenix. In a press release announcing their findings, RUCO Director David Tenney stated: “Our analysis shows that the ballot initiative would result in increased costs for Arizona’s residential utility customers, including those on low or fixed incomes.”

Trying to use cleaner, cheaper energy is a laudable goal, but the options available now simply aren’t ready to replace existing sources. Maybe someday it will be, but to artificially impose a deadline and mandate use isn’t the way to get there. No rational person would try. That’s why activists in Arizona aren’t trying a rational approach, they’re engaging in emotional manipulation — give us what we want or you’re killing the planet. Nothing truly good needs to be sold that way.

Derek Hunter is author of the book, Outrage, INC.: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood, about how emotional manipulation is used to influence the public.

Related Content

Related Content