Assuming Governor Blunt signs SB1181 into law, new energy efficiency requirements will be in place for current and future state buildings. The centerpiece of this bill is the "Green Sales Tax Holiday," which the Governor promoted in his State of the State back in January. A myriad of other "green" items are part of this legislation including tax incentives for home energy audits, energy efficiency standards for products sold in Missouri, and low interest loans for alternative energy projects. All of this has Big Muddy wondering if our conservative state is turning the progressive corner.
It is not a total surprise. Dating back to the Holden administration, two key actions took place. First the creation of the Missouri Energy Task Force, which makes annual energy efficiency recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly and secondly, the boldest step, the design and construction of The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Lewis and Clark State Office Building. The building achieved a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification rating of platinum, which is the council’s highest rating. There are only a handful of buildings across Missouri that have reached such status and this building was finished four years ago!
Big Muddy sees more evidence in the area of agriculture. Though it has its detractors, the ethanol boom shows Missouri's willingness to use its agro-prowess in an alternative direction in terms of crop yields and fuel production. Furthermore, ask any legislator in Jefferson City (see Chris Koster circa 2006) what the dirtiest word in the capitol is and they will all tell you...CAFO! These massive corporate farms have upset local farmers, environmentalists, doctors, and rich yuppies who don't like the smell near their parks. These days, good luck finding a legislator who will sponsor legislation even remotely related to the subject.
Two words that used to make legislators run the other direction were Sierra and Club. Now groups like Missouri Coalition for the Environment and Missouri Votes Conservation are actually working with legislators in both parties to promote "green" policies. While Senators Bray and Smith are admitted champions of the "green" movement, Senator Engler, Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Energy and Environment Committee actually sponsored SB1181.
Lastly, this November, Missouri voters will likely have an initiative to vote on which forces the major utility corporations of the state to begin using higher percentages of energy created from renewable sources. All in an effort to get away from Missouri's coal dependency. Should this ballot intiative pass and with the continued passage of "green" legislation, Big Muddy and other observers might just put our fair state in the same category of "green" states as California and Colorado. Is that possible?
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