As he shepherds and tracks several energy bills being funneled to committees in the state Legislature before next week’s cutoff date, Sen Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, praised Gov. Chet Culver’s energy policies:

“Governor Culver has done an outstanding job on his advocacy for what he calls the next-generation energy economy … There might be some people who say it doesn’t go far enough … but Gov. Culver is exhibiting great leadership on this issue in the state. I would be delighted if the legislature was able to pass what he has proposed. He is ahead of the legislature on this issue … what we need is for the people of Iowa to weigh in on this. We need some strong public support. Obviously if the public doesn’t speak up, those groups that have a vested interest in this issue are going to stop any legislative proposals.”

Hogg’s energy efficiency bill, S.F. 2083, is opposed by utility lobbyists, including the Association of Electric Cooperatives, the Central IA Power Cooperative and the Association of Municipal Utilities, among others.

More from the Iowa Independent interview with Sen. Hogg below the fold.Hogg’s bill sets a goal of achieving “an energy savings of 1.5 percent per capita per year on a statewide basis during the 10-year period commencing on July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2021.”

Hogg said, “It’s March Madness and these issues are clearly on the bubble, they’re not necessarily going to the big dance … so it’s crunch time.” He encouraged Iowans concerned about energy issues to contact Senate Natural Resources Committee members.

Hogg also gave a big-picture view in describing U.S. energy issues that he said contribute to economic instability.

“We have a huge economic issue, the reason our economy is suffering today … is because we are exporting a billion dollars every day for oil … As long as we continue to do that, our economy is going to suffer. The only solution to our economic problems is fuel-efficiency and ending our dependency on foreign oil.”

Hogg has historically been forward with his views on climate change, telling the Iowa Independent:

“On the climate issue, people sometimes say, ‘Is global warming happening yet or not?’ The climate issue is so complex we’ve go to project out about four or five decades.

I sometimes tell people it’s like when you go to cook macaroni and cheese, this is what I tell the middle school students, when you turn on the heat on the stove, your water doesn’t immediately start boiling. It can take a long time to warm that water up, it’s just like with the Earth. You can add all these green-house gases and you don’t see the warming for three or four or five decades. 

What we’ve got to do now is, we’ve got to turn the ship, reduce our green-house gases or else we commit people thirty or forty years from now to a level of climatic change that’s unacceptable. So it’s an urgent issue, that’s why your readers should be interested, get involved and contact their state legislators.”

To find out more about bills being discussed in the state Legislature, visit: http://www.legis.sta…