Last week, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made some remarks at Georgetown Law School to help launch a new state-federal resource center devoted to climate policy. Everyone in Kansas -- especially the lawmakers -- ought to watch the video of what she had to say.
She talked about "the brand new world" in Washington, how it will strengthen the work of states as they begin to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and how it will lead the way to "a new energy era."
That's the big picture, and Kansas lawmakers are ignoring it.
This week, the state's legislators are at it again, trying to push through approvals for the construction of two new coal plants. They want to strip power plant permitting authority from Rod Bremby, the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment who famously denied permission over concern for carbon dioxide emissions. The problem for the legislators is, the federal government now stands behind Bremby.
