Sarah Palin Only Governor to Turn Down Energy Conservation Funds

'Every single governor except Sarah Palin (R-AK) has written to Energy Secretary Steven Chu accepting millions of stimulus dollars meant to increase energy conservation and efficiency. Last month, Palin rejected $28.6 million for energy conservation work because she said it would force Alaska buildings to adhere to a “universal energy code.” Newsminer points out that the Energy Department has accepted other states’ pledges to simply work with local governments to improve efficiency, and that no “universal” requirement is needed.'

- http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/12/palin-energy-funds/

Even more hilarious, or depressing, depending on what kind of mood you are in, is that this is the only part of the $931 million federal stimulus package she declined.

'The co-chairs of the state Senate Resources Committee sent Palin a letter Monday urging her to accept the funds, which could go for uses including energy efficiency grants, retrofitting buildings for less energy use and replacing streetlights with LED bulbs that use less electricity and last longer.

Anchorage Republican Sen. Lesil McGuire, one of the lawmakers who wrote the governor, said in an interview that Palin herself set a goal of Alaska receiving 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2025.

Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski, the other co-chair of the Resources Committee, said in a written statement that, "...Alaskans need this money far more than residents of many other states with milder climates and substantially lower energy costs."

Palin's main beef is that she doesn't want to have to impose a statewide code that would interfere or force the hand of local government. Wielechowski and McGuire pointed out that 'the state would have eight years to meet the efficiency standards and that much of Alaska already has the energy codes...Many of the structures built in rural communities are built with public funds through agencies like the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., which also already has the energy code requirement. They said the code would need to apply only to communities with more than 2,500 people, and structures without plumbing or central heating would be exempt.'

- http://www.adn.com/palin/story/783397.html

Way to go Palin! Palin 2012!!