Bill would create state climatologist office
Legislation before the Alabama House of Representatives would create a formal state office of climatology, but the sponsor and the state climatologist part ways on whether the office could serve in an advocacy role.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, would base the Office of the State Climatologist at the University of Alabama Huntsville, the home of state climatologist John Christy. Currently, the state climatologist is appointed by the governor; Christy was first named to the position by Gov. Don Siegelman in 2000. The legislation in some ways formalizes activities already conducted: the bill would authorize the office to conduct research and assist with economic development.
"When we have economic development projects come to Alabama, the state climatologist does research to give the information as it relates to climate, (such as) whether it's in the critical path of a tornado," Daniels said in a phone interview Tuesday. "A lot of companies that want to come to Alabama fear that."
Daniels' legislation had not been scheduled for a committee hearing as of Tuesday. Similar bills were introduced in the House and Senate last year, but did not come out of committee. The representative said Tuesday he expected climatology to remain a line-item in the UAH budget. The climatology program is slated to receive $850,000 in the current fiscal year, a $600,000 increase over its FY 2014 appropriation. That increase was bigger than UAH's net gain of $294,845.
Christy said Tuesday his prior work had led to similar bills, such as an irrigation tax credit, that had proved beneficial to farmers. "This is directly tied to creating jobs in Alabama," he said.
However, the bill would also allow the office to "monitor federal climate-related activities to assure that the interests of the state are being served."
Christy believes the impact of climate change has been overstated, and that it is not an immediate threat, views almost no other climate scientist holds. Republicans in Congress, who largely oppose climate change regulations, have frequently called on Christy to testify.
Daniels, who said he is "on the other side of aisle" of Christy when it comes to climate change," said he would not be able to give his personal views of climate change.
Christy, however, sees his job as just that, arguing that federal regulations aimed at curbing the output of carbon – a major contributor to climate change – would not improve the situation and would affect the Alabama economy.
"I'm already heavily involved in my regular climate research, (and) it dovetails nicely to demonstrate that these regulations will have absolutely no effect on the climate," he said.
Such talk makes environmental groups in the state – ranked 23rd in the nation by population but 14th for carbon emissions – uneasy. Christy dismisses concerns by saying that he uses "hard-core science" and does not "invent things to scare people. But Tammy Herrington, executive director of Conservation Alabama, said Tuesday she would prefer to see someone with a "more balanced view" of climate change in the role.
"I live on the coast, and we know there are going to be (climate change) issues, whether you believe they're man-made or not," she said. "We want someone advising our state well so we can prepare for them. But I would advocate for someone from our perspective who is a little more open-minded to what it is happening and that need to prepare for it."
Members of the Public Service Commission have also voiced opposition to carbon regulations. The opposition is rooted in Alabama's traditional dependence on coal, a major source of carbon pollution, as an electricity generator. As recently as 10 years ago, coal accounted for 70 percent of Alabama Power's energy portfolio.
However, in recent years utilities have been turning more and more to natural gas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Alabama generated 4,382 gigawatt-hours of power from natural gas last December, compared to 3,769 gigawatt-hours from nuclear sources and 3,315 gigawatt-hours from coal. According to the EIA, utilities' electric generating capacities from coal stayed roughly the same size between 1990 and 2012; during that time, natural gas generation grew tenfold.