“The position of Chief Energy Officer created by Executive Order 2008-20, MCl445.2025, is abolished.” And my heart weeps.
I voted for the current Governor of Michigan. I thought having a business person in charge of the state would help in our economic development. Unfortunately, the newly inaugurated governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, has confidently leaped onto my Shit List. Not only did he recently issue an executive order to dismantle the state’s Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DELEG) to consolidate, reorganize, and save state monies, but he has set back the progress of Energy Efficiency and how it will be perceived by Michigan residents.
I was never a huge fan of our former governor, Jennifer Granholm, but she at least gave energy a chance. She added the “Energy” to the Department of Labor and Economic Growth. She felt that energy was a key component to job creation and economic recovery for this state… for the nation, even. She is my homegirl in that sense. Snyder, on the other hand, has canned the Chief Energy Officer and redistributed most of the “energy” portions of the dismantled department into the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Big deal, the functions are still there you say? Yes, but now the state is categorizing energy as an environmental issue… rather than an economic one. What this does transfers the focus from energy as an economic recovery strategy in DELEG to an easily excusable budget cut item since DEQ is often viewed as a fluff department maintained to appease the “tree huggers”. DEQ’s core services have been decimated by budget cuts during the past decade and lumping the energy initiatives into the DEQ is going to mean bad news for previous economic strategies involving energy efficiency and renewable energy in this state.
Snyder, you tool. You’re a businessman. Please get off your high-horse of party loyalty and admit to yourself and to the residents of the state that energy costs are killing the bottom line of Michigan businesses.
From Lansing State Journal
From Microsoft Images
Ugh. This calls for a bottle of chilled Piesporter, for sure.
The Energy Careerist 
February 28, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Hi Megan.
I’m trying to figure out who has the bigger sourpuss – Governor Rick Snyder or the Thumbs down icon. 🙂
Also, I notice you’re tagging your posts but you don’t have a plugin in the right column that list the tags and would generate a list of posts that fit a given tag.
February 28, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Haha, Mark. So true… Gov Snyder can sure look unhappy! Ahhh, yes… the tag thingermajigger! I just added a widget that I think addresses the issue. Take ‘er out for a spin, if you’d like!
April 18, 2011 at 10:34 am
I could say some really nasty things right now about that Snyder guy, but I won’t. He has good ideas and bad. The problem is he is uninformed about the term “energy” and I don’t know that he understands it’s effects on Michigan’s economy. Maybe the nerd will get there, maybe he won’t. One thing is for sure, no one is talking energy into his ear.
April 18, 2011 at 12:58 pm
How do you suggest we make sure someone is whispering sweet nothings about energy in his ear?