Matt Blunt stands alone in ignoring environmental pact

~ Missouri isn't perceived as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly states.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt created a perception of indifference when the Midwestern Governors Association recently pledged to improve the environment by changing the way the region produces and uses energy.

The governors signed pacts to reduce greenhouse gases, increase alternative fuels for vehicles and make greater use of renewable energy sources for electricity.

Of the 12 states in the association, Missouri was the only one not to sign any of the pro-environment initiatives. In fact, Missouri didn't even participate in the group's energy summit.

Environmental activists are outraged, discouraged -- and not too surprised. Missouri, after all, isn't perceived as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly states.

But Missouri has much at stake.

Consider, for example, Missouri's production of carbon dioxide, a contributor to global warming.

Missouri had the nation's fifth-highest increase in per-person carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2003, according to government statistics analyzed by The Associated Press this summer. While Missouri's rate rose 15 percent, the nation's remained about the same.

One likely reason is Missouri's 21 coal-fired power plants, which have a total of 49 active coal boilers. When burned, coal produces more carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced than any other commonly used American fuel source. And Missouri is among the states that is most dependent on coal for electricity.

Missouri also is headquarters to Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Coal Inc., ranked as the No. 1 and No. 3 coal producers by the National Mining Association. Together, they accounted for almost 30 percent of the coal produced last year, according to the mining association.

Coal helps keep the lights on in Missouri's homes and helps support its economy through Missouri businesses.

But the pact signed by other midwestern governors places a target on coal. Among other things, it calls for all new coal-fired power plants to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 and for all older plants to install the environmentally friendly technology by 2050.

Kathleen Logan Smith, executive director of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, believes there's a connection between King Coal and Missouri's ambivalence to the midwestern energy pact.

"We're pretty tied in with the coal industry," she said. "I think any common sense observer would reach the same conclusion."

"I'm not sure that pact is hugely meaningful in terms of impact. It's sort of symbolic," she added. "But at least it's a step, and we'd like to see Missouri moving forward."

Blunt's office denies that he is indifferent to environmental concerns. But he has been indifferent to the Midwestern Governors Association itself.

Blunt participates regularly in the Republican Governors Association. In fact, he was just re-elected Friday as the group's vice chairman. He also is involved with the National Governors Association and the Governor's Ethanol Coalition.

But as for the Midwestern Governors Association, "we've not previously sent representatives to attend events or conferences sponsored by this organization," Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said.

She notes Blunt has backed other environmental protections:

• He signed a Kansas City Climate Protection Partnership a couple of weeks ago.
• In April, he promoted a new project that takes the methane gas produced from rotting waste at the Jefferson City Landfill and converts it into electricity.
• He also announced in April that several prisons have switched to new laundry machines relying on highly reactive oxygen instead of soap and water.

Those are small steps compared to the broad goals of the Midwestern Governors Association. But Missouri has made progress on at least some of the things mentioned in the agreement it didn't sign. For example:

• The governors' Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord calls on states to join The Climate Registry, which tracks greenhouse gas emissions. Missouri already has done so, as have most states.
• The governors' pact calls for 10 percent of electricity consumed in the region by 2015 to come from renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines. That goal rises to 20 percent by 2020.

Missouri already has adopted a standard, albeit a weaker one. A law enacted by Blunt this year sets a goal for Missouri's investor-owned utilities to collectively produce 8 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015. Missouri's goal rises to 11 percent by 2020.

• The governors association agreement calls for 15 percent of gas stations to offer a cleaner-burning blend containing 85 percent ethanol by 2015. That goal rises to 33 percent of gas stations by 2025.

Although Missouri has no mandate for E-85 gasoline, a Blunt-backed law taking effect in January requires gas stations to sell an 10 percent ethanol blend whenever it is cheaper for them to purchase than traditional gasoline.

And Blunt's office ads this as proof of his environmental credentials: Blunt is scheduled alongside Al Gore as a keynote speaker for next June's regional conference of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Perhaps Blunt's initial indifference to the environmental efforts of the Midwestern Governors Association will have changed by June.

Robinson said Blunt's administration is reviewing the agreement reached by the other states. Missouri may still sign it, she said, although that remains up in the air.