CO2 hysteria a key issue in Florida election

Kreegel s challenger says energy is key | HeraldTribune.com | Southwest Florida's Information Leader

"If global warming keeps going on and the temperature keeps going up, South Florida's under water," said [Keith] Richter, who is from Lehigh Acres in Lee County. "Nothing's important if the land isn't here, and my opponent seems to think global warming is not a reality."

[Paige] Kreegel, a climate change skeptic, was instrumental in cutting a key provision in Gov. Charlie Crist's energy bill that would have required cars in Florida to reach high fuel-efficiency standards by 2020.

As chairman of the House energy committee, Kreegel, of Punta Gorda, also opposed mandates requiring that a percentage of the state's energy come from solar power.

Solar power, Kreegel said, does not pay because it costs 8 to 10 times as much as coal-generated power, too much for consumers to stomach.

Richter, on the other hand, believes that Florida's top need is to promote the widespread use of solar energy, build new alternative fuel plants and provide incentives for research projects, such as Florida Atlantic University's experiment using turbines to harness energy from the ocean.