Texas Governor: U.S. climate bill will gouge state economy

A U.S. climate bill will cripple Texas's vital energy sector and damage the state and national economies, Republican Governor Rick Perry said on Tuesday. Instead of enacting the Waxman-Markey bill, the country should follow his example by promoting nuclear power and alternative energy, such as wind and solar, Perry said in a statement. He proposed the United States modernize its electricity grid and find ways to capture and store excess carbon. Texas has diversified its economy away from energy, partly by focusing on technology, but the sector still supplies 20 percent of the United States' oil, 25 percent of its natural gas and refined products, and 60 percent of chemical manufacturing, Perry said. Texas has more wind power than any other U.S. state and is building new transmission lines to carry more than 18,000 megawatts, Perry said. That is nearly as much as the current capacity of all the other 49 states. Conservationists have criticized Texas's rush into wind power because many of the giant windmills lie along migratory bird routes in the Gulf. Perry estimated his state has 200,000 to 300,000 people working in the energy industry, who are paid $35 billion in wages...Reuters