As Arizona follows California into the energy wilderness following its decision to impose caps on affordable energy use that will do absolutely nothing measurable to reduce what global warming there is, Texas is facing up to the realities of growing demand for energy. Texas Utilities has therefore proposed to build 11 new coal-fired power facilities (9 of them at existing locations) that will use the best available technology, such as special burners, selective catalytic reduction systems and scrubbers, in order to meet the state’s future energy needs as quickly and cost-effectively as they can. Mindful of misconceptions surrounding air quality in Texas (remember this brouhaha from January?), TXU has promised that the new capacity will be built so that overall emissions of pollutants are reduced by 20 percent. Amazingly, such a massive overall reduction in pollution isn’t enough for the environmentalists. They want the power plants blocked and a further reduction in emissions on top. The state Electric Reliability Council calculates that current supply will start to fail in around 2008. Without significant new investment, Texans will start to have brownouts or worse in just a couple of years. The environmentalists seem happy with that outcome. Most Texans won’t be.