Climate elephant
It is hard to believe that the Bangor Daily News editorial board would discuss Maine’s energy challenges in 2015 without addressing the elephant in the room: climate change. Simply put, our dependency on oil, coal, and natural gas threatens Maine’s way of life and economy, which is inextricably tied to the continued health and beauty of our landscape and natural resources.
Burning dirty fuels causes extreme weather events like increased flooding and superstorms, rising seas and ocean acidification that is negatively impacting lobsters and clams. Although everyone wants cheap energy, the current and unstable low fuel prices ignore the high costs that we are paying for existing and impending climate disruptions.
Increasing the efficiency of our homes and businesses must be the highest priority for state policy. By cutting the amount of energy needed to heat and power buildings, we can increase Maine’s energy security through reducing our over-reliance on heating oil and volatile foreign energy markets.
Homegrown, clean energy solutions like solar and wind are ready and affordable now. Unlike fossil fuels, wind and sun are free and inexhaustible fuel sources. A good step forward is a bill sponsored by Rep. Sara Gideon that will increase solar use and lower current barriers to community solar projects. Clean energy policies such as these can help put Maine on the inevitable and necessary path to a more affordable, secure and sustainable clean energy economy.
Rebecca Eisenberg
Cape Elizabeth
Our Katahdin kudos
The newly formed Our Katahdin group of young professionals (who grew up in Millinocket but now live away), has built an impressive web-based platform that allows for Katahdin region residents, both past and present, as well as the world at large, to participate in the region’s economic recovery. I believe it is partnerships like this that will ultimately make the biggest difference in our communities. Working with people beyond our normal circles of engagement means that we may need to do something that is outside our comfort zone. As our communities address what appear to be insurmountable challenges, forging new partnerships within our communities and the outside world will be critical to our success.
Another recent example of this type of partnering took place when Charles Buki of CZB Associates offered his firm’s services pro bono to the Millinocket community. Mr. Buki and his community planning colleagues did something possibly a little uncomfortable but quite unexpected when they reached out and asked, “How can we help Millinocket?” In essence, they asked, “Can we partner with you?”
Through each of these leader’s actions they present a new model and possible paradigm shift that I believe will serve Millinocket and Maine’s rural communities well. Thank you Sean DeWitt and friends at Our Katahdin as well as Charles Buki and Associates for leading the way.
Anita Mueller
Millinocket
School vote junk mail
Absentee ballots are now available to be cast by registered voters of Camden and Rockport who happen to be spending time in warmer climates at this time of the year. However, the MSAD 28 school board decided against sending information to all registered voters. Instead, notification of the $28 million middle school expansion plan was send via bulk (aka, junk) mail to all postal delivery addresses in Camden and Rockport.
The board could have used the voter lists, easily obtained from the two town clerks. Not using these lists result in many not receiving the notice: voters who receive their mail at P.O. boxes in Rockland, Thomaston, etc.; the elderly who are residing with relatives; our servicemen and women stationed around the world; our sons and daughters who may be in school or working outside our area; and, of course, those who spend their winters in warmer climates.
Junk mail isn’t forwarded, especially when it isn’t addressed to a specific person. The MSAD mailing was sent to “resident” or “occupant,” I’m not sure which because I probably discarded it unread as I do with most of our junk mail. Someone who can’t take the time to address their mail to a specific person doesn’t deserve to have their trash opened.
Our elected school board is being less than honest with its promise to make sure all voters are aware of the upcoming vote that will add significantly to our taxes.
William Chapman
Rockport
Carbon fuel fee
I believe we need to restructure our economic system to encourage renewable energy systems and reduce our use of carbon-dioxide producing fuels. Carbon fuels have been essential in developing our current civilization, but we are discovering many harms from their continued use.
A “carbon fee and dividend” program is worthy of our investigation and discussion.
Very simply, it would: 1) Impose a very significant public-ownership fee onto each unit of carbon fuel (coal, oil, natural gas, etc) produced, to be paid by the producer at the time of production; and 2) Pass this entire fee, as a dividend, back to each citizen of the country per capita (i.e., not to local, state, or federal governments), to be used as each citizen sees fit.
Producers of carbon fuels will pass the cost of this fee on to consumers by raising the price of those fuels. The price of renewables will become more attractive because they will not have the carbon fee included.
Gasoline, diesel, heating oil and LP gas will still be available, but their new price will actually reflect what it costs us to use them (right now we taxpayers pay for many hidden costs of these fuels through other governmental programs, such as environmental cleanups, health care, military support, and other government subsidies put in place over the past century to encourage carbon fuels production).
Sam Brown
Cambridge
Horror of unsolved murders
When Ronald Reagan declared a national War on Drugs, crime had fallen drastically. The result of his effort was to fill our jails and prisons with low-level criminals at tremendous cost to our society.
Gov. Paul LePage is now prepared to make the same blunder in our state. As was reported in the BDN last week, he would rather fund 11 new drug enforcement officers and prosecutors than fund a cold case homicide squad as proposed by Republican legislator Karl Ward and others.
No one denies that opiate addiction and the ancillary ills associated with it are a problem in Maine, but the horror of unsolved murders must never be regarded as a less important issue in any civilized society.
Bruce Pratt
Eddington