A solar energy company owner today in the Free Press publishes a self-serving piece that talks about what great things he and his colleagues are doing and suggesting that more tax relief or credits can bring even more nenefits (mostly to his industry, I surmise) to Vermonters.
The media dutifully follows along with feel-good articles and editorials like this one in today's Burlington Free Press. (I have reprinted it here because the Free Press chooses not to keep all their columns online for long term linking.)
Global warming takes center stage
Published: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 The hearings on global warming that begin today in the Legislature are a necessary step in establishing policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Vermont.
Only by studying the science can lawmakers hope to make sense of such a complex issue, understand the causes and effects of greenhouse gases and weigh the impact of proposals to reduce emissions.
Gov. Jim Douglas, Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin and Speaker of the House Gaye Symington agree that this is a priority for the state. For Shumlin, doing something about climate change is job 1.
Now that fighting global warming is on everyone's agenda, the trick will be to come up with a policy that everyone can live with. We're not looking for a feel-good resolution, but concrete proposals with practical steps that will help reduce emissions.
There are no easy solutions. The state has limited ability to generate its own power to feed the grid. Vermonters, both in and out of government, are looking at alternatives, such as small-scale hydropower dams, increased use of solar energy in homes or wind.
The most difficult task will be to find ways to alter everyday habits that contribute to global warming.
Driving, which accounts for about 25 percent of greenhouse emissions in the Northeast, will be the biggest challenge. Consider this: In 2004, Vermonters drove 12,461 vehicle-miles per capita -- roughly how many miles we drove per person -- the fifth-highest state in the nation, behind Mississippi, Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia. At the same time, Vermont had about 7.9 billion total vehicle miles traveled, fourth-lowest behind District of Columbia, Alaska and North Dakota. To put it simply, we don't drive much as a state, but each of us puts on a lot of miles.
How much we drive will affect everything from where we choose to live, how and where we work, to after-school soccer practices.
None of it will be easy. It comes down to how much are we willing to pay -- in taxes, higher fuel costs, changes to our lifestyles or in convenience -- to reduce emissions? Vermont emits less greenhouse gases than any other state, and any reduction in emissions the state achieves will be negligible in the global scheme of things. The big polluters are beyond our borders, and the only people who can enact real change are those in Washington -- Congress and the president.
If Vermont gets it right, maybe our small state can lead the national conversation toward a real solution."
These actions and this sort of editorializing display the arrogance of thinking that man can change the climate. It assumes that man is responsible for global warming, a premise that I do not accept. Moreover the crowd mentality that many Vermonters have fallen prey to threatens to result in more government spending that Vermont can ill afford, all for the sake of 'feeling good' and not wanting to be left out. In fact, suggesting that Vermont will exert leadership in a cause that is very likely not controllable is the height of arrogance.
Meanwhile, the auto industry is promising wondrous electric cars that will plug into the grid for recharging while at the same time we struggle to build power generating facilities and a reliable transmission network.
Perhaps the best answer is windmills on every mountain top and a shedule that dictates that Vermonters who own one in 2015 can plug in their electric cars only when the wind blows
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