The time is long over due for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to take control of its energy destiny. We must declare war on energy right now.
The current federal administration has turned its back on solving the energy crisis. We desperately need a State Administration and Legislators who will push the energy agenda on Beacon Hill. The concerted agenda must include the use of solar, wind, water, geothermal energy sources, recycled materials and the introduction of higher levels of energy conservation to new and existing buildings.
Solar panels have come a long way in efficiency since their first introduction as an energy source in Massachusetts in the late 1970’s. While they will never provide us with a complete energy source in Massachusetts, they certainly do work and should be incorporated into building design.
Wind power has already shown itself to be very effective. I am proud to look at the forward thinking of the Town of Hull as an example of a community taking charge of its destiny. Street lights and homes powered by the two windmills in place make a difference in the cost of living in Hull and the toll on the environment. I envision the Town of Hull one day providing its entire electrical needs from harnessing wind.
No one seems to be looking to closely at adding more hydroelectric power plants (ocean and river) as potential sources of energy. Tide and river flow was used as energy sources in Massachusetts dating back to the earliest times of the Colony. The water is always there, lets use it for our benefit.
Geothermal energy should be used for heating and cooling many small and mid-size buildings as the ground temperature 15 feet below the surface is always at 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Geothermal heating and cooling use essentially a well chamber dug into the ground where a pipe filled with fluid is continuously run through the ground in a loop and is run back into a buildings heating equipment. Heating or cooling is extracted from the fluid in the pipe. Geothermal heat works and uses less energy than conventional heating and cooling systems.
A very high percent of everyday materials can be recycled into reusuable building materials. Wood and plastic waste make composite flooring. Old gypsum wallbaord can be re-constituted and reused as wall finish material. We need to look at requiring that a percentage of recycled materials be used in building construction.
A major part of making Massachusetts energy independent is for us to ensure that all existing buildings are as energy conserving as possible. We need to actively push for retrofitting existing buildings insulation, glazing and heating systems. We need to strengthen building codes so that we not only keep pace with the national energy codes as they change, but that we mandate alternate forms of energy to be incorporated into new and substantially remodeled buildings.
Another key part of a fighting the war on energy is charging our Massachusetts colleges, universities and engineering companies with developing new systems and products that will reduce or eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. We have the best and brightest teaching, studying and working in Massachusetts. Lets give them the charge. One only needs to look at what a major part academia and industry took in the development of materials and products during any war declared by the United States. When we put our thinking caps on, our track record suggests we produce results.
The only humans we will be fighting in our war on energy are the special interests that choose to see the economy bled dry buying their energy before anything changes.
Declaring war on energy is good for our economy and the envirnment. The public will benefit from an organized program to make Massachusetts independent of fossil fuel.
Matt Mulvey
Matthias J. Mulvey Candidate for State Senate
Plymouth and Norfolk District
28 Edgeworth Street
Weymouth, Massachusetts 02189
Telephone: (781) 331-0043
Facsimile: (781) 331-0855
Email: info@mattmulvey.com
Some additional things that you probably know but didn’t necessarily articulate clearly…
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p> * Solar power also provides the benefit of producing electricity during times of peak demand, which helps to reduce the need for peaking plants — plants that historically pollute the most per MW of electricity generated. * LEED. You mention insulation, retrofitting, and building codes. Most of this can be said cleanly with the LEED standards. Require that x% of square feet of new or renovated state buildings be LEED certified (a building is or isn’t LEED, but if you count by building instead of square feet, you could have a LEED certified port-a-potty and a non-LEED massive building, which isn’t really the goal). * Hydro: careful here. There isn’t really much room for hydro growth. There may be some, but often at significant cost to other natural systems. Perhaps find a few real potential examples. * Advocate for more funding for bike paths. By creating bike paths through parks completely separate from roads, you create a network that allows people to commute without burning fossil fuels. A great example is the Minuteman bike path. Note also that interconnecting bike paths are critical to create the synnergy necessary to substantially increase ridership. * Public Transit. I didn’t see it mentioned. Subways, busses and streetcars are all cleaner forms of moving people than cars. To increase ridership, the MBTA must improve on the three criteria people consider: cost, speed, and comfort. Fight the proposed fare increase by increasing state funding. Improve speed by fixing the Silver Line lanes, giving the Green Line above ground the green lights (along Beacon and Comm Ave this is an obvious move since it also improves traffic flow), increase the number of Logan — Airport stop on Blue line busses so that it’s faster to get to/from the airport, and work with the MBTA to improve on the timeliness of commuter rail. While you’re at it, figure out how to get the Acela Express from Boston to the MA state line faster with less variance too. * Reducing budget variance. Point out that solar power, wind power, geothermal power, well built buildings, etc. help reduce the variance in the budget necessary to pay for energy. This helps hedge against the future increases in energy costs we all see coming down the line. * Go to DSIRE and check out the incentives for renewable energy within MA. Consider where these incentives could be expanded. * Improve electrical laws. MA net metering exists, but it ain’t perfect. Increase the on-site generation limit from 60 KW to something higher. Look at Ohio and Iowa’s laws for guidance; they are considered the best by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Change the laws to encourage time-based metering. This provides a financial incentive for users to shift their usage demand away from peak (M-F afternoon in summer, winter) to other times, which helps reduce the need to build new power plants. Require all utilities to allow customers to check a box and get 25%, 50%, or 100% green energy at added cost, a program that the Cape Cod Electrical Utility has as well as dozens of electrical utilities in other states. This would not cost other users a dime — it’s completely opt-in. * RGGI. Mention it. Explain it. Demand that MA sign up.
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I’ve got more. If you’d like to chat about any of this on the telephone, let me know and I can call you.
and housing built before we all were expected to have central heat, a/c and a car, (more or less 1950)
These houses were usually built to take advantage of sun and breeze with bay windows and porches and cross ventilation (to name a few obvious examples) and keep out the cold (with weather entries, service areas on the north, and doors on rooms so they can be heated or not individually).
Similarly neighborhoods within walking distance of public transportaton,with sidewalks to amenities like schools, libraries, parks, churches, etc. should be seen held up as examples to emulate.
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We, in Massachusetts, already have lots of wonderful energy efficient housing and neighborhoods that we can recognize and be proud of. We got a lot of places with ‘good bones’ even if they may need storm windows, updated heating systems and more insulation.
Let’s tack that right onto the War on Terror, Poverty, Crime, and Drugs.
A war on “A War On”