Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Governor’s speech on green energy

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… to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce this past weekend. I heard it Sunday night on 'BUR … and it's pretty good. Here's the link …

And I really believe we must think of this as a shift in age, not merely a shift in resource.  The Stone Age didn't end, as someone said, because we ran out of stone; it ended because humankind had a better idea.  Clean energy is a better idea – better for our pocketbooks, better for the planet, and better for our economy, as well.

Massachusetts has what it takes to lead a clean energy economy — because in the age of clean power, will be power not from fossil fuels, but from technology, innovation and skill.  Those are resources we have in abundance – here in Massachusetts and they are infinitely renewable.

Patrick talks utility rate “decoupling”, getting rid of the gas tax for cellulosic (ie. good) biofuels, a little about wind, etc. 

This kind of thing is very encouraging, because it brings the moral good, our interests, and our strengths as a state all together. We can save the earth and make money and jobs doing it. And there's plenty of political credit to go around — not least to Speaker DiMasi. This ought to be a big win for everyone … when it seems that everyone needs it.

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Comments

  1. The energy bill is a great step in the right direction, but we need to ask why he is, at the same time, opposing the global warming solutions act.  Especially as the Republican governor of Connecticut is poised to sign a global warming bill this week.

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    p>The energy bill is good.  The energy bill AND a strong global warming cap is the kind of visionary leadership we expected from this governor.

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    p>Sounds to me like greenwashing, but I hope he proves me wrong.

    • If you really believe that Patrick is greenwashing, nay, if you can even entertain the idea that Patrick is greenwashing then you haven’t been paying attention.

  2. For years, we’ve given electric utilities a fixed amount of ratepayer funds – $125 million a year – to spend on energy efficiency upgrades – and not a penny more, no matter how much more we could save by consuming less.  The pending energy bill will require electric utilities to obtain any and all energy efficiency whatever costs less. or whenever it costs less than power generation.

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    p>This–the uncapping of this program, to claim all economic efficiency–shows that the administration really understands what opportunities are on the table right now.

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    p>I doubt I had anything to do with it, but this is an idea I have flogged here from time to time, and also is one that I argued for in comments to the administration’s Energy & Environment Working Group when challenged to do so here at BMG by Jim Gomes.

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