Monday, June 15, 2015
Pipeline Manifesto - Serendipity - WIP
If you are reading this, you are probably already convinced that the NED pipeline project is a bad idea. Most of you are concerned about the degradation of our ecosystems, safety, leaks, and damage to our groundwater and aquifers from blasting through the "Granite State."
You would think that people in other parts of the State would empathize with you. You would expect outrage and a willingness to jump in to help when it is SO clear to us that the project is about corporate gain; not public convenience and necessity.
A poll by UNH showed that only 16% of respondents were familiar or very familiar with the NED pipeline project and among all respondents, only a small margin viewed it unfavorably.
How could nearly half the people favor the project?
MONEY
I wish WMUR would offer to run a PSA in response to the ad by the "Coalition to Lower Energy Costs."
The ad promises to reduce electricity and heating costs by building more pipelines. This is speculative at best. NY, which has plenty of pipelines and cheap gas, has electricity prices very close to our own. Also, we have plenty of gas in the summer, so we already know what our lowest prices will be. Oh, well except that we will be paying a new "reservation" fee on top of gas and transportation costs. That fee is part of the debate over a pipeline tariff for ratepayers. The utilities (3 of 4 in NH) want permission to pass onto electric customers the fee for reserving capacity on these pipelines. If the utilities are able to sell that capacity to power generators, the customers will be reimbursed. But what if the fee makes the gas more expensive for the power generators than just buying on the spot market as they do today? In fact, the New England Power Generators Association is so against this idea that they have NOT backed it at all. Originally the utilities wanted the power generators to pay the reservation fees. They weren't having it. They are building and converting to dual fuel (oil and natural gas) generating plants so that they have price protections when natural gas prices soar. Fuel diversity is very important to sustainable pricing and reliability. The NEPGA is concerned about over reliance on natural gas. And we should be too. I'll go into why we shouldn't trust the judgement of these utilities in another installment, but for now, let's just take a practical approach to paying less for electricity.
I can help people reduce their electric bills TODAY.
There are two actions people can take to reduce their electricity costs.
1.) Go to the PUC Website http://www.puc.nh.gov/Consumer/consumer.htm and shop for an independent supplier. This winter my average bill was $58/month with Coal Free eNH Power. The rate I pay is about 8 cents/KWh and was locked in for 20 months. Right now, Fairpoint Energy is offering a 6 month contract for 100% Wind energy for less than 9 cents/KWh. The only drawback is that you do have to pay attention and shop around before your contract is up to get the best price and not get dumped back into the utility default rate when the contract ends.
Only about 25% of residential electric customers have made the switch to an independent supplier. 75% of customers are paying non-competitive or default rates from the utilities! If enough of us switched to 100% renewable energy from a competitive supplier, it would send a strong message to the utilities and the markets about what we want to support.
Consider it like a local version of the divestment movement at colleges. The utilities are the ones pushing these pipelines. Let's push back!
2.) All of the utilities and independent suppliers seem to have special energy efficiency programs. Also, you can go to NHSAVES.com to take advantage of state level programs. Get an energy audit and find out what programs you are eligible for to help save energy. Again, having a large number of people suddenly asking for help would signal the utilities and markets that we are serious about the direction we want to go instead of building more fossil fuel infrastructure.
These two actions and all the publicity we can give them would pack the kind of punch that would get people really excited and wake up other people in the State who are only likely to be moved by money.
Oh! And when you start saving money, please consider donating some of it to PLAN NE to help fight the pipelines.
Next Day:
Serendipity. Solar City came to see my neighbor about installing a leased solar PV system on his roof tonight. He sent the consultant over to see me when they finished talking. I was really interested in chatting with him about it as I've noticed that companies like SolarCity haven't been working in New Hampshire the way they do in Massachusetts and Vermont.
I did look into buying a solar PV system a few years ago, but because we don't pay enough in taxes, we can't really take advantage of the federal tax credit. Also, my electric bill tops out at about $58/month, so it would take a long time to reach a payback on the system. When I looked into financing the system at the bank, they wanted collateral. They won't accept the avoided costs as security on the loan.
What SolarCity does is install the system on your roof at no expense to you and then guarantees you a fixed contract for electricity rates. They promise you will save 30% compared with the Eversource Default rate.
I need to look a little deeper into this and am waiting for a proposal for my own house, but it sounds like a great solution for someone who is prepared to pay extra for renewable energy from a competitive supplier.
If you can afford to buy a solar PV system yourself and can take advantage of the tax credits, you should go for it, but for my situation, a lease is a great option.
What came next is the Serendipity part. It turns out that if you get a system installed, for every person you refer who also installs a system, you receive $250. There's more to this deal that makes it even sweeter, but it gave me a terrific idea for fighting the pipeline. For every person who signs up for SolarCity because of the pipeline, we could stipulate that the $250 go to the PLAN NE legal defense fund. That will be who referred us.
I talked the solar consultant into coming to the pipeline opposition meeting tonight where he was welcomed to give a brief presentation. What a great fundraiser this could be for us!
It just tickles me to think that we could actually fight back in a meaningful way that might give us the funds for lawyers and to run our own commercials!
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Is your electric bill too high?
My electric bill last month was $58.58. I don't think that's unreasonable. I saw no increase in my bills this winter because I buy my electricity through eNH Power and had a 20 month contract for coal free electricity at 8.7 cents per KWH.
The cheapest electricity are the KWh you don't use. Visit NHSAVES.org for tips on how to conserve energy and consider signing up for an energy audit.
As a matter of full disclosure; I am opposed to the building of significant Natural Gas infrastructure in New Hampshire. Because of that, I have been accused of "Wanting people to pay more for electricity," or being a "greenie liberal." I think otherwise. I think that helping people conserve energy and invest in tomorrow's technology is a true Conservative value. Former Congressman Charlie Bass agrees with me on this subject: http://www.sentinelsource.com/opinion/columnists/guest/undoing-key-laws-to-preserve-energy-is-a-bad-move/article_b2698970-7c1d-5f46-89a3-14f7beef1c6f.html
So does the US Military: http://www.theburdenfilm.com/
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Sticker Shock?
Many people have written about the pros and cons of building the Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas Pipeline known as Northeast Direct or NED. Our Governor, in her inaugural address on Thursday talked about bringing more affordable electricity prices to New England because of better access to Natural Gas. She didn't mention the NED project explicitly, but we can assume that she had it in mind.
I have a question.
What's the plan?
Building a transmission pipeline and claiming it will deliver cheaper electricity is like promising a new car and then showing the customer four tires. What's the price for the rest of the car? What does it look like? What new Natural Gas fired electricity generating plants are being proposed? Where will they be sited and who will pay for them? It won't matter later because we will be committed once we build the pipeline. We'll pay any price they ask.
I have another question.
No matter how inexpensive Natural Gas is, it can't beat the fuel price of solar, wind, hydro, energy efficiency and weatherization programs. The "fuels" for those are free. With weatherization and energy efficiency programs, customers see lower energy bills immediately. They don't have to wait until they finish paying for a $3 Billion dollar pipeline and the many Billions of dollars required to build the infrastructure to take advantage of it. Why aren't we investing those dollars in systems that use free fuel?
I think we all know the answers to both of those questions.
I have a question.
What's the plan?
Building a transmission pipeline and claiming it will deliver cheaper electricity is like promising a new car and then showing the customer four tires. What's the price for the rest of the car? What does it look like? What new Natural Gas fired electricity generating plants are being proposed? Where will they be sited and who will pay for them? It won't matter later because we will be committed once we build the pipeline. We'll pay any price they ask.
I have another question.
No matter how inexpensive Natural Gas is, it can't beat the fuel price of solar, wind, hydro, energy efficiency and weatherization programs. The "fuels" for those are free. With weatherization and energy efficiency programs, customers see lower energy bills immediately. They don't have to wait until they finish paying for a $3 Billion dollar pipeline and the many Billions of dollars required to build the infrastructure to take advantage of it. Why aren't we investing those dollars in systems that use free fuel?
I think we all know the answers to both of those questions.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
NMI
Non-Maskable Interrupt (NMI)
Back in the days when I designed computer hardware and systems, the NMI was the means for signaling the processor that a condition existed which needed immediate attention. It was possible to get really tricky with it back in the day. We used it for emulation when we wanted to have two operating systems coexisting on one machine...but that was another time...
Still, the best way to describe the situation with the Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas North East Direct Pipeline project is to recognize it as a real world NMI.
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas will all go on for some people...okay, for most people, but I don't think I can "mask" this situation. It is with me day and night. There is so much to learn and so little time.
Kinder Morgan has already hired a Public Relations firm. They have time, money, power and lots of practice stripping whole towns of their property rights and drinking water. If you don't like a pipeline running through your backyard, think how much worse it is to have them drill wells on your property.
The pipelines and the expansion of fracking operations are tied together.
President Obama has stated that we have enough natural gas to last the United States for 100 years. That doesn't take into account the fact that the gas is owned by multi-national corporations who want these pipelines and to speed up fracking so they can sell that 100 year supply on the worldwide market as fast as possible. If the Kinder Morgan NED project is representative, they are producing and selling natural gas at 3 times the US demand. The 100 year projection is based on a peak in 2040 and an export rate of 15%. Critics of the EIA projections believe a peak is more likely to occur by 2020.
Some people think this is a good thing. It helps our trade balance they say. Maybe so, but who is paying for it? Homeowners all over the country now own worthless properties. Water supplies have been fouled forever. Instead of leading by example by using energy efficiency, renewable resources, and smart grid technologies, we are building a natural gas dependent infrastructure that could very well hasten the demise of our biosphere...and we are feeding that addiction in other parts of the world too.
When are the American people going to wake up and see that large multi-national oil and gas corporations drive our wars, write our laws, and pay no taxes? They don't care about our environment or our people. They hire slick advertising firms to create a public image and they make settlements with homeowners that include "gag orders."
There are also serious safety and investment concerns with Kinder Morgan:
From Barrons Online, February 22, 2014:
‘…KINDER MORGAN’S CAPITAL EXPENDITURES in its vast pipeline business is another area of debate. Hedgeye’s Kaiser criticized the company in September for sharply cutting sustaining capex on newly purchased pipelines.
Jefferies analyst Sighinolfi has different concerns. “Every company defines maintenance capex differently, but we struggle to understand how KMP can safely operate the largest portfolio of transmission and storage assets in the industry for just a fraction of its peers’ expenditures,” he wrote last year. Comparing Kinder Morgan with Spectra Energy Partners (SEP), another big pipeline operator, he found that Kinder Morgan was spending about half the maintenance capital of Spectra per mile of pipeline. He has a Hold rating on the Kinder Morgan MLP…’
- Barrons Online, February 22, 2014
Back in the days when I designed computer hardware and systems, the NMI was the means for signaling the processor that a condition existed which needed immediate attention. It was possible to get really tricky with it back in the day. We used it for emulation when we wanted to have two operating systems coexisting on one machine...but that was another time...
Still, the best way to describe the situation with the Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas North East Direct Pipeline project is to recognize it as a real world NMI.
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas will all go on for some people...okay, for most people, but I don't think I can "mask" this situation. It is with me day and night. There is so much to learn and so little time.
Kinder Morgan has already hired a Public Relations firm. They have time, money, power and lots of practice stripping whole towns of their property rights and drinking water. If you don't like a pipeline running through your backyard, think how much worse it is to have them drill wells on your property.
The pipelines and the expansion of fracking operations are tied together.
President Obama has stated that we have enough natural gas to last the United States for 100 years. That doesn't take into account the fact that the gas is owned by multi-national corporations who want these pipelines and to speed up fracking so they can sell that 100 year supply on the worldwide market as fast as possible. If the Kinder Morgan NED project is representative, they are producing and selling natural gas at 3 times the US demand. The 100 year projection is based on a peak in 2040 and an export rate of 15%. Critics of the EIA projections believe a peak is more likely to occur by 2020.
Some people think this is a good thing. It helps our trade balance they say. Maybe so, but who is paying for it? Homeowners all over the country now own worthless properties. Water supplies have been fouled forever. Instead of leading by example by using energy efficiency, renewable resources, and smart grid technologies, we are building a natural gas dependent infrastructure that could very well hasten the demise of our biosphere...and we are feeding that addiction in other parts of the world too.
When are the American people going to wake up and see that large multi-national oil and gas corporations drive our wars, write our laws, and pay no taxes? They don't care about our environment or our people. They hire slick advertising firms to create a public image and they make settlements with homeowners that include "gag orders."
There are also serious safety and investment concerns with Kinder Morgan:
From Barrons Online, February 22, 2014:
‘…KINDER MORGAN’S CAPITAL EXPENDITURES in its vast pipeline business is another area of debate. Hedgeye’s Kaiser criticized the company in September for sharply cutting sustaining capex on newly purchased pipelines.
Jefferies analyst Sighinolfi has different concerns. “Every company defines maintenance capex differently, but we struggle to understand how KMP can safely operate the largest portfolio of transmission and storage assets in the industry for just a fraction of its peers’ expenditures,” he wrote last year. Comparing Kinder Morgan with Spectra Energy Partners (SEP), another big pipeline operator, he found that Kinder Morgan was spending about half the maintenance capital of Spectra per mile of pipeline. He has a Hold rating on the Kinder Morgan MLP…’
- Barrons Online, February 22, 2014
Saturday, November 1, 2014
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The elections are only a few days away. I wish the best to all the candidates. Win or lose, you put yourself "out there" for consideration as a representative, senator, etc. Thank you for your courage and enthusiasm to serve.
I feel much as I did in the days before I got married or when I joined the Air Force. It is that sense that life as you know it is about to change. I will feel very honored to serve and hope I can do some good for our communities.
Still, I've stayed engaged in the activities that matter to me most, so I know that I will be just as busy as ever if I don't win. There's plenty of work out there to be done. Knowing my opponent, he will do much the same thing.
A very profound thank you to all my supporters and Representatives Ames, Ley and Young for all of your help. You made this campaign a true pleasure! I am grateful and humbled by your generosity and talents. The Rindge Dems are a small, but determined support group who held house parties, put out signs all over Cheshire 14, wrote LTEs and donated their extraordinary talents to the campaign. For sheer energy and extraordinary organizational skills, I must say, the Jaffrey Dems truly rock!!! The Jaffrey Dems made the herculean task of hand addressing envelopes for a mailing, then stuffing, sealing and stamping them actually seem like fun. The full page ad was spectacular! Thanks also to the Contoocook Valley Dems for their generous support of a very positive mailing!
I feel like a better person for even campaigning. I highly recommend it. I met some truly wonderful people and learned a little more about the neighboring towns. I feel more at home and invested in the Monadnock region than ever now. Win or lose, it's been a privilege made possible by the support of many people. I am grateful for the chance you have given me. Thank you!
Let's Vote!
I feel much as I did in the days before I got married or when I joined the Air Force. It is that sense that life as you know it is about to change. I will feel very honored to serve and hope I can do some good for our communities.
Still, I've stayed engaged in the activities that matter to me most, so I know that I will be just as busy as ever if I don't win. There's plenty of work out there to be done. Knowing my opponent, he will do much the same thing.
A very profound thank you to all my supporters and Representatives Ames, Ley and Young for all of your help. You made this campaign a true pleasure! I am grateful and humbled by your generosity and talents. The Rindge Dems are a small, but determined support group who held house parties, put out signs all over Cheshire 14, wrote LTEs and donated their extraordinary talents to the campaign. For sheer energy and extraordinary organizational skills, I must say, the Jaffrey Dems truly rock!!! The Jaffrey Dems made the herculean task of hand addressing envelopes for a mailing, then stuffing, sealing and stamping them actually seem like fun. The full page ad was spectacular! Thanks also to the Contoocook Valley Dems for their generous support of a very positive mailing!
I feel like a better person for even campaigning. I highly recommend it. I met some truly wonderful people and learned a little more about the neighboring towns. I feel more at home and invested in the Monadnock region than ever now. Win or lose, it's been a privilege made possible by the support of many people. I am grateful for the chance you have given me. Thank you!
Let's Vote!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Thank you, Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce!!!
I thought I would have five minutes at Candidate's Night, so I wrote the speech below. Why I thought that, I'm not sure. When I arrived tonight, I discovered I would only have 3 minutes. (Bless you, Marissa, for saying that any speech longer than 3 minutes is too long!) I had to cut several paragraphs to meet the time limit. I left out most of the thank yous and the meat of my thoughts on our youthful exodus and how the challenge of our energy future might be the answer to creating new opportunities for them.
Maybe shorter was better anyway?
In any case, if you couldn't make Candidate's Night, here is what I wanted to say...
"Good evening. I'm Pat Martin and I'm running for the House to serve Fitzwilliam, Rindge, Jaffrey, Dublin, Harrisville and Roxbury.
I'd like to start by offering my thanks, to you, the citizens, for being so engaged and showing up tonight. Whether or not you support my candidacy, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me during the campaign. Such discussions help make me a better candidate and, with your vote, a better Representative.
I also want to thank all the candidates for "putting themselves out there" to run for office. I especially want to thank Representatives Ames, Ley and Young for their distinguished service and for welcoming me to their team. Cheshire 14 represents nearly 17K people. It takes teamwork to reach that many people on a limited budget and even more so to represent them properly.
Thank you to Representative Susan Emerson. Our friendship proves that we can have different political opinions, but still be good friends who respect each other and can work together to solve problems.
Harry Truman once said that, "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you're not worried about who gets the credit." I've learned that it's essential to have that attitude if you're going to attract the best minds and talents to your cause.
I've seen this play out in working with the people of Fitzwilliam on the quarry issue. Representative John Hunt has submitted a Legislative Service Request or LSR which he thinks will return local control to mining operations. Representative Susan Emerson is actively lobbying DES and DRED on behalf of the people of Fitzwilliam. Their years of experience and contacts are great assets. I offer to put my shoulder to the wheel to help them in this cause and to learn from them so that we can best serve the people of Fitzwilliam.
Working well with others is a requirement of the job of Representative and working well on teams is where I'm most comfortable and what I find most rewarding.
Good teams require a diversity of talent, opinion, respect for one another, and a spirit of cooperation. In Rindge, our energy commission has produced taxpayer savings year after year. The same core group of people have been working together since 2009. From my days in the Air Force through my years as an engineer and then community volunteer, the greatest moments have always included others in shared victories.
Speaking of teams, I would like to address the mass exodus of our young people. 60% of our High School graduates leave New Hampshire.
Anyone who volunteers with a community organization knows that it is essential to recruit young people to continue the good work. Without a constant influx of new ideas and youthful energy an organization withers and dies. The median age in NH is over 41. The older our population, the higher our health and human services costs. There needs to be a balance between the safety and stability that comes with having an older population and the life and vitality associated with youth.
I see a glimmer of hope for bringing our youth back to NH in another of our challenges; energy. It's time for New Hampshire to take a leadership role in energy conservation and renewable energy production.
Doing so would generate many new good paying jobs, save money, and provide opportunities for our young people. It is also good for our environment which is very much a part of the New Hampshire "brand."
I ask for your vote because I care about the future of our families. I care about the educational system that is falling behind. I care about the future of our energy: where it comes from, how much it costs and at what price to our environment. I care about availability of affordable health care and see that the Affordable Care Act has already helped thousands gain access to health care and will continue to expand choices and accessibility. As a Vet, myself, I care about how we take care of those who have sacrificed for us. I also want to see the lowest taxes necessary to fund a responsive government with a tax system that is fair to all, not one designed to soak the middle class.
Finally, thank you to the Jaffrey Chamber for hosting this event. Providing a forum for citizens to exchange ideas and tackle problems in an atmosphere of civility is a tremendous service to the community and our future.
My contact information is on my literature on the table. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns that you feel haven't been addressed tonight.
In closing, I would be honored to get your vote on Tuesday. I promise to work hard and to reach across the aisle as your representative in Concord. Thank you!"
Maybe shorter was better anyway?
In any case, if you couldn't make Candidate's Night, here is what I wanted to say...
"Good evening. I'm Pat Martin and I'm running for the House to serve Fitzwilliam, Rindge, Jaffrey, Dublin, Harrisville and Roxbury.
I'd like to start by offering my thanks, to you, the citizens, for being so engaged and showing up tonight. Whether or not you support my candidacy, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me during the campaign. Such discussions help make me a better candidate and, with your vote, a better Representative.
I also want to thank all the candidates for "putting themselves out there" to run for office. I especially want to thank Representatives Ames, Ley and Young for their distinguished service and for welcoming me to their team. Cheshire 14 represents nearly 17K people. It takes teamwork to reach that many people on a limited budget and even more so to represent them properly.
Thank you to Representative Susan Emerson. Our friendship proves that we can have different political opinions, but still be good friends who respect each other and can work together to solve problems.
Harry Truman once said that, "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you're not worried about who gets the credit." I've learned that it's essential to have that attitude if you're going to attract the best minds and talents to your cause.
I've seen this play out in working with the people of Fitzwilliam on the quarry issue. Representative John Hunt has submitted a Legislative Service Request or LSR which he thinks will return local control to mining operations. Representative Susan Emerson is actively lobbying DES and DRED on behalf of the people of Fitzwilliam. Their years of experience and contacts are great assets. I offer to put my shoulder to the wheel to help them in this cause and to learn from them so that we can best serve the people of Fitzwilliam.
Working well with others is a requirement of the job of Representative and working well on teams is where I'm most comfortable and what I find most rewarding.
Good teams require a diversity of talent, opinion, respect for one another, and a spirit of cooperation. In Rindge, our energy commission has produced taxpayer savings year after year. The same core group of people have been working together since 2009. From my days in the Air Force through my years as an engineer and then community volunteer, the greatest moments have always included others in shared victories.
Speaking of teams, I would like to address the mass exodus of our young people. 60% of our High School graduates leave New Hampshire.
Anyone who volunteers with a community organization knows that it is essential to recruit young people to continue the good work. Without a constant influx of new ideas and youthful energy an organization withers and dies. The median age in NH is over 41. The older our population, the higher our health and human services costs. There needs to be a balance between the safety and stability that comes with having an older population and the life and vitality associated with youth.
I see a glimmer of hope for bringing our youth back to NH in another of our challenges; energy. It's time for New Hampshire to take a leadership role in energy conservation and renewable energy production.
Doing so would generate many new good paying jobs, save money, and provide opportunities for our young people. It is also good for our environment which is very much a part of the New Hampshire "brand."
I ask for your vote because I care about the future of our families. I care about the educational system that is falling behind. I care about the future of our energy: where it comes from, how much it costs and at what price to our environment. I care about availability of affordable health care and see that the Affordable Care Act has already helped thousands gain access to health care and will continue to expand choices and accessibility. As a Vet, myself, I care about how we take care of those who have sacrificed for us. I also want to see the lowest taxes necessary to fund a responsive government with a tax system that is fair to all, not one designed to soak the middle class.
Finally, thank you to the Jaffrey Chamber for hosting this event. Providing a forum for citizens to exchange ideas and tackle problems in an atmosphere of civility is a tremendous service to the community and our future.
My contact information is on my literature on the table. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns that you feel haven't been addressed tonight.
In closing, I would be honored to get your vote on Tuesday. I promise to work hard and to reach across the aisle as your representative in Concord. Thank you!"
Monday, September 1, 2014
New England Ratepayers Association
I read the opinion piece, "Our electricity grid is bending; without
change it will break," by Marc Brown in the Saturday, August 30th,
Sentinel with great interest. Some of Mr. Brown's points had me nodding
in agreement, but others had me scratching my head.
For instance, Mr. Brown states that, "...Northern Pass (1200 MW) and Footprint natural gas plant (700 MW) in Salem, Mass., are two projects that could bring much-needed base load power to New England, but both have been met with opposition. Footprint, whose future is in question, has been opposed by environmental groups like the Conservation Law Foundation because it is a fossil-fuel generator, despite the fact that it emits half of the carbon dioxide and none of the sulfur dioxide of the plant that it would replace." Yet, he fails to mention that methane gas has 84 times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and 28 times over a 100-year period. Natural gas is a more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide due to the greater global-warming potential of methane gas. Why omit that fact?
Whether or not I agree with an author's viewpoint, I generally check the organization from which the writer draws his authority. In this case, Mr. Brown is the Executive Director of New England Ratepayers Association.
A Google search of New England Ratepayers Association reveals that, ironically, given his accusations of obstruction by New England Power Generation Association, his Ratepayer Association is funded by unnamed sources and waged a costly campaign against the "Cape Wind" project in Massachusetts.
Mr. Brown owns an ice cream shop in Kingston, NH and was formerly the director of the State Wide FreedomWorks, a Tea Party-affiliated organization with ties to conservative financier and oil industry giant David Koch.
Caveat Emptor, folks!
For instance, Mr. Brown states that, "...Northern Pass (1200 MW) and Footprint natural gas plant (700 MW) in Salem, Mass., are two projects that could bring much-needed base load power to New England, but both have been met with opposition. Footprint, whose future is in question, has been opposed by environmental groups like the Conservation Law Foundation because it is a fossil-fuel generator, despite the fact that it emits half of the carbon dioxide and none of the sulfur dioxide of the plant that it would replace." Yet, he fails to mention that methane gas has 84 times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and 28 times over a 100-year period. Natural gas is a more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide due to the greater global-warming potential of methane gas. Why omit that fact?
Whether or not I agree with an author's viewpoint, I generally check the organization from which the writer draws his authority. In this case, Mr. Brown is the Executive Director of New England Ratepayers Association.
A Google search of New England Ratepayers Association reveals that, ironically, given his accusations of obstruction by New England Power Generation Association, his Ratepayer Association is funded by unnamed sources and waged a costly campaign against the "Cape Wind" project in Massachusetts.
Mr. Brown owns an ice cream shop in Kingston, NH and was formerly the director of the State Wide FreedomWorks, a Tea Party-affiliated organization with ties to conservative financier and oil industry giant David Koch.
Caveat Emptor, folks!
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