To the editor:
On July 22, the governor’s energy office recommended to the Maine Public Utilities Commission that net metering be discontinued as soon as possible. Net metering is the only Maine incentive that we have to install solar panels and thus help cut our dependence on fossil fuels. The rest of the New England states have given their citizens many reasons to go solar.
Exxon Mobil knew 30 years ago that the burning of fossil fuels contributed to global warming. Importing gas and oil from away sends $6 billion annually out of our state, twice the total tax dollars in our state budget. Remaining here, that money could create jobs for Mainers and a safer world for all of us. Think of the wars that needn’t be waged to protect fossil fuel deposits.
A Stanford University study (thesolutionsproject.org/infographic) projects Maine converting to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, creating 31,152 permanent jobs, realizing $8,912 annually in per capita health and climate-related savings, and paying for the whole transition within seven years from air pollution and climate cost savings alone.
We face an existential threat. The Gulf of Maine is the fastest-warming body of water in the world today, threatening our fisheries and the livelihood of many. To date, our state does not have a comprehensive energy policy, unlike most other states. One is urgently needed if we hope to be part of the solution.
Marty Fox, Wiscasset
Anne D. Burt, Edgecomb
Susan van Alsenoy, Wiscasset
