Dear Gov. Paul LePage,
I have been following the stories in the media that talk about your agenda ever since you took office. In the interest of keeping a civil discourse with you and your administration, I will only comment today about the recent story that you would like to spearhead efforts to reduce Maine’s dependency on oil in half. Let me start by saying that I commend this notion.
For far too long, politicians have maintained that they care about the people they are elected to represent, and that they care about the environment. I hope that this time, Gov. LePage, you are truly looking out for the best interests of the people and our planet, and not just the companies that want to sell natural gas and wood pellets.
In case you are unaware, there is great controversy surrounding the method of extraction of natural gas, called hydraulic fracturing. Hydrofracking, or fracking as it is commonly called, involves digging wells up to 8,000 feet deep, way past the depth of water wells, and introducing millions of gallons of water and chemicals to extract the gas. According to the filmmaker Josh Fox, who created the documentary Gasland, many times the wells will leak because safety precautions have not been taken or from weak well casings. The chemicals used to extract the gas, which are often lethal, can end up in the water supply with the gas itself.
In order to truly reduce Maine’s dependence on gas and oil, we need to invest in changes in our energy system that will operate on renewable, clean energy that will have little to no impact on our environment, including drinking water. We can also start with weatherization of government buildings and schools that include replacing old doors and windows with more energy efficient ones. There are also easy ways to help our state get off oil completely, such as replacing old water boilers with electric ones and connecting them to solar panels. Ground-source heat pumps (sometimes referred to as geothermal heating) can be used to heat homes and buildings, as has been done with the new section of the Portland International Jetport and the new Hampden Academy Project in Hampden, completely eliminating the need for oil to be used for heat.
The startup costs for switching to new technologies such as these can be daunting. However, if you look at the history of our infrastructure, I am sure you will see that wherever there has been significant progress made in infrastructure development, it is has been an accomplished collaborative between government entities and the private sector. From railroads and trains to cars and airports, our government has chipped in its fair share to help the common good.
What I would propose is a 2 cent gas fee to every gallon of gasoline sold in the state. This could be set aside as an “alternative energy fund,” and used to help fund the changes necessary to help reduce our oil dependency. I stress the need to help our schools because with rising gas and oil prices, we cannot afford to wait to invest. We need strong political will to make the changes necessary and to avoid cutting services as well as teaching positions that are vital to our communities. We also need to remember that the state is supposed to be paying 55% of its share to schools, something it hasn’t done ever since the legislature voted on it, and even after the people of Maine voted on a ballot initiative, ordering the state to do so.
With the money put into schools to install newer, more efficient heating systems, it is likely that those school districts would find themselves with a lot more money in their budget without having to pay so much for oil. This could be a starting point for helping fund the 55%.
I know that raising taxes is a politically dangerous idea, especially during a recession. The reason this taxation should be applied to gasoline is to spread out the tax burden more evenly and with only two cents per gallon, an average customer will only need to pay between 20 and 60 cents more per fill-up. But given that the money would be used very wisely – to reduce energy costs and help our government and schools save money, the overall energy savings would be realized by all taxpayers and celebrated when we reach the goal of reducing oil use by half.
If there are other ways of raising revenue for this idea that don’t include making cuts to other expenditures, I would like to hear them. I extend this letter to you and hope it will be well received. We must take strong and quick action to reduce our dependency on oil, domestic and foreign. We must stop the destruction of our environment in order to extract oil and natural gas. We must hold all elected officials’ feet to the fire when it comes to representing the best interests of all Americans and not just the interests of a few wealthy corporations.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, Governor. Please let me know if I can help implement these ideas and how the Green Independent Party can assist. Please also know that we are watching how things are shaping up for the upcoming legislative session and that we will be vocal about who is and who is not representing the interests of all Mainers.
Sincerely,
Nathan M. Shea
Chair
Maine Green Independent Party
