The Globe’s call to expand the electrical grid and meet climate goals by increasing the use of fossil gas is beyond contradictory. It says, “Let’s kill the planet to save the planet” (“The answer may no longer be blowing in the wind,” Editorial, March 29).
There are other ways forward. The editorial did not even mention solar. The state can do much more to make solar accessible. It is already cheaper than gas. The state must expand MassSave, not cut it, which will lower the use of electricity, gas, and oil. Yes, recalculate how to pay for it, so its costs don’t fall disproportionately on those with lower incomes.
The Globe criticizes the Trump regime as “destructive,” but Governor Maura Healey’s “all of the above” is also destructive in its short-sightedness, damage to the environment, and soon enough its higher costs for consumers.
Monty Neill
Jamaica Plain
Our fossil fuel-funded monarch
On Boston Common at the No Kings rally, Healey ended her stirring speech by calling on all of us to “fight for this democracy.” She said: “I’ll be out there with you.”
But now she is revealing one area where she is not ready to fight — in fact, it appears that she is “obeying in advance” to our fossil fuel-funded monarch. And the Globe editorial board is right there with her, with the glib headline “The answer may no longer be blowing in the wind.”
In fact, wind power is already coming online off our coasts and helping other states keep expensive fossil fuel peaker plants offline. The capricious removal of wind permits is not holding up in the courts. The energy shocks from the war in Iran will continue to rock the markets, and the long-term stability of renewable energy is becoming more and more apparent.
At this point, investing any money in new natural gas infrastructure is not just a long-term mistake but also a short-term folly. It’s only part of an “all-of-the-above” strategy if your strategy is meant to bend the knee to our deluded monarch.
Mary Memmott
Framingham
The recent editorial got one thing right: the words “all of the above” remain fighting words for environmentalists, including those at Extinction Rebellion Boston. Environmentalists want affordable energy too — we have no interest in seeing people suffer under the burden of high energy costs. And clean energy is affordable energy.
We’re past the point for half-measures, both for the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis. Late last year, we passed the first global tipping point — a threshold of irreversible climate change. At this point, it’s the responsibility of Healey and everyone in office to do what they can to ensure we don’t cross more tipping points — and to mitigate the harm that we are already locked into. Healey must put a stop to all new fossil infrastructure now.
Olivia Bradley
Lynn
The writer is a volunteer at Extinction Rebellion Boston.
