Full letterThe message is simple. We as a state need to protect our forests, ecosystems, and the health of our citizens. We must work to combat climate change with the most progressive solutions in mind. I'm calling on the GC3 to direct pathways to a 100% clean energy grid by 2030, not 2040, in accordance with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's warming deadline. We must take progressive action as a state to work with the energy resources we know to be available. In order to save our planet, the GC3 must have the most relevant climate data available so that it does not have to reconvene as temperatures rise. 2030 is the globally accepted date that we must keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius or irreparable damage will be done to our planet, making it uninhabitable for all. Connecticut land must be protected from unsafe industrial development, we need at least 21% of the state protected from development. It is important we implement policies of proforestation, and allow forests to prosper without logging, and to develop themselves in perpetuity, because science shows the value of old forests. Aged forests are the greatest proven form of carbon sequestration right now. Aged forests are a stable habitat for the species that live amongst them. Aged forests are stronger against blight and invasive species. The logging plan for Massacoe State Forest is an example of poor forest management; it is excessive and unnecessary to log that prosperous land. There is value in the research of proforestation that CT DEEP must legitimately explore. I cannot express this enough, protect our forests in perpetuity to keep them as strong as possible; no timber profit is worth the damage that could've been done to Massacoe State Forest. I voice my support for proforestation. If we are to log forests in favor of man-shaped ones, we will lose endangered species and destroy their habitats, we will lose valuable ecosystems that may never prosper again. We need a strategic landscape plan for a balance among research, responsible resource production, and sufficient and connected nature preserves to protect our headwaters, special habitats, core forests, old-growth, and corridors. CT must support community solar power initiatives. Solar power is the future of home energy, assuming we all want a safe planet to live on, we must utilize the CT green bank and all our available resources to incentivise solar use for all. The Killingly Energy Center is an absolute disaster, its construction must be stopped.The Killingly Energy Center would create almost 7% more carbon dioxide emissions in the state of Connecticut, according to Environmental Protection Agency figures. It would also leak Methane, CH4, a gas that creates tropospheric ozone, which is unhealthy and harmful to the air we breathe. According to CT Sierra, CT methane pipeline is already in need of repair, with 4.3 leaks per road mile of methane pipeline in Hartford alone. Fracked gas plants are also a danger to the earthquake safety of New England, creating shallow, sometimes high volume, earthquakes. Methane Gas is also a dangerous water pollutant, this must be considered, given water is essential to our health, and so much of Long Island Sound is becoming polluted. The energy that the Killingly Center would produce is not needed to meet state energy standards. In an article from May 2017 by Max Greene of the Conservation Law Foundation, Greene states: “Just two months ago, ISO New England held its annual Forward Capacity Auction, which ensures that there’s enough power-generating capacity to meet the region’s energy needs three years from now (meaning, power suppliers bid this year to supply energy to the grid in 2020.)
The auction’s results: No new large power plants are needed to meet our region’s projected energy needs in 2020.” The megawattage from the Killingly Energy Center can easily be directed into CT DEEP's offshore wind farm, which hasn't reached the full capacity allowed by the CT legislature. I encourage CT DEEP to use this option, deny the Killingly Energy Center any further permits, and instead direct the energy into an energy resource it is essential we invest in as a state. If we were to add 650 megawatts to the offshore wind farm, we would not exceed the legislature approved 2000 megawatts and we would be creating more essential energy for a resource that we desperately need: Safe, Clean Energy. This is right in line with your Connecticut Energy initiative. I'm calling on CT DEEP to create Climate Justice Education programs for CT students, to educate children on the climate crisis and why it is essential we act swiftly and efficiently. Education programs are something CT DEEP is capable of, if you can hold a forum, you can educate children in the same way. Your policies will be affecting them for the next 10 years, it is essential you educate them in the value of climate protection. Stop subsidizing Biomass! Biomass is extremely harmful to the planet. It creates 60% more carbon emissions than burning coal. It is not carbon neutral when saplings are incapable of absorbing the emissions, and it is damaging to forest ecosystems everywhere. It will displace tons of species and pollute the air we breathe. Natural Gas is not the future of Connecticut energy. We must come up with a plan to phase out all existing fossil fuel infrastructure over the 10 years. Make a plan, not a plant; this is essential, not optional. The message is simple: If we are to save the planet from becoming damaged and uninhabitable, we must address the climate crisis to the fullest extent. I voice my support for the most progressive climate policy available because it will save our children. People's health and safety are in your hands. Make the right decisions. Follow the science outlined in this Email. Do what is JUST for your planet.
0 Comments
What's in the World's Longest Letter to Governor Lamont?PART 5What's in the World's Longest Letter to Governor Lamont?PART 4What's in the World's Longest Letter to Governor Lamont?PART 3What's in the World's Longest letter to Governor Lamont?PART 2What's in the World's Longest Letter to Governor Lamont?PART 1Full LetterDear Gov. Ned Lamont,
Please be informed, as a matter of civil protest, I will be sending you a letter every day to outline your failures to properly address the climate crisis. I will persist until the emergency closing of the Killingly Fracked Gas plant or until your timed leave of office. Each letter will be on a different subject, all designed to reach the same goal. Let’s begin. Governor Lamont, world science shows it, Connecticut’s energy audits show it: Connecticut does not need a new gas power plant, and it is not practical or feasible to build the Killingly Energy Center. In one sentence, Connecticut already has: 4.3 leaks per mile of methane gas pipeline in Hartford alone, an ISO energy report showing no new large power plants are needed to meet our region’s projected energy needs in 2020, and an offshore wind project that CT DEEP can direct more energy capacity to. It is outrageous that the state of CT would consider building a new Fracked Gas Plant given the science available on Climate Change and the effects of a gas plant’s Greenhouse Gas emissions. Instead we must first repair the methane leaks in our existing gas infrastructure and come up with a plan to permanently phase out fossil fuel reliance. CT Sierra’s 2019 Mobile Methane Report shows that there are 4.3 leaks per road mile of methane gas pipeline in Hartford alone, which is why it is ridiculous to consider expanding CT’s gas infrastructure without first considering fixing the existing pipeline. An article in the Wall Street Journal 8/8/19 tells us that “2.3% of the natural gas produced in the U.S. escapes directly into the atmosphere due in part to leaky equipment or intentional discharges”! Governor Lamont, CT is a methane leaking machine that we need your help to fix. We need you to come up with a plan to phase out this broken fossil fuel infrastructure. Make a plan, not a plant. The good news is, New England is moving away from fossil fuel reliance, Connecticut is in the hands of a Governor and a Legislature that recognize the threats of Climate Change, and among their current plans to combat it, have the chance to approve more progressive environmental protections, which is why we must unite to combat the Killingly Fracked Gas Plant from undoing these protections and recognize the science and energy standards that create paths to combat the Climate Crisis. A precedent we must understand is that we do not need the energy the Killingly Fracked Gas Plant will provide. In an article from May 2017 by Max Greene of the Conservation Law Foundation, Greene states: “Just two months ago, ISO New England held its annual Forward Capacity Auction, which ensures that there’s enough power-generating capacity to meet the region’s energy needs three years from now (meaning, power suppliers bid this year to supply energy to the grid in 2020.) The auction’s results: No new large power plants are needed to meet our region’s projected energy needs in 2020.” Connecticut is capable of redirecting the Killingly Energy Center’s Megawattage capacity to CT DEEP’s legislature approved offshore wind farm, an option that demonstrates CT’s abilities to shift to clean energy, phase out fossil fuels, and commit to environmental protection. These are the solutions that will define our future. Connecticut is calling on you to protect its valuable resources, use your powers as Governor to protect us from potential environmental disasters and explore these viable solutions. Connecticut is calling on you to do what is JUST for your planet. Full LetterDear Gov. Ned Lamont,
Please be informed, as a matter of civil protest, I, Benjamin Parsons, will be sending you a letter every day to outline your failures to properly address the climate crisis. I will persist until the emergency closing of the Killingly Fracked Gas plant or until your timed leave of office. Each letter will be on a different subject, all designed to reach the same goal. Let’s begin. Governor Lamont, Massacoe State Forest is a public forest in Simsbury that is suffering from poor forest management and in need of your help and support. Only by preserving Massacoe State Forest in perpetuity can we protect the biodiversity of the forest, its essential carbon sequestration, and the habitats of the Endangered Species on the site. CT DEEP is logging a healthy block of Massacoe State Forest on West Mountain Road, a block free of invasive species, full of rare aged oaks and a habitat to the Endangered Eastern Box Turtle. Instead of Massacoe’s current natural state, CT DEEP seems to favor selectively produced forestry and the mass planting of pine. While logging is standard practice for providing sunlight and removing damaged trees, logging also has extremely negative effects for the health, biodiversity, and immune system of a forest. Removing aged trees releases rich minerals captured by the tree and kept in the soil, that were necessary for plants in the surrounding area to grow; it also releases the carbon dioxide and any other greenhouse gases that the tree was sequestering back into the atmosphere. Science shows that there is great value in natural, unmanaged and aged forests; older trees sequester greater amounts of carbon, natural forests create familiar habitats for climate reliant species and create complex and resilient ecosystems. Logging and selectively planting trees can be harmful to a forest’s immune system, causing lack in biodiversity, making the forest weaker to blights and invasive species. The West Mountain Road Block of Massacoe State Forest is a healthy block of forest that shouldn’t be made to suffer these potentially permanent damages and ecological challenges. Even if Massacoe State Forest were to recover, as CT DEEP claims it would, a healthy forest shouldn’t be made to recover simply because of poor practice. Another concern about Massacoe’s logging is the effect it’s having on the Endangered Eastern Box Turtle on site. CT DEEP began logging without knowing this Endangered Species was on the site and has revealed in public statements that it is still undecided who will perform regular searches to locate the Box Turtle and its nest before the loggers begin work each day, even though this is something required through their Forest Management Plan for Massacoe State Forest. Governor Lamont, help us protect Massacoe State Forest’s natural resources. Use your influence to encourage CT DEEP to explore alternatives and object to poor forest management. We can preserve this block of Massacoe State Forest as a scientific research project, leaving the logged portion of the forest in the management hands of CT DEEP and leaving the other part untouched, in perpetuity, to see which one thrives, invite public and private scientific research, increase the overall value of the forest and inform the forest management resources and processes of CT DEEP. Governor Lamont, Connecticut is calling on you to protect its great forests and do what is JUST for your planet. Please show your support in any way you can. Additional ResourcesInterested in learning more about Executive Order No.3? Check out these cool resources. Notice the differing opinions in each resource. Comment what you think Governor Lamont could be doing better as far as Exec. Order No.3. https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2019/09-2019/Governor-Lamont-Signs-Executive-Order-Strengthening-Connecticuts-Efforts-to-Mitigate-Climate-Change https://350ct.org/gov-lamonts-exec-order-3-is-too-little-too-late/ Read Exec. Order No.3 for yourself here: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Office-of-the-Governor/Executive-Orders/Lamont-Executive-Orders/Executive-Order-No-3.pdf
Full LetterDear Gov. Ned Lamont,
Please be informed, as a matter of civil protest, I will be sending you a letter every day to outline your failures to properly address the climate crisis. I will persist until the emergency closing of the Killingly Fracked Gas plant or until your timed leave of office. Each letter will be on a different subject, all designed to reach the same goal. Let’s begin. Governor Lamont, it is imperative that you change the clean energy target of Executive Order No.3 to achieve 100% carbon free energy in CT by 2030. Only by directing CT DEEP and the GC3 to change the current target to 2030 can they have the most relevant information to prevent the Climate Crisis from doing irreparable damage to our planet. Without setting Executive Order No.3’s target to match the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s deadline on temperature rise and Greenhouse Gas reduction you are crippling the informational resources of the state of Connecticut by using precious time to create a plan that will not be sustainable if we are to save our planet. The state of CT is capable of creating a plan to shift its energy grid to 100% clean energy by 2030; by changing your executive order’s target to acknowledge this information you allow CT DEEP to create pathways, resources and a structured plan based on the most current and relevant information that all potential future Governors can access and use for an informed, stable and sustainable clean energy transition. By not furthering the most progressive climate agendas, you are furthering the devastation of Climate Change, potentially allowing the Killingly Fracked Gas Plant to pump 7% more carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. By not matching your executive order’s timeline to the globally accepted deadline on temperature rise and Greenhouse Gas reduction you are contradicting your own statements: “…to see to it that Connecticut remains a national leader on climate action,” Moving your target deadline to 2030 will make CT a national and local leader on important climate policy and set the precedent for essential environmental legislature that can affect the state of CT positively and sustainably well past your term as Governor. You have the chance to set a powerful precedent and sign beneficial climate legislature to lead CT to bipartisan environmental protection for years to come. Governor Lamont, you must move the clean energy target of Executive Order No.3 to achieve 100% carbon free energy in CT by 2030, recognize the globally accepted IPCC deadline, recognize the science and do what is JUST for your planet. |
Post Type |