May 21, 2014 statement in opposition to planned fracked gas pipelines.
We need a national and state "Manhattan Project" to make renewable energy the primary source of energy.
• Sign binding international treaties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and halt deforestation, with a goal of reducing global atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses to no more than 350ppm (CO2 equivalent).
• Set a starting target of 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts over a twelve-year period.
• Make conservation, not production, the first priority of energy policy. Provide financial supports and incentives to expedite energy conservation/efficiency measures with an expected payback time of less than 20 years.
• Commit to a “green economy” with initiatives to create community-based green jobs. Low-income groups should be early beneficiaries of the job growth anticipated in an environmentally sustainable economy.
• Enact a carbon tax to change economic incentives. If fossil fuels are required to reflect their true overall costs, the lower costs of renewable energy will become evident.
• Expand use of wind, solar, and geothermal energy, and decentralize energy production with the construction of a “smart” electricity grid for energy storage.
• Enact land use reforms and relocalize economic activities leading to sustainable communities invulnerable to manipulations in the oil markets.
• Phase out nuclear power. That's what Germany and Japan are doing; we don't need to have another catastrophe before doing the same.
• Phase out coal-burning power plants. There is no "clean" coal.
• Ban biofuels derived from food crops or from crops grown on land whose clearing contribute to deforestation.