MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 2, 2022
Companies that make money from the burning of fossil fuels want to undermine state climate change policies that get people to burn less of them. This is what’s known as concerned trolling – self-serving gamesmanship dressed up as empathy. The oil dealers jumped on some bad news (a predicted spike in the price of natural gas), mixed it with vague memories of last year’s blackout in Texas and tried to turn the whole thing into a reason to do nothing. Heat pumps have nothing to do with the potential power outages. The oil dealers are targeting heat pumps because they work. They will become progressively less carbon intensive as renewable power comes online. The technology had no bigger supporter than former Gov. Paul LePage. If the oil dealers really want to protect us from volatile energy prices, then they should join the fight to replace fossil fuels with reliable renewables like wind and solar. ~ Greg Kesich