Issue Position: Environment

Issue Position

We Share One Earth

I will do everything I can to protect our air, our water, and our land from inadvertent and careless pollution and will support increased energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. This involves funding the Department of Environmental Services so it can do its job of protecting our natural resources.

2012 is slated to be the hottest year on record all over the nation. Drought conditions reminiscent of the Dust Bowl are gripping the bread basket of our country. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and pretend that there is nothing we can do to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that precipitate unforeseen extreme weather events.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is responsible for approximately $26 million in grants to residents, small businesses, cities and towns for energy efficiency projects, job creation around new technologies and energy efficiency, and decreased air pollution. Fortunately the effort to repeal RGGI in the last legislative session failed. All but one of the Derry State Representatives absented themselves from this important vote. As a result of RGGI, in NH, energy usage has been reduced by over 182 million BTUs, cutting nearly 1 million tons of carbon dioxide from our environment in just the last year. Since its inception, it has boosted NH's economy by $17 million, creating hundreds of jobs in the process. UNH studies predict the $18 million spent on RGGI will result in over $84 million in energy cost reductions based on current energy prices, a 4 fold return on investment. We need to keep and improve on this program.

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