Regarding your editorial "Climate Reality Hits Beacon Hill" (Oct. 8): The Northeast is dominated by blue-state governments where politicians are beholden to an unrealistic "green" agenda and are simultaneously desperate to talk about "affordability" -- an incompatible combination.
Opposition to domestic and reliable energy leads to the obstruction of pipeline projects. This in turn creates roadblocks toward getting natural gas from places like nearby Pennsylvania, the second-highest natural-gas-producing state. Natural gas is responsible for more than 40% of all electricity in the U.S., and the U.S. is the world's largest producer of natural gas. It should be a no-brainer.
Yet in recent years, Massachusetts has implemented policies to become carbon neutral by 2050. That means less natural gas, oil and coal, and more solar and wind projects.
Politicians have cheered the closure of regional coal plants, perhaps most memorably in 2022 when former President Joe Biden stood before the state's last coal-fired power plant, Brayton Point Power Station, to discuss the climate "emergency."
Forcibly removing reliable sources of energy from the grid doesn't make winter less harsh or homes warmer. It decreases supply, which leads to higher prices -- Massachusetts' electricity prices are 40% to 60% higher than the national average -- or forces an increased reliance on foreign supply.
Politicians can be focused on climate or affordability, but they can't do both. Sadly, it's a lesson Massachusetts residents are about to learn when they open their electric bills this fall and winter.
Daniel Turner
Executive director and founder
Power The Future
Round Hill, Va.
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