I thought that his article was very interesting to read.
Live green or die,a new motto for NH.


By Chelsea Conaboy
Monitor staff

Put a meter on every parking space. Double or triple highway tolls. Promote nuclear power. Eliminate nuclear power. Change the state's motto to "live green or die." Give incentives for solar panels and wind turbines. Harness the power of the Piscataquas River. Subsidize local farmers.

These were some of the suggestions offered by the 25 people who spoke before members of the governor's task force on climate change at the State House last night. The task force, a group of 28 scientists and business, industry and advocacy officials charged with determining how and by how much the state can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, held a hearing to get ideas from the public as it began evaluating how to reduce emissions from power producers and to encourage people to use less energy.

In addition to looking for ways to regulate those efforts, the task force hopes to come up with a plan for state and municipal governments to lead by example. Mimi White of Rye had a suggestion.

"Maybe you could ask the governor if he would hang his clothes on a line," she said.

Several people spoke about improving bus and rail service, taking cars off the road, and stopping the expansion of Interstate 93. Some said user fees on parking and higher tolls would make people drive less.

Melissa Bernardin of Concord argued for more walkable communities.

"It is a life-threatening endeavor to try to walk from downtown (Concord) to the U.S. post office," she said.

She also said biofuels are not the answer to fuel consumption. The climate won't be helped "if we're chopping down the rainforest in Brazil to produce biofuels for our SUVs," she said.

Bernardin covered her face with her hands and shook her head in frustration when Monica Cotes, also of Concord, testified.

Cotes said she's been a longtime recycler. But now she lives in an apartment on Concord Street. When she went to the city to get bins for her and her neighbors, the city official told her that the eight-unit complex where they lives isn't eligible for curbside recycling, even though the trucks pass by on their pickup route.

"Is that foolish? Is that asinine?" she said. "I think it is."

Chris Nord was one of several people who spoke against nuclear power.

"We need to make the replacement sources (for fossil fuel) non-polluting," he said. "We need to make them safe. And we need to make them sustainable."

One person spoke in favor of keeping nuclear power in the mix to maintain a large enough energy supply.

Several people urged the members of the Legislature to pass a bill to make New Hampshire part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 10-state plan to cap and then lower carbon emissions by requiring producers to buy allowances for every ton of carbon they emit.