VOICES HEARD ON CLIMATE, BUT NOT ON THE FRACKED GAS PLANT?
#NoKeeneGasPlant PETITION: http://bit.ly/2rHGwnq
City Councilor Terry Michael Clark was a Keene Climate Hero last night. He was already a proponent of climate action and clean energy, but it was clear that he has been reading and educating himself on the issue of fracked gas expansion and how Liberty Utilities is slithering across the state, lining up contracts, creating the need for a pipeline in unsuspecting communities.
Those who are familiar with the maneuvers of pipeline pushers call what they're doing "segmentation". That means they try to have each section of their grand project only considered for its own impact, not the overall impact of the goal - a pipeline from the Marcellus Shale deposit in Pennsylvania to Canada for export. They promise a discount until 2020, right about the time when the permanent gas plant would be ready to roll and the pipeline to Nova Scotia, completed. At that time, gas is exported and prices skyrocket. It's just not a wise business decision.
Liberty Utilities is setting cities and their customers up for a fall. We know that city leadership cares about their communities. Taking such a hit, allowing citizens to be exposed to toxic fumes, tainted water, illness, eminent domain (the taking of land) and changes to community culture is a heavy burden to carry.
Mayor Kendall Lane's dismissed of Terry Clark's request for a community forum, something we, and our supporters, have also requested. Why wouldn't you want the community to make an informed decision on something that could impact citizens for 20 or 30 years to come?
It was most perplexing why after not acknowleding Mr. Clark's request for citizen feedback and many City Councilors spoke in support of the climate resolution, Mayor Lane said he had about 20 calls in support of the resolution and thought these citizens had the right to speak about it. He supported not approving it so supporters, who were not present, could speak at another point in time. One has to wonder why climate action is important enough for citizen voices to be heard, but not on a gas plant that is part of an effort to put a pipeline through the Granite State and is clearly in opposition to climate goals in Keene and in the State of New Hampshire.
We will continue to request a community forum. In the meantime, we will have our own community forum to educate Keene and Monadnock Region residents on the economically competitive, viable, clean energy options available, asking why no other option to this gas plant has been considered.
Follow us and NH Pipeline Resistance: No Keene Gas Plant, Liberty Utilities/Kinder Morgan for more information and an upcoming community Energy And Our Future forum! ECHOaction.org