BRATTLEBORO — I notice that you have recently reported on renewable energy sources by way of citing proposals by James Moore and Dr. Arjun Makhjani on how "renewable energy can easily replace Vermont Yankee's power.”
I should very much like to be in accord with Mr. Moore and Dr. Makhjani, but three critical aspects of the proposals were not reported by your newspaper.
The first is the capital cost of the renewable sources mentioned. Who will pay for them, how, and how soon?
The second is the resultant cost of energy developed by these systems, compared to current costs. The third question is, of course, where else have these proposals been implemented? Local people want more than ideas. They want examples.
I imagine that if these questions could be answered satisfactorily, and by independent agents, these proposals would be substantial ways to evolve our local future.
Your paper is negligent in not reporting these questions, though in fairness, I have personally not had better results in questioning VPIRG, who broadcast much, but reply little or not at all.
Since the prospect here is enormously important for our bio-region, I urge you to press VPIRG for more specifics and fewer blue-sky projections. Our particular community will want to verify and examine more information than your article presented.Indeed, your article seemed like a speech, rather than journalism.
Surely, if VPIRG is as confident as your article presents it to be, it will submit its “easily replaced” energy solutions to solid - and even acute - analysis by our own community.
If the people at VPIRG say that the means to do progress is by “political will,” then shall we understand them to mean our will, our polity, in our own bio-region?