People’s Republik Of Maine Considers Making Fossil Fuels Companies Pay

This pretty much has worked so far, but, sure, try it

New legislation would make Maine’s polluters pay

Fossil fuel companies are spewing billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the air every year. These gases rise and act like a blanket in the atmosphere, reflecting heat back toward the Earth, where it’s absorbed by the ocean. This is why the Gulf of Maine is one of the fastest warming bodies of water on the planet.

Funny how every body of water is the fastest warming, eh? It’s almost like this is based on cult doctrine, not science

Our rising ocean temperatures are the root cause of more frequent and more severe storms. And these storms are costly. Flooding, high winds and falling trees have cost Maine electric ratepayers over $200 million in each of the past four years. We see these costs in our rising electric bills.

No, it’s just that there are more buildings and such and everything costs more. Hell, thanks to COVID that cost is probably double what it would have been in 2019

As storms and costs continue to increase, it’s time to hold fossil fuel companies accountable. Maine electric ratepayers should not pay for climate damage they did not cause. Nor should they pay for local infrastructure to protect downtowns, roads, bridges and sewage treatment plants from flooding.

This is the rationale behind “polluter pays” legislation, an important bill before the Legislature this month.

Introduced by state Sen. Stacy Brenner, the “Polluter Pays” bill (LD 1870) would charge fossil fuel companies a fee for climate damage they’ve caused in Maine. The funds would be deposited into a state “climate superfund” and used to pay for storm repair and strengthening local infrastructure.

Why is it never “users pay”? Because the people of Maine sure use a lot. Hey, just look at Governor Janet Mills, who took a fossil fueled private jet to California for a fundraiser in January. Oh, and

This was done for the storm days, for which 70% of their power came from fossil fuels. Think solar would have worked as the snow came down? How about wind turbines as they froze?