TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I am a resident of Lexington, and I do volunteer work educating and lobbying on climate action for Citizen' Climate Lobby and the Massachusetts Campaign for a Clean Energy Future. I am pleased that the Governor is pursuing a multi-state transportation and climate initiative. For the program to be effective, it needs to include a price on carbon that is high enough to reduce emissions, and uses (or rebates) the funds raised in a way that protects low and moderate income residents.

Stop... Educate yourselves before crippling our State with your willy nilli ideas. We can not have blide Leadership. Ignorance is not Bliss it is however, extremely expensive when wielded blindly!!! Janet Mills ideas and policy spell disaster for Maine.

As transportation is a primary emitter of fossil fuels, a focus on reducing that is imperative. Localizing economies is a start. Food is a good start to the start. Everyone needs to eat two or three times a day, and food has to get from farm to plate. Human beings do not need bananas from Ecuador or lettuce from California in order to survive! Re-educating people on how to get needed nutrients from things that grow locally can be of enormous help in reducing the hidden costs to the climate. Growing one's own food is best. Ten paces from garden to plate, freshness assured! Next would be a system of community gardens, then farmers markets, then grocery stores carrying local food at prices that reflect its true cost. Adding a carbon quotient to all transported foods would make local foods look a lot better.

Another educational effort could be put into edible weeds, seeds, flowers, and even insects. (80% of the world enjoys insect protein. Why can't we, in the West?) It might make people think twice about spraying dandelions with poison if they knew how nutritious they are. Unsprayed lawns abound in other foods and even medicines that are far more valuable than the aesthetics of a monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass. Think about how many homeowners rake up annoying acorns into garbage bags for the dump, when a couple hundred years ago acorns provided up to 50% of winter calories for some Native American populations. Going back to such useful local foodstuffs can eclipse the need for trucking in food from far away. This educational effort on local foods we already have could be enhanced and encouraged by having community based classes on cooking and preservation.

In Vermont, we have a lot of large lawns that are rarely used except from the seat of a riding mower on weekend afternoons. Grass, a perennial, grows on its own with little input needed. Put grazing animals on those lawns and they get fertilized nicely. Hoof action makes pockets that hold water rather than letting it run off. Hoof action also presses manure into the soil, sequestering that carbon. Grassland thus grows protein in the form of meat--a sustainable form. At the same time, any form of factory farming of animals should be transitioned as quickly as possible to grass-based. Grain is not a natural part of any ruminant's diet! They'll eat it, but it's bad for them in the long run. Valuable corn and soybean fields could then be converted to carbon-sequestering grasslands or some form of permaculture including fruit and nut trees, with some open land being kept for annual fruits and vegetables as needed.

Thanks for listening.

We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:

More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas

Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable

Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

It is morally imperative that we transform our transportation system in a way that minimizes (and eventually eliminates completely) our use of fossil fuels as the energy source of our transportation system and move to an energy source that is renewable and sustainable.

Thank you for ready my comments.

I strongly urge the State of Maine to remove itself from the TCI.
Poor, rural, hard working Mainers will be hit especially hard.
All taxes must originate in the Maine House of Representatives.
Any fees, fines, or assessments are actually a hidden tax and require legislative approval.
Maine's involvement in the TCI is contrary to Maine law.

This initiative will have a negative impact on the Maine economy.
Many Maine businesses rely on fossil fuels, such as farming, fishing, and forestry. The increase in fuel costs will make it harder for them stay competitive. With our large geography and businesses operating with slim profit margins, a carbon tax under the guise of an "assessment" will result in business closures and job losses, and I strongly oppose.

Maine needs relief from the pollution that blows in our direction-we are the tailpipe of the US

Transportation is the country’s and region’s leading source of carbon emissions.
Stop listening to the fossil fools and get with it!
I'm a crossing and I'm tired of breathing obnoxious truck exhaust for 45 minutes straight.

TCI is not nearly ambitious enough given the scale of the climate emergency. However, if specific policies are clearly defined by TCI it will provide a start in the right direction. Given that Vermont gets all of our fossil fuels from other states, we should clearly join TCI, but must create policy that ensures equity for lower-income and rural Vermonters.

Vermont TCI should include:

-A mechanism to mitigate the impacts of TCI on low-income populations in rural areas with acknolwedgment that rural consumers must use more fossil fuels in order to get to work and commerce centers

-Higher EV and renewable energy rebates for low-income residents

-Increased weatherization funding for low and moderate income Vermonters and access to renewable energy sources via community solar development

-Development of safe roads for biking and walking, and focus on smart growth centers

-Investment in agricultural and natural responses to the climate emergency including carbon farming and forest health, acknowledging the impact of higher fuel rates on farmers, sugarmakers and others who work in agricultural and forestry professions


-Investment of TCI funds in clean energy, energy efficiency, and more robust public transportation to expand career opportunities and make jobs more accessible. The Vermont Green New Deal aims to do this, and is an essential part of all Vermont climate legislation.