TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

To quote Greta Thornburgh - "HOW DARE YOU STEAL OUR FUTURE". Your one-party-state attempt to grab even more money out of the pockets of the working class is abominable. My work requires that I drive my car and this will put an additional "tax" burden on me and my family.
It is obvious what this is, I am an activist and i vote!
Hands off my money!

For heaven’s sake please do not raise the cost of gasoline or force people to purchase electric cars in the state of Maine. There are too many lower and middle income people who are dependent on their cars in places where there is no public transportation. These ideas are great for dense populations where there is public transportation but not in Maine. Thank you.

Yet another tax on the over taxed. Unrealistic and lazy attempt at funding the climate change cult. People like me will just drive to N.H. Thank God they have a REAL Republican gov.

Thank you for finally getting together in a bipartisan fashion to take action on global climate change by working on the transportation sector in the northeast. We are already seeing the effects of climate change in increased severe weather events and hotter temperature. The poor among us bear the brunt of the burden. Seeing that Massachusetts people are involved, I trust you will continue to lead. When investments are made in clean energy, I trust you will consult the communities involved, especially the poorer ones. Hopefully I will live to see the day (I am 79) of efficient train and bus service, electric car charging stations and dedicated bicycle and walking paths. The cost of doing nothing will be greater than that of taking action now.

I support TCI. Fossil fuel companies have been too slow to research and develop alternative fuels and this could help that process. I also think that we have a lot to gain from the investment of funds that Vermont will receive. Developing alternative transportation modalities, improving the ability to live closer to town centers and helping Vermonters to see the benefits of driving more fuel efficient vehicles are critical and can be assisted by TCI.

This is a tax. I’m not that smart and I know that. This failed to pass in MA years ago, but yet here it is again. Had to come with numbers this time, pass it as a group because that makes it legitimate. The Democrats are thieves, plain and simple. Please do not pass this in Maine. Trump 2020.

Carbon cap/trade and all the proposals I've seen here cannot work without actual, less polluting forms of energy for transportation. So far. the only viable substitute fuel for transportation is natural gas. No other source, except nuclear power, has the ability to transport what needs to be transported economically. There are no "renewable" resources that are less polluting. They simply export or move the pollution around.

It would be a very good idea to remove the "carbon" appellation from the discussion. It hides the true nature of the problem which many perceive to be carbon dioxide emissions. The more research that is done the more it appears that carbon dioxide has more benefits than detriments. Each round of reports from the IPCC has reduced the amount of projected temperature increases and shown more off-setting benefits from somewhat higher temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide. It is, after all, the source of all our food.


Ethanol produces more actual pollution from production on the farm to delivery of ethanol to the transportation system than simply using fossil fuels directly.
Solar panels and windmills can only produce electricity sporadically, usually when it isn't needed and not when it is. Both would require collosal investments in huge batteries, concrete, rare metals and other highly polluting mining in third world countries, not to mention the removal and recovery of all the materials after they break/wear out. Recycling will probably cost nearly as much as the original production. Electric trucks would double down on the costs involved. The most potentially viable truck system would likely be dedicated electric truck driving lanes and overhead electricity, similar to electric trains. Powered by modern nuclear reactors this approach could reduce the amount of truck pollution greatly, but is only viable in dense urban areas. It took a century to get reliable electricity to rural America. An electric trucking system might only require 50 years.

Electric cars produce more dangerous pollution from raw materials production and simply move the pollution to poor countries. The cars themselves are only modestly more efficient overall than diesel or direct ignition Atkisson cycle gasoline engines. Electric cars require very significant subsidies to offset the negatives for anything but short work commutes(~20 miles) and all the daily accommodations needed for convenient use of the vehicle. To actually be functional the electricity has to come from hydropower or nuclear power. Solar and wind simply cannot supply enough power, even if every acre in the country had a windmill and a large solar array, with batteries.

So, rather than piling on loads of costs one everyone(including the people running this program) it would be much better policy to directly invest in speeding up the development and adoption of modern, 4th and 5th generation nuclear reactors. There are many design possibilities for nuclear reactors that are modular, scalable, safer, much more efficient, and much less liable to nuclear weapons proliferation than the current machines. Most are literally failsafe- if the reactor overheats it simply shuts down due to how they are designed.

Please stop this madness now! This initiative will just drive up fuel costs for everyone! STOP IT! Every product and service will be impacted. Don't turn the Northeast states into another California! You folks were not elected so stop forcing your agenda on the rest of us!

Sincerely,
William B. Carter