TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I am concerned that the cost of my fossil fuels for my car or home are set by dealers in nearby states. If I am in VT and it is NOT a member of the TCI team then I will NOT get some of that money back. We need to join and reap the benefits and not just the costs. The only way that northeast can survive is with a group effort. We need the benefit of balance.

Non-Profits, NGO’s, Trusts, & Foundations use “philanthropy” to secure political clout through campaign donations, & public policy through advocacy groups like the Conservation Law Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and VPIRG, who receive significant support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. TCI’s core funding comes from the same Rockefeller philanthropy, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which is directly behind TCI, RGGI, in fact all the anti-carbon policy we are seeing in Vermont. The Manufactured Climate Crisis, the War on Fossil Fuels, the Climate Change Agenda, & the Monetization of Carbon are driven by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Rockefeller Family Fund, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Wealthy Elites have pre-positioned their investments in carbon trading, carbon sequestration, railroads, & natural gas, while betting against coal & oil. TCI is the unconstitutional picking of winners & losers, inefficient Government Redistribution of Wealth, and Economic Death for the Working People of Vermont. Instead, we need to clear out the leeches who hold public office for self- emolument, & tax these “philanthropic” Foundations, Trusts, NGO's, & Non-Profits into the stone age, instead of adopting a punitive Interstate program designed to force compliance with standards that will have a dubious effect on the Earth's Climate on a Global Scale.

In keeping with other long-term initiatives like “Ready for 100% by 2030”, we must keep the pressure on by making sure each and every one of these new initiatives towards a renewable future sees the light of day.

Climate solutions are the number 1 priority right now for the entire world.Fossil fuel use for transportation is one of the top causes of unhealthy carbon emissions.Clean,efficient transportation in VT and elsewhere is necessary to achieve carbon emission goals.Electric vehicle usage will help to get us there.I urge the development of ev charging stations and the creation of subsidized Eva's, including trucks and buses.

Anything we can do to counteract the depredations and denial of a brain-dead administration in D.C. is fine with me.

Transportation is the Vermont sector which contributes the most green house gases than any other sector. We know that these gases cause climate change which has now become a global crisis. Making the transportation sector cleaner is a huge challenge. The TCI is a regional approach which would have a significant impact on reducing our green house gases in the Northeast. Vermont, in particular, would benefit from a regional approach due to the long border with New Hampshire. We are fortunate that this initiative is in progress and I urge the Governor of Vermont to support TCI. It is the least our state can do to head off the crisis that is already affecting people in our state, with those least able to afford the impact being the ones most affected.

My name is Richard Butz, I’m a member of the Bristol, Vermont, Energy Committee, a Board member of Vermont Interfaith Power and Light (VTIPL), a Board member of Addison County River Watch Collaborative (ACRWC), a father and grandfather. I’m writing in strong support for Vermont’s participation in the Transportation Climate Initiative.

As a college professor (now retired as an assistant professor of engineering technology), I lectured on building and transportation systems and have been staying up on the environmental and technological aspects of those systems. To me the evidence is clear, while we’re in trouble regarding greenhouse gas emissions, the technology exists, right now, to address them. What’s missing are the will and financial resources. TCI will facilitate change in attitudes and provide funding to encourage sustainable practices while protecting low income vermonters through rebates and incentives. It will result in clean, good paying jobs as we make the necessary transitions.

As a member of the Bristol Energy Committee, I work to plan and implement ways our citizens can achieve the mobility they need, whether it involves frequent and convenient public transportation or finding ways to afford more efficient and affordable personal vehicles. We’ve already benefitted from weatherization programs that have been funded through monies received as a result of the two million dollars Vermont receives each year as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Our Button-up and Window Dressers initiatives are local examples. TCI will function in a similar way to RGGI.

As a person of faith, a progressive church member and a Board member of Vermont Interfaith Power and Light, I advocate for TCI because it is a significant step in reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, critical to protecting Creation, something people of faith understand and are called to do. Last Thursday more than fifty members of VTIPL spent the day at the State House in Montpelier, meeting with our legislators to lobby for the first bill of the Global Climate Solutions Act. Imagine our joy when it passed the House with a large majority.

I know that transportation contributes 43% of Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions, and if we are to make any progress in this regard we are going to have to invest in cleaner public transportation modes, particularly in rural locations where driving is a significant factor. As a long-term Prius owner I know how much less gasoline an efficient vehicle uses and its impact on my budget, something that needs to be made available to low income vermonters, and the funding from TCI would assist in that regard.

As a grandfather I fear for our kid’s future. The Fourth National Climate Assessment and the IPCC reports among countless others, make it clear that we have very little time to act. We know from our own experience that we are already experiencing erratic and destructive weather patterns, emergence of tick and mosquito born diseases that we never saw before, and we run the risk of losing our maple trees, having shorter ski seasons, degrading our beautiful streams, rivers and lakes, and the tourism that these resources support. In short, our way of life and the Vermont Brand may be lost. We can’t let that happen.

To be clear, I urge Vermont to join TCI!

I think it's vital that we do all we can to mitigate, and work toward stopping climate change by any means. Lives are being lost. Pollution is the cause, has been taking lives for a long time and the acceleration is ugly to see. Because it isn't yet so near to us doesn't mean we won't be feeling effects of all kinds as our fellow human beings, and living things in general are forced to flee pr perish.
I have a grown daughter in California who was extremely lucky to escape being burned to death/ It truly brings the situation home and into focus. The costs of paying a carbon tax could be budgeted for by giving up a bad habit or two, also helpful.
I'm wondering what % of VTs Carbon emissions come from that new Burlington airport and the military in general and if they can be made to pay for their emissions as well. I 'm hoping that New Hampshire will get a chance to reformulate their position on this. I think we should carry ahead no matter what.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment.