The Office of Strategic Initiatives is collecting public comments regarding our state’s 10-year energy strategy. Some say more natural gas is a way to reduce energy prices, but that approach ignores important risks. New investments in fossil fuel infrastructure are likely to become stranded costs and result in higher energy prices. Please sign a petition to support efficiency and a clean energy focus.

We currently vote for fossil fuel options with our wallets despite the high external costs of their use, but this can be fixed, and New Hampshire has a lot to gain from an efficient energy market. Local clean energy solutions will reduce the billions we spend annually on imported fuel, boosting our own economy. Our state leaders should encourage investments in energy efficiency, promote businesses that provide clean energy solutions and can help accelerate the pace by endorsing a federal policy solution like Carbon Fee and Dividend as some towns in New Hampshire and other states have already done.

Rather than place risky bets on a natural gas-oriented future, our state should go in the direction every other country but one is going, and every major scientific organization with a position on fossil fuels and global warming calls for. New Hampshire’s manufacturing base, technically skilled workforce, and educated population enable us to maximize our economic potential by aligning our state strategy with an efficient, clean energy future.