Get ready for another Dan McKee mess
By Bill Ibelle, Rhode Island Current
That horror movie is in production right now and will be coming to a theater near you if the governor’s cuts to clean energy programs are approved by the legislature. It will be another example of kicking the can down the road until disaster strikes. But more importantly, it will be another example of how saving a few dollars today can lead to astronomical costs in the very near future.
What should we learn from the Washington Bridge? We knew for years that our highway bridges were aging and that hundreds of them, both large and small, were in dangerously poor repair. We know that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and a succession of governors chose to look the other way because it’s always smart politics to save voters a few dollars immediately, even if it’s going to cost them a fortune for years to come.
Our government opted to save some money. And then the Washington Bridge had to be demolished because it was on the brink of collapse. This created a massive traffic jam that will choke our economy for at least four years and cost taxpayers a half a billion dollars to demolish the bridge and build a new one.
Now let’s look at our present situation. The governor is promising to save you $15 a month on your electric bill by ignoring the climate crisis, but experts say those numbers are wildly inflated and the governor has yet to provide documentation to specifically back up its claim. Still, the governor’s offer is nothing to sneeze at. It could buy you a few cups of coffee
All you have to do to get that free coffee is to agree to kick the climate crisis down the road by cutting programs designed to speed our transition to clean energy. You may wonder why saving $15 a month is a bad idea. To answer that question, let’s watch the movie trailer “Return of the Short-Sighted Leaders.”
Scene 1: Your Finances
Cutting clean energy programs will lock us into the real cause of skyrocketing rates — a dangerous overdependence on natural gas. The governor and Rhode Island Energy want you to believe that clean energy is the cause of high electric rates. But consider this:
- In Rhode Island, 13% of the electricity is produced with clean energy and 87% is produced with natural gas. So which one is more likely to be responsible for high rates, the gerbil or the elephant?
- Gas prices are rising while clean energy gets cheaper every year. So if we cut programs that speed our transition to clean energy, we’re locking ourselves into a fuel source that’s getting more expensive.
- Prices for green energy are stable, while the price of gas skyrockets whenever there is an international crisis, like the war with Iran we’re tangled in right now.
- Clean energy is local. 100% of the natural gas we buy is imported from distant places, while clean energy — wind, solar, efficiency programs — is produced right here. The governor’s cuts will ensure we continue to send our energy dollars out of state to create jobs in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Canada, while clean energy will keep our energy dollars here, producing jobs for Rhode Islanders.
The governor is offering you a short-sighted, quick-fix that doesn’t fix anything. In fact, it will make your finances worse.
Scene 2: The Climate Crisis
The Washington Bridge was a local disaster waiting to happen. We turned the other way, and it came back to haunt us. The climate crisis is an avalanche that, if we don’t take action to stop it now, will bury us in its fury.
Consider this: In 2024 alone, the U.S. spent $183 billion in response to climate-related disasters. Although Rhode Island has avoided the worst of these disasters so far, our tiny state has an enormous coastline, and sea-level rise will wreak havoc that makes the Washington Bridge pale in comparison. Newport’s iconic Cliff Walk has collapsed three times in the last four years because of violent winter storms. Might this be a harbinger of things to come?
It’s hard for people to pay attention to climate change when our federal government lights a new fire every day. But the Washington Bridge should serve as an immediate warning about the cost of government nearsightedness.
Spoiler Alert
At the end of this movie, politicians scramble to stop the environmental avalanche. It does not end well.
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