What's New
MASSPIRG's Position on Cape Wind
Given all that we know about the dire need to shift to cleaner energy sources in order to adequately protect public health, consumers, and the environment, the default position on this project should be to allow it to move forward. The Cape Wind project should be built, as long as important concerns about the potential negative impacts of the project on wildlife are addressed. Rigorous monitoring and adaptive management plans should be included in the Final Environmental Impact Statement and, if necessary, mitigation plans should be required as a condition for approving the project. More.

The environmental and economic consequences of our dependence on oil, coal, gas and nukes are becoming clearer all the time: smog, global warming, nuclear safety, price spikes, the list goes on.

If we want a smarter, cleaner energy future, we have to adopt new ideas, new approaches. This doesn't involve futuristic or high-tech fantasy. Some of these ideas are as old as the sun. What we need are new energy solutions.

Our Current Energy Policy Is Dirty, Dangerous And Unreliable

Oil At current rates of consumption, scientists predict that, as early as the next decade, oil production will peak and then drop as supply becomes increasingly scarce. Soaring prices will disrupt our economy and world stability.

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Gas Contrary to the industry's claims, gas is neither clean nor plentiful. Burning gas contributes to global warming. And gas production could peak within three decades if we continue to increase our consumption.

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Nuclear A terrorist attack or severe accident at the Pilgrim power plant would be devastating and could make the entire state uninhabitable for decades. Yet nuclear power is more heavily subsidized than any other source of power.

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Coal There’s plenty of coal in the ground. But burning coal is incredibly inefficient and polluting. Cleaning up existing plants is an ongoing challenge and a large-scale shift to coal would have terrible consequences for the environment and public health.

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New Energy Solutions Are Clean, Safe And Good For Our Economy

Energy efficiency The quickest and cheapest way to reduce energy consumption is through energy-efficient buildings and appliances. Efficiency reduces pollution, stimulates the economy, increases power system reliability, and stabilizes the energy market.

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Wind Today, many turbines generate power for about 3 to 6 cents a kilowatt hour. Clean power derived from wind also reduces overall energy costs by making us less dependent on imported fuels and less vulnerable to price spikes.

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Solar What could be safer and more reliable than generating energy from the sun? Solar panels can easily be installed on rooftops—the fuel is free and the market is not controlled by a cartel.

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Biomass Biomass is an overlooked renewable with big potential. Plant-derived fuels can be a clean and lasting source of power if they are harvested sustainably and their incineration is held to rigorous emission standards.

Photo credits: NREL/DOE and Associated Press

Archives
• Nov. 2002: 20/20 Pledge For A Clean Energy Future

Links
The state PIRGs' New Energy Future Web site.