Letter: Help turn Lexington into a ‘green’ town
Thursday, October 27, 2005

You can help Lexington get more efficient, less expensive and "greener" electricity by supporting House Bill H3294. This legislation will give towns and groups of towns the opportunity to buy wires, poles and other equipment from NStar, to set up a "muni", a municipal electric distribution company.

     At Lexington's Global Warming Action Coalition's recent Cary Hall event, Ted McIntyre explained how each of us must take action to reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide. A Lexington muni would do just that for the whole town, by purchasing electricity from renewable non-polluting sources such as wind power or biomass.

     A muni would also provide the technical expertise to increase energy conservation across Lexington. For example, a Lexington muni would help DPW replace conventional bulbs with LEDs in our traffic lights to use less electricity. A muni could help fix thermostats and heating systems in our schools and public buildings to avoid wasting heat in the winter and cold air from air-conditioning in the summer. A muni could install solar panels to produce electricity or heat in the best locations in town.

     We are very grateful that Rep. Jay Kaufman is sponsoring bill H3294 and that our other legislators, Sen. Susan Fargo, Sen. Bob Havern and Rep. Tom Stanley also strongly support this legislation. Please get it passed soon! To learn more, go to www.massmunichoice.org.

     Diane Biglow
     Bellflower Street