The Trump administration’s outrageous plan to raise electricity prices in order to prop up dirty fossil fuels, as discussed in a recent editorial, requires states to take action — and fast. Challenging the administration’s manipulation of energy markets is essential, but it must be accompanied by a plan to transition Illinois to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030.
The levelized cost of solar and wind power is on par with, or cheaper than, gas or nuclear power. By embracing renewable technologies, the state can save ratepayers money, protect public health and help stabilize the climate.
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The Trump administration is attempting to create an energy crisis. But if state legislators act to protect ratepayers and promote sustainability in mind, this could be the spark for the remarkable shift towards clean energy that the state, and the entire world, desperately needs.
Jim Walsh
Renewable Energy Policy Analyst
Food & Water Action
Washington, DC
Shades of ‘Reefer Madness’
The rollout of legal marijuana in Illinois has been quite a circus. With only a few scant stores around the state, lines are out the door and sales are through the roof. Are all these folks new pot smokers rushing to try marijuana now that it’s legal? Or are they people who have been smoking pot all of their lives, living, working and playing right alongside everyone else?
I had to laugh when I read Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin’s claim that emergency rooms will be overrun with people tripping their brains out, and our highways will become bumper car rides because of drivers under the influence of marijuana. Sounds like the standard company anti-pot line. Pot has been one of our nation’s sizable vices since the 1960s. The only thing that’s changed is where we buy it.
It’s all going to be alright.
Scot Sinclair, Third Lake
