— from Bill Watson —
I want to thank all of the people who gave me encouragement and support during my campaign for San Juan County Council District 1. I consider myself fortunate to have had an opportunity to meet with and talk with so many fellow citizens of San Juan County over the course of the campaign. Although Bob Jarman and I may have had varying views, I want to thank him for his participation in the debate of the issues. Now is the time for all of us to come together and work jointly on our shared future.
I would like to thank Bob for his years of service and I wish him the very best moving forward. I look forward to working with my fellow Council Members, the other County Electeds, the County Staff, and the citizens of San Juan County over the next four years. It is my privilege to serve my community in this way and I commit to giving it my very best.
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GUERRILLA CARBON REDUCTION
OK, the election’s over. Federal protection of our environment will shortly go into full reverse. The state legislature is split to the point of fibrillation. There will be no state carbon tax by initiative, the three letter word “tax” now a fatal curse on any measure, even one that provides a benefit without additional burden. Local governments lack, and cannot hope to get, the necessary legal authority to either tax or regulate in a manner that will cause a reduction in atmospheric carbon.
Now that every available governmental institution that could act to reduce carbon either can’t or won’t, what does this leave?
Well, it leaves you and me, to start with. It means your and my neighbors. It means all of us who can act; there are many who cannot, not yet. Looking to the government to do one’s thinking doesn’t mean that you’ll get what you ask for. So instead of looking to the government to regulate or coerce by “sin tax,” think of the government as the party who cannot make you use fossil fuels, and also cannot stop you from acting as your own carbon-reducing factor. Wait no further!
Here are some things that you cannot be stopped from doing so long as they are within your means:
1. Switch your gas/oil heat to carbon-free heat pump.
2. Insulate and weatherizeyour home.
3. Turn in your fossil-fueled car on a high-mileage plug-in EV and enjoy lower driving costs, virtually no repairs, tune-ups, or fossil fuel price fluctuations. This also takes you out of a good deal (but not all) of Mid-East politics and oil-related military adventures.
EVs are the perfect island car. If you have two cars, one should be an EV. As of June 2016, there were 89 EVs and plug-in hybrids, a 48% increase over the prior year.
4. Change your light bulbs to LEDs.
Some of these things don’t “pay” in the sense of rapid return on investment. But they do pay in less carbon, either here or somewhere else. Not everyone can afford to do many or all of these things. But those among us who can, should. As some of these actions become more prevalent, the price goes down in the market, and more people can join those who already acted.
A fossil fuel friendly government cannot stop guerrilla carbon control. Living here in the San Juans relying on fossil fuels when we can afford non-fossil energy is inconsistent with why we are here. It’s up to us to resolve this dissonance within ourselves and act. This effort starts and ends with us.
Bill,
With regard to your fourth point, we requested an OPALCO Home Snapshot Assessment (https://energysavings.opalco.com/energy-savings/measure-your-energy/home-snapshots/), and were pleased to find that it included replacement of
our ordinary incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs.
Thanks for your helpful letter.
s