December 29, 2010

We need to ‘face daunting facts’ about energy


We continue to read many letters indeed from friends of Lincoln Lake, friends of the Highland Mountains and countless more.

So now, although I’m not a member of any of these organizations, I’d like go on record as being a true friend of all those lakes and mountains, which are an integral part of Maine’s quality of place.

In that context, the hard news is change is coming, maybe already here, and we will never get back the woods and lakes of our childhood.

(If there is persisting doubt about that, see the article in the Dec. 20 Kennebec Journal by Seth Borenstein and Julie Reed Bell.)

The choice that we have is between mitigating the inevitable consequences of our changing climate through the use of all forms of alternative energy, including turbines, or, suffering the full effects of increased Lyme disease, asthma, devastation of our forests by the pine bark beetle and wooley adelgid, pollution of our lakes and much more. To compound our dilemma, we’re some years past peak oil, meaning the world’s “gas tank” is more than half empty, and there’s no refill.

We will, for sure, not have the life for ourselves, or, more importantly, for our children and grandchildren that we wanted and expected. If we are going to have the best possible life, however, we need to face the daunting facts, be friends with one another, and act accordingly.



Richard K. Jennings, M.D.

Fayette

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