by Guy Page
A high-ranking Massachusetts climate change official has resigned after he was caught on a January 25 video advising the Vermont Climate Council to ‘turn the screws” on elderly fixed-income citizens and “break their will” in order to meet climate change mandates.
In a Feb. 10 letter, David Ismay submitted his resignation as Undersecretary for Climate Change in the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
“I would like to apologize, again, for my comments at last month’s Vermont Climate Council meeting,” he wrote to Secretary Kathleen A. Theoharides, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “My inability to clearly communicate during that discussion reflected poorly on the Governor, on you, and on our hardworking staff. Although my comments were interpreted by some as placing the burden of climate change on hardworking families and vulnerable populations, my intent was the opposite. In the entirety of my remarks, and as I have elsewhere, I was urging caution in order to minimize such impacts out of a sincere concern that overly aggressive emissions targets may have unintended and harmful consequences on those we most need to protect.”
Ismay told the Vermont Climate Council: “So let me say that again, 60% of our emissions that need to be reduced come from you, the person across the street, the senior on fixed income, right… there is no bad guy left, at least in Massachusetts to point the finger at, to turn the screws on, and you know, to break their will, so they stop emitting. That’s you. We have to break your will. Right, I can’t even say that publicly….”
The screw started turning on Ismay after Massfiscal.org flagged and publicized the video comments. A subsequent column by Howie Carr in the Boston Herald reported that the hard-driving climate warrior holds a private pilot’s license. Then Mass Fiscal also released a video of him appearing to say that transmission lines needed for offshore wind projects would take precedence over the needs of the fishing industry.
“Something has to give,” Ismay said, appearing to refer to the fishing industry. But in the end, that “something” was Ismay’s job.