No public show up; person hired to explain the program admits he doesn’t understand it; reveals chaos behind the scenes.
by Rob Roper
The rhetoric surrounding the passage of the Clean Heat Carbon Tax (Act 18) was full of talk about “social justice,” a “just transition,” “engaging traditionally marginalized communities,” and “moving at the speed of trust.” Yeah, well, shocker that was a truckload of manure!
Under the law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is required to hold a half a dozen public outreach forums to engage citizens and get feedback on the Clean Heat Carbon Tax proposal and how any potential rules might impact them/us. Two such meetings have already taken place, one in April and one in May, and the grand total from the public participating is, by my generous count, two. TWO! And neither spoke.
The first meeting, both held on Zoom, featured maybe a dozen people, three of whom were from the company hired to facilitate, the majority were from government agencies such as the PUC, Department of Public Services, Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity, plus a couple of usual suspect activist organizations. And TWO – I am giving the benefit of the doubt here — regular people. The second meeting was scarcely better attended at a little over twenty total, but this time it was ALL bureaucrats and activists. No members of the actual general public appeared at this ostensibly public meeting!
This would be hilarious if it weren’t for the fact that when it comes time next January to for the legislature to vote on the Clean Heat Carbon Tax rules, they’re going to say, “We held these public outreach meetings per the law, and wouldn-chya-know, the public agrees with everything we’re doin’! This is a box-checking, lip-service exercise to be sure.
Hilarious also if it weren’t for the fact that we taxpayers are footing a $20,000 bill to an outfit called The Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity to run this outreach program. On its “What We Do” webpage, the company boasts that it is a “proven, effective resource that Vermont leaders turn to for assistance, support, and advocacy related to inclusion, diversity, and equity in the public sphere.” Effective? Um… no.
Its executive director, Curtiss Reed, who moderated the meetings, proclaimed, “We are excited to be part of this process of bringing information about the Clean Heat Standard to populations that typically aren’t part of this kind of conversation.” That’s what you do, huh…. Apparently not so much.
Part of the problem, and even by his own admission, is that Mr. Reed does not understand and therefore cannot explain what the Clean Heat Standard does or how it works. Making an excuse for why nobody showed up the meeting he’s being generously paid to get people to show up to, Reed said, “This energy legislation and the whole concept of energy credits is, um, beyond the reach of comprehension of just your ordinary citizen. Even for me, I’ve read through it, and I’m still scratching my head about who gets credits, how are they monetized, when – uh – do they have a – uh – what’s the lifecycle of a credit?”
While I appreciate the honesty here, and have some sympathy because this law is, in fact, unworkably complicated (a system designed by idiots for execution by… not even geniuses; magicians maybe), one has to ask how Mr. Reed thought it ethical to accept the job of explaining in plain terms and answering the public’s questions (had he succeeded in getting any into the room) a program about which he is himself utterly clueless.
And how is it that the PUC allowed this guy to move forward with a public engagement process without properly and thoroughly educating Mr. Reed and his colleagues about the law they hired him to explain, and ensuring beforehand that he did, in fact, understand the material. My guess is, they don’t have any freaking clue as to how Act 18 works either! Prove me wrong.
Rob Roper is a freelance writer who has been involved with Vermont politics and policy for over 20 years. This article reprinted with permission from Behind the Lines: Rob Roper on Vermont Politics, robertroper.substack.com
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Categories: Commentary, Energy, Environment
Fave hit by the great Billy Preston, 1972. I will play this while I dance on the grave of the Clean Heat Standard. “Will It Go Round in Circles?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDtYo2IPTsw
The reason why people didn’t bother to attend is obviously. Opposition voices and arguments will not be considered or respected. The legislature is only going through the motions to fulfill its most minimal obligation to taxpayers, which is to hold a meeting, which the public is allowed to attend. I spent 1.5 years going to every school board meeting, and all parents and tax payers who questioned the introduction of liberation theology (social justice) a.k.a DEI, where harassed and intimidated by school board members and community members. At one EWSD school board meeting at EWSD, the board chair accused parents of being insincere and part of a radical political group.
You speak the truth here. It’s the same in small towns, with all their projects. And as we’re finding out it’s the same with our school budgets.
The governor has threatened to take away our right to vote on school budgets if we don’t vote yes!
And they usually have two choice, maybe three. One really stupid. One that doesn’t really work and then their own idea they want passed.
It’s like our choices for governor, both are approved by the new world order, Dean and Scott, so no matter who we pick they get their man….all the while fooling the voters yet again, oh, it’s the lesser evil. When nobody wants either.
This is the same game educators of 1st and 2nd graders use on the kids, given’ two choice, both of which you want them to do.
Who in Vermont is crying for huge septic systems and high rise apartment buildings to rent? NOBODY…but that’s what we’re getting. Agenda 21…..rules Vermont.
I think that it would be important to add to this when the next meeting is so that those of us who want to make change can attend, and I suggest we blow past that 500 person limit on an enterprise Zoom account….
Next meeting is on Thursday the 30th at 9:30am:
https://puc.vermont.gov/event/puc-clean-heat-technical-advisory-group-meeting-5
This is the meeting information:
Meeting Link: https://cbi-org.zoom.us/j/89637405423
Meeting ID: 896 3740 5423
Think of questions that they cannot answer. Make statements that are irrefutable. Push them to give us answers.
Maybe people are packing and getting their houses ready to go on the market for sale and don’t have time for these crazy meetings. Just a thought
Those who reduce the forces on the climate to carbon, which is 0.04 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere fail to recognize that climate dictated by many forces and many very well documented cycles. To reduce the climate discussion to a gas or two, is blatantly unscientific and founded not upon observation but upon dogmatic adherence to an agenda, and that agenda has nothing to do with protecting the environment and thus people. A recent video, a lecture by Dr. David Dilley, elucidates many of the natural cycles which affect climate and we humans have no impact on these cycles. I would encourage the readers here to watch this video and then investigate the claims in that video.
https://youtu.be/NeFePI1nW1Y?si=Yi8wqs0joT7d9_Cp
The title of the video is: David Dilley: Global Warming will be Dead by 2030.
Repeal the GWSA and disband the “Climate Council”.
WELL DONE!!!!!!
All we need to do is just let them talk. Shine the light. Just ask simple questions.
WELL DONE!!!!!!
If we did individual interview with everyone in Montpelier, it would be even better. Hell, you can give them questions ahead of time.
They will run. They will hide. They will look incredibly ignorant on the entire thing.
You might get some specialists on word salads, and if you ask them specifics, it will get very interesting.
Great work. Keep it up.
I believe it’s called a constant grasp for the obvious. People have better things to do than speak to compromised despots who don’t listen and don’t care. Why not just look at the facts of how the Climate Change lie and fraud is dying righteously and justly. The real numbers and real failures don’t lie – people do.
Tesla layoffs and closing shops – the cybertruck is a collossal failure at a cost of $100,000 and warrantees not honored. No one is buying EVs or wants one. China eating our lunch daily holding the blackmail and supply chains over many heads. Who is holding the investment stock options – Pegasus Capital Advisors? Anyone?
Fraud has a limited shelf life. The fact that green energy has done more damage to the environment because it takes more oil, gas, and coal to generate the power to create the illusion so the ignorant sheep can believe they are saving the environment. Here’s your sign.
We moved to North Carolina about the time the CHS was passed over Gov. Scott’s veto. NC’s residential electric rates are 40% lower than Vermont’s. NC is years away from pitching over the Climate Policy Cliff, but moving in that direction. Vermont is a lost cause but I am working hard to save NC from this madness. Thank you, Rob, for documenting this.
Same thing here in Ga. Left Vt 2 yrs ago. My electric bill there never went below $100. Now, even in summer it rarely gets that high. Property taxes are about half of what I paid in Vt, and next year after turning 70- no school tax.
A couple things that seem obvious to me, but maybe not to others, so I’ll point them out anyway.
A ZOOM meeting is not a PUBLIC meeting in any sense of the word. Heck, half the state (including myself) doesn’t own a computer with a camera, and even if we do, we have no clue how to sign up for or log into a Zoom meeting. Nor do we want to learn. From what I’m told, if they don’t like what you’re saying, they can just mute you and-or drop you from the meeting. Oops, sorry… technical glitch. On the other hand, at a PUBLIC meeting, there is no loss of meaning when someone stands up and speaks their piece. Just being there physically makes it difficult (but not impossible) for the talking heads to keep you from having your say and getting the crowd behind you if you can.
Finally, we should all know this by now. It’s a basic tenet of their “religion”: If no one shows up, if no one speaks up, they take this the same as us fully approving of whatever they’re doing. In fact, this is what movies and television “programming” are all about. For example, are you aware that a movie came out about June 2001 with the plot being “terrorists” flying planes into the Twin Towers? No one objected, so this was (in their twisted minds) our giving the green light to the real thing.
So make noise. Make them have PUBLIC hearings or meetings or “(dis)information sessions” or whatever they want to call them. Embarrass them into it if you have to. Then show up. Speak your mind. You are not a lone voice – there are many, many of us who feel the same way.