Letter: Only one bill backs our environmental needs

There has been a lot of dialogue over the direction this state should take regarding energy generation and associated pending legislation. While some suppliers cleverly try to reposition their products as "clean" using terms that don't convey the whole story like "low carbon portfolio standard," they of course omit the product's attributes that pose the greatest concern, risks, and societal costs such as highly toxic and lethal waste, pollution and water use.

Many use the price we pay as the main determinant of sound energy policy yet this is short sighted. It is not the price we pay but the cost we bear that needs to be considered.

The EPA has updated its estimate of the societal cost of CO2 at $37 per ton. With power generation the largest contributor to the approximate 200 million tons of CO2 this state emits, here's another bill we are letting these utilities dump on us and future generations. Then add the other waste and pollutants that are generated to this equation, and indeed we face significant costs that we should look to eliminate.

We have the technology and a workforce eager to do it we just lack the political will.

There is only one bill that is pending that responsibly addresses the key issues we face, HB2607/SB1485. It stresses energy efficiency (the cleanest and cheapest way to control costs), support for the true clean sources of energy especially solar and wind, and a plan to meet the new EPA clean power standards that IL must comply with in the coming year. It offers the only long term approach to effectively managing costs and generating good jobs. Any state legislator who is not in support of or a sponsor for this legislation should be asked by their constituents why not. It can't be price because business as usual is already the most costly.

Peter Gorr

Palatine