Dear Vermont Commons,

It was with great disappointment I read that "climate change" remains at the top of goals for the legislative session of 2008. At first glance this may seem a very odd statement from an outspoken advocate of renewable energy but please hear me out.

Over recent years “climate change” has emerged as one of the most instantly divisive terms in modern Vermont vernacular. When this term is used, timely and necessary discussions regarding energy immediately become politically charged and much less productive. Precious time is thus wasted. If perhaps we chose to describe the exact same initiatives as “Protecting Vermont's economy through efficiency and endogenous energy production” the same goals, carbon reduction and otherwise, would be met without wasteful debate regarding a vast global issue. When phrased this way the concept makes too much sense to politicize and we could actually get some results this year. One must wonder why such incitant language continues to be used at a time when Vermont needs to pull together, not apart.

Vermont is headed for a market shift in terms of energy. With the current state of Vermont Yankee and the American dollar it will likely be a big one. Necessity, not common sense, is the mother of invention. In the next decade the free market will likely produce the outcomes regarding energy production and efficiency our good intentions could not. This process will be much less painful if we put aside the costly rhetoric and concentrate on the task at hand.

Vermont deserves no less.

Anders Holm
Middlebury, Vermont