To the Editor:

At the most recent Knox Town Board meeting, the board chose not to participate in the Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance (MEGA) program. MEGA enables cities and towns to use their combined buying power to negotiate better utility rates from energy providers.

One of the goals of the organization is to make renewable energy more available and affordable. When a municipality joins MEGA, all residents automatically get enrolled in the program, with the flexibility to individually “opt out” at any time.

The Earth now faces catastrophic man-made climate change. It has already begun and will get much worse in the coming decades. Approximately 98 percent of the world’s scientists are in agreement about this.

To mitigate the effects, our planet must act immediately by switching to renewable sources of power.  Unfortunately, the fossil-fuel industry has attempted to sow the seeds of doubt about the connection between fossil-fuel emissions and climate change.

I believe that the board is attempting to act in accordance with what its members believe to be the will of the residents. As our leaders, however, they have an opportunity to educate and encourage all of us to do our part in solving this global challenge. Their job isn’t easy and let me say that I appreciate their service to the town as board members.

It is my understanding that under MEGA, energy rates would be very competitive with what we are currently paying, and as renewables become more widespread, prices would likely fall.

It isn’t too late to reconsider and get more information before making the final decision. 

Paul Scilipoti

Knox

Editor’s note: Paul Scilipoti is a member of the Knox Democratic Committee.