MASSACHUSETTS: THE LAND OF ENLIGHTENMENT
by Robert F. Murphy

Massachusetts can become the Land of Enlightenment. I'll tell you how and why.

The people in Massachusetts aren't any better than other Americans. However, we can get to energy enlightenment while others are still dreaming. Every morning, the sun rises over the Atlantic Ocean. Which means that the new day dawns in New England before it reaches Houston or Detroit or distant California. While most of the country is still in bed, thousands of men and women in Massachusetts are pushing through traffic, on their way to work. They're asking the right questions about energy matters. Some of the commuters think, "I want to stay in Massachusetts but I can't afford these costs." "Why do we pay so much for home heating and light?" "What drives the price of gasoline in this state?"

The awakened ones ask, "Is there a better way to live?" In this moment, they approach enlightenment.

Massachusetts has some of the highest energy costs and some of the coldest winters in America. Cape Cod is a peninsula that stretches from the mainland of Massachusetts way out into the Atlantic Ocean. So, always, the Bay State is reaching for the sunrise. We've put a golden dome on our State House to reflect the sun-energy, and our State House stands in Boston on Beacon Hill.

The Bay State can be a leader in a new program for energy justice. It's an unusual approach to energy policy that requires some explanation. So, for a few seconds, put the discussions about polar bears and corporate bailouts aside. Start the energy conversation by asking, "What do people actually need?" That's a radical question, but Massachusetts has a history of radicalism, and, sometimes, we lead the country in the right direction. In Massachusetts, we recognize that access to medical care is a human right. Because of our health and safety concerns, we can declare to the whole world, "Access to energy is a human right. We want all people, in all places, to have an adequate supply of energy that is safe, affordable, and sustainable." Not too much energy, but, please, not too little when it's needed.

The world of energy is a world of disparities. Some families enjoy large houses, fully heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer, with three or four automobiles in the driveway. On the far side of town, people ask, "Heat or eat? Will we pay for housing and groceries this month or will we pay for home heating and light?" At the bottom of the energy pyramid, you'll find the hungry and the homeless who beg for charity and compassion. They ask for blankets, hot meals, and a display of human warmth.

Massachusetts can become the moral light in the energy discussion. The public and the private sectors can work together for energy justice. Working together, the people of Massachusetts can expand the
low-income fuel assistance programs that help low-income residents. Massachusetts can create all-year energy assistance programs, because families need refrigerators and lights during the summer. With energy issues, there's a need to talk about rights and responsibilities, so programs for energy education need to be expanded and improved. There's a need to improve weatherization and mass transit programs.
Clean energy technology is needed, but, please, don't ask people in poverty to wait for twenty years while the benefits of new technology "trickle down." Move human rights concerns to the top of the agenda.

Massachusetts has a row of lighthouses along its coast. However, we don't need lighthouses in order
find energy enlightenment. Give special attention to the very young and the to the very old, to the working poor, to people who lack adequate transportation, and to all of the others who are often dismissed by the conservationists and the big energy corporations. Move human rights to the top of the energy agenda.
If Americans can do that in the right way, they'll revitalize the global economy and save Mother Earth.

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SUBMITTED BY: Robert F. Murphy
co Church Building
840 Sandwich Road
Falmouth, MA 02536 HOME TELEPHONE: (508) 563-5948