There once was a quiet, beautiful state called New Hampshire, known for its beautiful White Mountains. While pretty on the outside, one needed to only look into a golden-domed building in the capital of Concord to reveal the horror within. What’s spookier than climate denial?
For the past two years, ghoulish legislators ruled the land with dark motivations. Bills meant to improve the lives of the state’s residents were pushed to the side for scarier proposals - secession, restrictions on bodily autonomy, attacks on trans rights, restrictions on towns and cities ability to choose renewable energy and more. Meanwhile, rents rose, utility bills doubled, droughts worsened, and the health of our people got worse. All the while climate activists were researching, knocking on doors, and revealing the skeleton in the closets of the NH State House: climate denial.
Skeleton #1 - Governor Chris Sununu
Governor Sununu has a terrifying record on climate. He stands in the way of NH making a climate action plan, reducing our carbon emissions, and expanding clean, affordable renewable energy. He vetoed legislation that would move us forward on: solar energy expansion, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and energy efficiency standards. He took over $93,000 in campaign contributions from fossil fuel interests so far in 2022. His family has a long history of climate denial, sinking the first international climate conference in 1989, to representing polluting corporations in court, to claiming humans are not influencing climate catastrophe in reports and interviews.
Skeleton #2 - New England Ratepayers Association
The New England Ratepayers Association is a lobbying group whose interests align with the fossil fuel industry, and investor-owned utilities. NERA claims to work for businesses and families, but most of their lobbying and advocacy efforts have been to undermine renewable energy projects and look out for the interests of the fossil fuel elite. (Source) They fought against net metering and supported utility companies over ratepayers getting involved at the PUC, FERC and in state legislation. This group is funded by another group who’s board consists of 2 NH legislators, 2 of Governor Sununu’s brothers and a fossil fuel lobbyist They want to see more pipelines, more coal, and more polluting fossil fuels rule NH over the people.
Skeleton # 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 - The House Science, Technology, and Energy Committee.
BOO! Five climate-denying state representatives on the House Science, Technology, and Energy Committee spend time spouting climate denial and backing fossil fuel interests instead of protecting our climate and environment. Michael Vose, Jeanine Notter, Mike Harrington, Doug Thomas, and Fred Plett spread misinformation, block good climate legislation, and support expansion of dirty fossil fuels. These legislators sponsored a bill that would prevent a town or city in New Hampshire from being allowed to choose where they get their energy from. This bill would prevent a town from building their own solar panel array. They stand in the way of NH acting on climate while the world burns.
Skeleton # 8 - The DCI group
The DCI group is a lobbying group with a history of work in support of the oil and gas industry, mining, palm oil, and literal suspects of crimes against humanity. Members of the DCI group donated over $17,000 to Chris Sununu’s re-election campaign in 2022. One of their NH members got themselves onto Sununu’s cryptocurrency task force. Perhaps to influence the next phase of the Merrimack Station coal plant? Looks a little suspicious to us…
NOW WHAT?
The skeletons are out of the closet and wandering the mountains of New Hampshire. So what becomes of this spooky tale?
Climate denial cannot be welcomed into the state house this November! We need you (yeah, you!) to VOTE on Tuesday November 8th, for climate champions who will not spread misinformation and stop our progression towards 100% renewable energy. We also need you to stay with us after the election is over. We’ve got to keep showing up at the state house and across NH to shut down fossil fuels and fight for legislation that puts people before corporate profits!
Forward this blog post to three friends and ask them to join us. Get on our email list, donate, join a chapter - whatever you can do to help us fight for climate justice after this election is over.
Learn more about the climate deniers in this email (or watch our webinar about the shady dark money groups funding climate denial!)
