The political hysteria about ENERGY PRICES is disappointing!
NO ONE PROPOSES: REDUCE YOUR CONSUMPTION!
Updated BUILDING CODES mandate LEDS, increased insulation and much else - ENERGY EFFICIENCY!
Years ago, we replaced 2 ALWAYS ON LIGHTS with LEDS, the bill dropped $5 the following month - great return on a $2 investment. We were sold!
All of our electronics are on POWER SURGE PROTECTORS - when they're OFF, they're OFF and not using electricity.
There are lots of simple ideas out there. One man saved BUBBLE WRAP and covered his sliding glass door allowing light in, but stopping heat/cold transmission.
Energy experts say you can reduce your energy usage for FREE or inexpensively by 30%.
Drive around after SNOW and notice the OLD HOMES without SNOW due to HEAT LOSS.
Insulation is cheaper than heating fuel.
Part of the issue is the failure to encourage PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
Another part of the issue is the failure to promote available programs to explain in simple terms HOW TO SAVE ENERGY.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE has long provided simple solutions, among others.
A friend had an ENERGY AUDIT and the AUDITOR so totally confused her that she has done NOTHING! Promised to send LOW FLOW SHOWER HEADS, never did.
The same auditor recommended a $16,000 heating system to me without explanation, also indicated my house was a TEAR DOWN.
DIRTY ENERGY KOCH opposed CAPE WIND and even funded community opposition, until CAPE WIND abandoned what would have been the first OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT.
Those OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS that TRUMP opposes based on DISINFORMATION would power + 1 MILLION HOMES (and RIGHT WHALES are protected.)
Let's also remember that widespread lies and propaganda have fueled opposition.
RIGHT WHALES have been killed by ENTANGLEMENTS and BOAT STRIKES, yet hysteria has blamed deaths on OFFSHORE WIND.
CHINA is selling inexpensive SOLAR KITS with BATTERY BACKUP that provides poor communities with POWER.
In this country, POWER GENERATORS are opposing such options. Those systems are being used in EUROPE.
While CHINA is not perfect, they are reducing their PER CAPITA fossil fuel consumption with such things as a massive floating SOLAR INSTALLATION. They have funded high speed rail, massive upgrades to power transmission and much else.
The US is an ENERGY GUZZLER - PER CAPITA.
It's important to examine WHO OPPOSES reasonable alternatives.
DIRTY ENERGY KOCH has successfully passed legislation that prohibits SOLAR by making it more expensive in those states where SOLAR makes the most sense.
| | The Best of CommonWealth Beacon OPINION | | Gov. Maura Healey meeting with students taking part in Fitchburg High School’s early college program on April 6, 2023. (Photo via Flickr/Governor's Press Office by Joshua Qualls) |
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| | | By Jon Bernstein, Sam King, Mark Lorion, Ron O’Hanley, and Corey Thomas |
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If school systems hand out high school diplomas that do not reflect real learning, students pay the price through fewer opportunities, lower earnings, and diminished confidence. In the coming months, the governor and state education leaders will finalize a new statewide high school graduation policy. They should adopt a requirement that ensures every student has mastered core academic skills and knowledge they will need for success. |
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Massachusetts has long been a national leader in education, but that advantage is at risk. Student achievement is declining, and racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps are widening. These trends threaten not only the state’s economic competitiveness, but, most importantly, the futures of individual students, particularly those who rely on public education as a pathway to opportunity. |
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The high school graduation requirement is a powerful tool the state can use to reset expectations for students. A diploma must do more than mark time spent in classrooms; it must guarantee readiness. It should signal that a student can read critically, write clearly, reason mathematically, and apply knowledge in real-world settings. A diploma must represent real readiness for college, careers, and civic life. |
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As leaders of some of the largest business associations in the state, whose members employ thousands of Massachusetts residents, we see the consequences when students graduate without essential skills. They struggle, businesses struggle, and the entire economy suffers. |
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That’s why we’re urging the Healey administration to set and enforce a rigorous, statewide high school graduation standard that is aligned with the demands of a competitive, knowledge-based economy, and to require that every graduate demonstrate they have truly met the standard by passing a common, uniform assessment. |
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Yet, simply taking a class does not guarantee learning. Student grades can be useful, but grading can be subjective and varies across classrooms, schools, and districts. As a result, students are too often told they are ready when they are not. |
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Students should be required to pass end-of-course assessments to measure whether they have mastered core academic content and foundational skills that prepare them to think critically, creatively, and innovatively. These assessments would provide a clear, consistent, and objective signal of readiness, regardless of where the student lives or their socioeconomic status. |
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