Opinion

Vote yes to ban corridor

To the Editor;

As a longtime Registered Maine Guide and concerned citizen, I’m writing to remind the public that Spanish-owned CMP/Avangrid/Iberdrola has spent $20 million on a two-faced marketing campaign to convince Mainers to support their destructive corridor.  Maine’s iconic brand and way of life are not for sale.

CMP greenwashes the issue when telling the public that this foreign megadam hydropower will solve our climate change crisis, while CMP’s lawyers have reiterated to agencies that NECEC is not about climate change. Their DEP filing says, “In fact, nowhere has CMP stated that the [corridor] Project’s purpose and need includes GHG emissions reductions.” CMP should communicate this message to the public instead of deceiving Mainers on the most expensive referendum media campaign in Maine history. NECEC is about two foreign corporations trying to make billions in profits to deliver power through Maine to benefit Massachusetts’ power needs.  CMP’s spokesperson said at a 2019 Wiscasset Select Board meeting that CMP, “cannot guarantee” whether this project will make a difference in climate change and, “… that’s not our [CMP’s] job, that’s not our business.”

If CMP wanted to gain popularity for the corridor, why did they spend more money on lobbyists in Augusta than it would have cost to conduct an independent climate analysis? If the environmental benefits were truly going to help global CO2 emissions, many opponents would support the project — but that’s not the case.  Mainers can’t trust CMP’s word. Vote yes to ban the CMP corridor.

Eric Sherman

Greenville

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