Question 1

 Voting day is coming right up next Tuesday. On the ballot in Maine is Question 1, a referendum designed to stop Maine's Central Maine Power Company from finishing a high-voltage direct current powerline running from Canada to Lewiston through western Maine, through "the Maine woods". This new power source would be converted to alternating current in Lewiston and plug into the existing grid.

Mainers opposed to the new corridor originally seemed to believe the power from this corridor would not be available for Maine electricity users. When the absurdity of that notion became obvious they then promoted the notion that the money derived from this new Canadian power source wouldn't go to Mainers but would go to Massachusetts instead - as if that matters but somehow it does to some people. Mixed in with that was the idea that the new power, probably because it's affordable, would compete against renewable energy development in Maine. Put simply it competes against wind farms and solar farms and hydro power here in Maine, all of which have negative environmental impact not to mention their limited and sporadic power production. Windmills don't turn when the wind isn't blowing. Solar panels don't work at night or when the sky is dark and it is claimed that disposal of expired solar panels creates hazardous waste. Hydro is steady but dams have their drawbacks. Maine has no nuclear plants so we rely on oil, gas, and coal for our electricity.

But as if those early arguments weren't bad enough now the well-funded ban-the-corridor campaign is flooding Mainers with images of the "clearcut" through Maine's pristine forest with ads intended to convince us that a high percentage of Maine's forests would be devastated just for this one power line. And that is the argument that is supposed to shock Mainers into waking up and voting "Yes" on Question 1 to defeat this effort to accept low-cost sustainable energy from Canada.

Question 1 - Yes: Yes stop the corridor. Yes refuse affordable electricity from Canada. Yes we are willing to face power shortages and increased electricity costs.

Question 1 - No: No, don't ban the corridor. No don't refuse Canadian power. No don't believe the wild and illogical claims you have been hearing about the dire effects of this new powerline.

Mainers in theory don't like clearcuts. Maybe that argument will seal our fate on this issue. But that corridor is a drop in the bucket when it comes to clearcutting Maine's forest lands. You look at all those pictures they show of the power line cutting through forest land. Do you see any mature trees? I don't. Maine's pristine forest doesn't even exist anymore. It's all been cut and it's all being clearcut again by corporate landowners who see Maine's forest as a resource for fiber products and wood heat. That is the reality of Maine's woods, not the imagined reality of this latest ad campaign favoring oil.

I'll grant one thing. I haven't seen proof that this Canadian power is sourced responsibly. I assume most of it is hydro from Canada's huge hydro projects which makes it competitively priced. But I haven't seen a single argument that it is irresponsibly sourced and shouldn't be used. But oh my god they are cutting down trees in Maine! God forbid! Save the forest! Burn wood pellets instead! Vote Yes to ban affordable electricity!