As chairman of the National Governors Association (NGA), Governor Douglas lead the nation’s governors at their annual winter meeting in Washington this weekend. Healthcare availability and affordability were one focus point.    

Yesterday on CNN’s State of the Union show, Douglas asserted that regardless of whether it’s a publicly funded program or private health insurance company we’re going to go broke if costs are not reduced.  He also noted his pride in the steps taken here in Vermont (Catamount Health) and promised as NGA chairman to help lead the way nationally.    

Douglas’ pride should be tempered somewhat from the findings of some research into Vermont’s Catamount Health plan. Douglas demanded the private/public structure as part of his support of the plan established in 2007 and the legislature included requirements for an outside efficiency study. Some study results are quoted in the Burlington Free Press. The research results find that   Catamount Health could save $1 million a year if the state had been running it exclusively rather than the Douglas private/public arrangement that exists. Unfortunately no link to the study was provided.  

Researchers suggested if the same state office that administers Medicaid and the Vermont Health Access Program also ran Catamount, administrative costs would decrease by about $1 million a year.  Peter Sterling, executive director of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security Education Fund, called the researchers’ finding significant: “We have overpaid at least $2 million to let private insurance do what the state could have done.”;

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Changes are coming fast and furious to parts of the utility industry in the US.  The stirrings of a nuclear power renaissance (fueled by federal loan guarantees), carbon trading credits, wind power and smart grid initiatives are regularly in the news.   However, attitudes in the industry may not be open to change. A new survey of the utility industry offers some interesting insights into their collective mind. This science and technology driven business apparently contains many who seriously doubt the science of climate change.  

The survey found that 44% don’t believe global warming is caused by human activity. They note that in a 2009 Gallup poll, 57% of Americans believed global warming exists and is man made.  Earth2tech points out this utility respondent comment from the survey:

“The energy industry needs to unite and fight the ridiculous ‘consensus’ science of AGW [Anthropogenic Global Warming]. This is not science as anyone with scientific and engineering training understands, but it is power politics.”

The industry may see climate change as bringing new waves of what are seen as troublesome rules and regulations. Strange though, that the very science based industry which might be a source for innovation and creativity in solving global warming challenges may be home for climate change deniers.  

In a survey of over 300 utility industry participants, in response to the question:“Do you personally believe that fundamental, long-term global warming is taking place, or are we simply in a cyclical period of warming that is the result of the earth’s natural cycles?” — 39 percent of utility respondents said that they believe the earth is on a fundamental long-term warming trend, while 54 percent believe that we are in a cyclical warming period, and 7 percent responded that they don’t believe in global warming.  

GMD has learned that a soon to be released WCAX poll of likely Vermont primary voters will reportedly show the following:  

Racine at 30%,  

Peter Shumlin, Deb Markowitz and Matt Dunne tied at 16%,

Susan Bartlett at 3% and the difference presumably undecided

It may be significant that Matt Dunne’s name was spelled incorrectly as “Dune”

WCAX usually uses Research 2000 polling and the typical error margin is +/- 5%

 Lt.Gov.Brian Dubie has been out touring Vermont. As his campaign takes shape he is more often seen standing alongside the Governor at photo ops and his press releases seem to be a regular feature on the Vermont.gov webpage. All this perhaps is trying to alleviate the image from past campaigns where he has campaigned lightly, and ducked debates.  

He is just wrapping up a lengthy statewide“jobs” tour in Chittenden County but from the Free Press reports it might more accurately be named the look-‘em-in-the-eye tour.

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Dubie listened respectfully, accepted the position and added: "I vowed to look you in the eye." It was like this between the lieutenant governor and the chorus of outspoken doubters.Dubie did look everyone in the eye.

It is unclear exactly what magic this vow to look-‘em-in-the-eye may accomplish but it appears the Lt. Gov. is convinced it may work some magic on the self described “grumpy” titans of Vermont business he encountered. The “grumpy” yet “sage” manager of political relations for IBM gave Brian an earful.

“The business community has been talking about the same issues for two decades." To come to business at this time to ask about our perspective, O'Kane said "seems ingenuous … it is too costly to do business in Vermont … it is too hard to do business,"

  Sounds like more whine than grump but  you’d have to look ‘em in eye to know.    

Perhaps taken aback by what were described as the business people’s “edgy” comments and questions, the Lt. Governor did raise the specter of revolt in classic Tea Party rhetoric  

In response to increasing taxes and controlling expenses, Dubie offered this prediction, "We're looking at a taxpayer revolt."

From the Vermont Health Department online:

On January 7, the Vermont Department of Health was notified by Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station that samples taken from a ground water monitoring well on site (identified as GZ-3) contained tritium.  

Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen. It is a by-product of the nuclear fission process in a nuclear reactor, and also occurs naturally in the environment in very low concentrations. Most tritium in the environment is in the form of tritiated water, which easily moves about in the atmosphere, bodies of water, soil and rock.  

The finding of tritium in ground water signals that there has been an unintended underground release of radioactive material, and that other radioisotopes may have contaminated the environment.

A Vermont Health Department notification of a house fire might read as follows:  

Notice of Rapid Oxidation and Chemical Process of Combustion:

On February 11, The Vermont Health Department was notified by local private authorities that a previously unknown section of a house was found to be on fire*. Samples were taken from a monitoring portion of the site (identified as 1-SOH ,1-Side of House).    

*Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Most rapid oxidation in the environment is in the form of fire and may easily move about. We would stress that lower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not considered to be part of this definition.

The discovery of fire in monitoring area 1-SOH (1-side of house) signals there has been an unintended combustion process occurrence that may need further voluntary monitoring.

Vermont officials are conducting a thorough investigation to identify the magnitude of the occurrence and the source of the combustion process. Assistance will be provided by a number of private and state agencies, a team of Rapid Oxidation Experts (ROE’S) will be on site to analyze data.  

This process if unchecked has the potential to cause physical damage through burning and can occasionally result in a phase transition in the affected mass if the temperature of the flame is hot enough.

Weakly, updates will be scheduled, soon

A national survey released by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities  shows substantial levels of public support for the passage of federal climate and energy policies. Although there has been a drop in the public sense of urgency surrounding global warming, support remains. According to this poll majorities spanning party affiliation support many of these policies.    

The survey found support for:  

• Funding more research on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power (85 percent)  

• Tax rebates for people buying fuel-efficient vehicles or solar panels (82 percent)  

• Establishing programs to teach Americans how to save energy (72 percent)  

• Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant (71 percent)  

• School curricula to teach children about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming (70 percent)  

• Signing an international treaty that requires the United States to cut emissions of carbon dioxide 90 percent by the year 2050 (61 percent)  

• Establishing programs to teach Americans about global warming (60 percent).  

These findings are reminiscent of polls early in the healthcare reform debate that showed broad cross party support. Healthcare support was never capitalized on effectively as the healthcare legislation lurched and stumbled its way through the legislative process.  

A similar lurch and stumble scenario may be playing out again with these issues.   This poll reports that majorities of Republicans and Democrats support renewable energy research, tax rebates, regulating carbon dioxide, and expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.  

However it also shows that…

Sixty percent of Americans, however, said they have heard “nothing at all” about the cap-and-trade legislation currently being considered by Congress. Only 12 percent had heard “a lot.”  

Last week Governor Douglas stated that Entergy must shake-up its management at Vermont Yankee if it were to restore trust .It was also noted that Wayne Leonard CEO of Entergy pointedly didn’t take the time to return the governor’s phone call.

Late yesterday a clear two part message did arrive for Vermont from the head of Entergy.  

Part one: A top executive whose name CEO Leonard reportedly refused to utter, but who is known to have been  Jay Thayer was disappeared, eh …placed on administrative leave.  

Part two:Times Argus

Leonard told the analysts Vermont Yankee was not profitable, not "covering" its capital costs, and was projected to lose money over the next two years. …"It is a terrific plant. It would be a great loss to society as a whole to shut that plant down, but from a financial standpoint without some changes for Entergy it wouldn't make much difference in the bottom line," Leonard said, according to a transcript of the telephone conference call, explaining the need for a new power contract with utilities.

Its kind of the verbal equivalent of a letter with words cut from magazines and pasted onto a sheet of paper, a blackmail note message .

It almost yells out,  We don’t really need this plant! Alright Vermont put our extended license and a long-term power contract in a briefcase and leave it in New Orleans  or we close this plant, take our 650 jobs, our electricity and go home. We mean it Vermont, Governor?  

Regarding finding the radioactive leak’s source CEO Leonard did take the time to note briefly they had “very good leads” and "We're narrowing it down pretty quickly," he said, according to transcripts of the conference call.

The Vermont Fuel Dealers Association has requested the legislature to consider a two part proposal for changing diesel fuel content. A draft resolution spelling out support for these proposals may be presented in Washington at an oil heat summit next month.

One part of the plan would change the refining process to lower the sulfur content. This would require regional market pressure to change the refining process. Therefore several states would have to pass similar requirements.

The second part is to mandate the amount of biofuel added to diesel. The hoped for goal is to have 5% content by 2013. This part may prove controversial as some studies are showing that biofuel production is taking grain out of the…well I guess it’s  taking it out of the food chain and perhaps driving up the cost of grains. Vermont biodiesal would likely rely on soy, canola and sunflower crops:

No one knows exactly how much biofuel was produced in Vermont last year, but educated estimates put the number at about 76,000 gallons. Netaka White, biofuels director for the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, estimates total production capacity, however, likely exceeds 4 million gallons. Getting there, he said, would require the kind of mandate the oil industry is seeking.

According to a report based on United States Department of Agriculture information one quarter of all US grain crops now go into manufacturing ethanol based bio-fuel. This is a result of bio fuel programs and incentives started in the Bush administration. The impact is now showing up in world food supplies and costs.

Studies show that the grains grown in 2009  and used for fuel was enough to feed 300 million people for one year  at average world consumption levels.

"Continuing to divert more food to fuel, as is now mandated by the US federal government in its renewable fuel standard, will likely only reinforce the disturbing rise in world hunger. By subsidizing the production of ethanol to the tune of some $6bn each year, US taxpayers are in effect subsidizing rising food bills at home and around the world,"  said Lester Brown, the director of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington think-tank that conducted the analysis.

The Vermont Recovery Office information website is rated among lowest in the nation. Vermont’s official recovery web site scored 13; it’s at the bottom with 11 other states. We are tied with Alaska and fall below Louisiana’s score of 16. Online news site Vtdigger tells about the study conducted by Good Jobs First,(pdf) the results of which were released by VPIRG. This updates an earlier effort to rank how effective state recovery websites are in basic transparency. Vermont scored low in that review also.  

States are judged on how well their sites convey information in these areas:

• categories of stimulus spending

• distribution of spending in different parts of the state

• details of specific projects funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants and contracts incl. impact on employment  

One of Tom Evslin’s prime tasks as Vermont’s Chief Recovery Officer was to make public information available about how our money was being spent.  It was the order of the day failed. ARRA mandated that federal, state and local government organizations receiving stimulus funds report data on how and where these funds are being spent, so that citizens could monitor the expenditure and use of recovery funds.  

The Burlington Free Press reports that Vermont officials now claim they wanted a no frills web page to save money. No estimate of the alleged savings is available. When asked about specific information one Vermont official said it was available by request and added

“We don’t withhold information. We have elected not to put it all on the Web. … It would take a contractor to do that.”

Frills aside, they offer no explanation why, according to this study, even the basic website fails to meet so many requirements for accountability and transparency.    

After less than one year as Chief Recovery Officer and with the state at the bottom of the pack by this assessment, Evslin moved on .He was appointed by Governor Douglas as Vermont Chief Technology Officer.In this capacity he will be in charge of reviving the stalled E-State initiative and overseeing the state’s new smart grid technology applications.

Reports say that the governor’s budget will “pinch” Vermonters.  The fact is though that the governor is doing all he can to avoid pinching the sensitive upper income brackets.  Governor Jim Douglas is asking most Vermonters to make sacrifices during these difficult times. State services are being cut to the bone, state fees are being increased and there is talk of cutting unemployment benefits.



Care and Feeding of the Upper Tax Brackets:  Minus any hint of shared sacrifice, Douglas has proposed replacing a 40% capital gains tax exemption removed last year that favors those in upper income brackets. This move and other changes he proposes would, according to the Times Argus, result in $9.9 million loss of state revenue. He attempts to justify this by raising the fear that Vermont’s rich will have no incentive to stay unless their taxes are lowered.

Douglas acknowledged last week that if his proposal were enacted it would effectively be a tax reduction for top earners. Vermont's having among the highest top margin rates risks driving wealthier Vermonters out of the state, Douglas said.

"We have to make sure there are people in those brackets in the years to come," he said. "I think we are going to see fewer of them."

In addition, Douglas would roll back changes made last year that reduced how much money could be excluded from Vermont's estate taxes.

It remains to be seen how empathetic those experiencing Catamount health cost increases, cuts in human services, housing support service cuts and limited state Medicaid programs will be toward Governor Douglass’ proposal.  No explanation was offered as to why a horde of upper bracket Vermonters didn’t leave the state in droves over the past year.

Perhaps some sympathy could be had if he were to document the coming exodus, show the empty mansions, the derelict condos, the luxury cars packed high with goods abandoned along the highway in hurried flight from the tyranny of a closed capital gains tax loophole.  

No word yet of upper tax bracket exodus from other states such as Connecticut that have raised taxes on the wealthy. Last year Connecticut enacted a new tax on top income brackets that increases taxes on incomes above a certain threshold.  Governor Douglas might be shocked by the reaction.

In a letter, 21 upper income Connecticut residents state "We are willing and able to share in the solution to our state's budget crisis":

"As upper-income residents of Connecticut who treasure the quality of life in our state, we believe that Governor Rell's proposed budget cuts unnecessarily limit the State's ability to maintain public structures and human services that are vital to keeping Connecticut strong and vibrant […]