Senator Jeb Bradley is the New Hampshire Senate Majority Leader (Republican). He chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The Senator, his wife and four children live in Wolfeboro, NH.
From Senator Jeb Bradley’s office:
In 2000, New Hampshire State Senator Jeb Bradley was a five-term State Representative when he sponsored the state’s Clean Power Act while chairing the House Science Technology and Energy Committee. At that time, he was well on his way to completing his goal to hike all 48 of the White Mountain’s 4,000 foot peaks and transitioning downhill skiing skills to snowboarding in order to keep up with his four active children.
Under his leadership, the bill, as enacted, embodied the first-in-the-nation agreement with PSNH (NH’s major coal-fired power producer), the state and a diverse group of environmental organizations to achieve specific reduction targets for nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and mercury. Senator Bradley recalls, “It was a collaborative and consensus building effort focused on solutions. We put our “shoulder to the wheel” to find ways to improve the environmental performance of PSNH’s coal-fired power plants and the state’s air quality based on the technology available at the time.” The law achieved its goals and was the precursor to the 2006 mercury scrubber requirements and the state’s development of a long-term clean energy plan.
From 2002-2004, Senator Bradley went on to serve in the US Congress and, in 2009, returned to serve in the NH State Senate. This year, he is brokering an agreement to transition PSNH’s Bow coal-fired power plant, designated in the 2000 legislation into retirement. And last year, he led the collaboration on the new law requiring public input for energy facility siting. For NH parents concerned about new energy projects in their community, Senator Bradley encourages you to get engaged in the siting process that was recently enacted into NH law. The new energy facility siting process requires public input before any project is approved.
While Senator Bradley recognizes that the scientific evidence merits attention, he isn’t convinced that climate change is totally man-made because “cyclical factors need to be considered.” He sees that New England “needs more energy generation to ensure a reliable energy future that supports jobs, housing and economic growth. Conservation and efficiency measures won’t get us there. We need to diversify energy sources which may include burying lines and pipe; but windmills on mountain tops may not work everywhere in our state due to the impact on nearby homes. A sound energy future must not adversely impact our housing or environment. It is achievable with collaboration, consensus and integrating new technology.”
After reaching all the forty-eight 4,000 foot peaks in the White Mountains, Senator Bradley is now well on the way to achieving his new goal of reaching the 100 highest peaks in New England. Over the past three decades hiking in NH, he has witnessed air quality improvements. According to the Senator, “Recently, when reaching a peak, I don’t see that “ring around the collar” as pronounced as before. The ring of smog has diminished but is not yet, gone. The incoming air pollution from other states is controlled better than a decade ago. We have made progress that is sustainable. The more we seek out new technology and strive for collaboration and consensus, the more improvements for a healthy environment can be achieved.”