Marcia Squier on Energy & Oil

Enbridge-Line-5 pipeline should be permanently closed

A: I believe Line 5 needs to be permanently shut down. No tunnel encasing it, and no replacement pipeline. Our Great Lakes are unique and valuable in this world- priceless. No oil company profits will convince me otherwise. It's ours to protect.

Green energy is intertwined with job creation and education

A: Strongly support.

Q: You posted on Facebook on July 13 that you would fund renewables by "reappropriating military funding," but included a panoply of other spending items from the same source. How will renewables get funded in comparison to (and in competition with) all of those other spending items? Similarly, you responded to the 2016 Michigan VotersGuide question on job creation that you would "concentrate. efforts in renewable energy," along with another long list of other programs to concentrate on. If you "concentrate" on a long list of programs, how do you "prioritize" green energy over the rest of the programs?

A: Expanding the green energy industry will create jobs. But first, we need an educated workforce that can handle the growing industry. I believe that all of these things are intertwined, and therefore must all happen--somewhat simultaneously or in quick succession.

Fund renewables by defunding the military

Green New Deal & fossil fuel-free vehicles by 2030

A: I believe that the U.S. should concentrate its job creation efforts in renewable energy, infrastructure improvements, education, and health care. The people of this nation and elsewhere are unhealthy and under-educated. The conditions in which a vast majority of us live are deteriorating rapidly. We need to heal ourselves, and the environment in which we all live, in order for there to be prosperity and peace. I support the Green New Deal, which will provide an emergency jobs program, providing livable wages to tens of millions of people. I believe that all vehicle manufacturers, should become fossil fuel-free by 2030, as we move towards exclusively using renewable energy like solar and wind power. I would offer incentives to those who achieve that goal early, including companies, as well as cities, counties, states, and even other countries (who abide by international human rights laws).