With more than a week to digest Greenfield’s June 8 biomass vote, I must admit to finding it encouraging on a couple of levels.

First, the people have spoken loud and clear. How else to describe a 3,300-700 mandate, one that would have likely been more overwhelming had neighboring towns voted? Second, this may be the beginning of the end for that reactionary old-Greenfield gang that seems to be pushing hardest for the project; not because it’s good for Greenfield or Franklin County, but because the good old boys identify their opposition as dangerous, tie-dyed progressives. Well, this time, they’re dead wrong. Most citizens who’ve spent any time objectively investigating biomass plants the size of the one proposed for Greenfield come away with reservations, and that’s exactly what was felt at the polls: citizens pumping their brakes. Whoa! they shouted, we don’t want this “clean-energy” con job jammed down our throats before we know more, which is exactly what the people with the most to gain feared. Time is their enemy.

It appears that the worm has turned in Greenfield. Voters are tired of being ignored by elected officials. A friend of mine — no liberal by any stretch; quite the contrary, a proud, card-carrying Republican — attended a biomass public hearing at Greenfield High School last year and came away angry and dismayed. He phoned me the next morning and said that, given what he had witnessed, the entire town board should have been removed by the mayor and replaced by special election. Why? “Because they’re elected to listen, and they were not listening, didn’t even pretend to be.” In fact, he characterized them as smug, rude and pig-headed, their minds made up before the meeting, in no mood to listen. Obviously, that’s just one man’s opinion, but I respect him, and respect goes a long way in my world.

It seems that nothing has changed with proponents following last week’s lopsided vote, which they now spin as “misleading” and “one-sided.” Their position is that only opponents marched to the polls, thus the landslide. Had those in favor spent as much time organizing support as the antis, they reason, the results would have been different. Yeah, they admit, the election drew a 35-percent turnout, a big number for an off-year election. They aren’t denying that. How can they? But they’re still trying their best to downplay the mandate as one generated by a committed opposition that makes up less than half the registered voters. What about the other 65 percent? That’s their battle cry — one that really irks the rapidly growing opposition. So, once again, it seems that the town is not listening; and if the powers that be continue to ignore and dismiss this vote, future voters will likely banish them to the sidelines.

This latest battle is an extension of the long, drawn-out big-box dispute, on many levels a culture war, with several of the same players on both sides working in full view and behind the scenes; but the difference is that many residents who were indifferent or even in favor of Wal-Mart are vehemently opposed to this biomass monstrosity targeted for northeastern Greenfield. At least that’s the impression I’ve gotten in my travels, and I’m not new around here. Far from it. Frankly, I was stunned by some of the people writing critical letters to the editor and sporting “Biomass? No Thanks!” and “Vote No on Questions 1, 2 and 3” lawn signs. It told me people were feeling insulted and ignored, like the state, then the town were sold a bill of goods by  some snake-oil salesman behind closed doors, then attempted to slip biomass through before it could be scrutinized. All for a buck. When, to their horror, the questions did start, Matt Wolfe and Pioneer Renewable Energy had all the quick answers and diversions that any salesmen worth their salt have up their sleeves.

The proposal to use Greenfield wastewater as a coolant wasn’t abandoned at the 11th hour because of any altruistic change of heart; it was tossed aside because the proponents had correctly read Greenfield’s political winds and hoped they could keep the voters home. Not only that but a statewide movement opposing biomass was gathering momentum. Finally, questions were being asked and the state government was getting nervous, not nearly as fidgety of the PRE people who were hoping to rake in a lot of dough before people were fully informed about their supposed “clean-energy” alternative, clean and green. Yeah, right! Sounds good … until you explore it, which, thankfully, many in Greenfield and the surrounding communities did. The more they learned, the more they fought. Then, for good reason, the state got nervous about supporting large-scale biomass, wasn’t so sure it wanted to line up behind it. Too many difficult questions to answer, the salient ones being: 1.) Is supplying biomass plants acceptable use of our forests? 2.) Is there enough fuel to make biomass feasible and sustainable for the long run? and 3.) Do we really want to belch more smoke into our atmosphere to make energy for some faraway place? More and more folks are answering those question the same way voters in Greenfield responded to Questions 1, 2 and 3: No way!

I suspect that last week’s vote was the beginning of the end for biomass in Greenfield. Maybe I’m wrong. We’ll see. But that’s my instinct, and I couldn’t be happier. Better days may well be ahead for Greenfield. The
signs of positive change are blooming downtown and elsewhere. Now what we need are agents of change who are willing to listen and learn while transitioning a stagnant town, one that knew glory days, into the 21st century. What we don’t need is an energy company trying to profit from a town’s economic woes.

In case you haven’t noticed, the Cambridge Wolfe is sporting new clothes, and he’s looking more and more like the emperor every freakin’ day.