While I am not quite prepared to join others in pointing to any one particular storm as evidence (or lack thereof) of climate change, I do think that the recent derecho that slammed our region last week is a sign of the kind of climate future we can expect.

Scientists tell us that as the climate warms, we can expect more frequent and more severe storms. This can mean massive blizzards, hurricanes, and yes, derecho’s. That’s why I echo Governor O’Malley and others who are calling for the utilities to bury some or all of their power lines, and to focus more on reliability.  I also agree with O’Malley’s contention that the long term solution is a broader switch to clean, renewable energy.  We have to focus our R&D efforts on further developing distributed generation and energy storage, so that we are less reliant on an antiquated and already stressed grid.

The Clean Currents team was thrilled to host Governor O’Malley in our new Silver Spring headquarters on July 10th.  He toured our offices, met the Clean Currents team, and posed great questions about our business.  He spoke to the media from our board room, touching on the importance of stepping up the fight to reduce greenhouse gases that are causing extreme climate change.  Of course, there was much interest in the state’s response to the recent storm and resulting power outages.  O’Malley noted that the top priority was restoring power and protecting lives, but now that power is restored, we as a region really need to think about whether we are willing to invest in our critical infrastructure.

With smart investments, we can move Maryland and Washington, DC forward.  We can develop clean distributed generation sources such as solar or local & small wind.  We can develop on-site storage and energy products in the form of fuel cells or advanced batteries.  We can develop our electric vehicle infrastructure and have our cars charge our houses and visa-versa. We can and should build offshore wind farms to power our major population centers.  We should strengthen Empower Maryland and other energy efficiency programs by taking them out of the hands of the utilities and into the hands of innovators.  

All this is possible and necessary now that we have missed the first chance to avoid initial impacts from climate change.  Hopefully, our elected officials, business leaders, and most importantly you and me, through our collective decision making, can make the necessary changes to achieve a cleaner, greener future for us all.

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