To the editor:
Aren’t we New Hampshire residents lucky that we live in a state that’s likely to get wetter in coming years? We think we can relax and watch the Californians, as their dry state continues to suffer from wildfires and electrical blackouts.
Once California had options that could have prevented the current situation at minimal cost. For example, the state might have discouraged settlement in fire-prone areas, and it might have buried its power lines as they were built.
Now, however, all choices are unpleasant. California must juggle between allowing electricity to flow through its wires on windy days (increasing fire risk, with huge losses), turning off its electricity on windy days (decreasing fire risk but increasing many other problems, with huge losses), burying its 81,000 miles of exposed wires (at huge cost) and mass migration away from danger zones (with huge loss in property values).
Unfortunately, the climate forecasts suggest that we New Hampshire residents should not distance ourselves from California’s problems. Instead, we should heed California’s basic lesson: by planning ahead now, we can avoid future problems. During the next 100 years, we will certainly experience flooding and salinization of our coastal areas due to sea level rise, and most likely will experience more frequent damage from floods and storms throughout the state. We should be planning now for these not-so-distant future events.
In addition, we should be urging our Senators and Representatives to pass carbon pricing legislation (like the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, HR 763) that will place gradually rising fees on fossil fuels, stimulating the transition toward clean energy sources. The sooner we stop burning fossil fuels, the less we’ll have to fear from climate change.
Joel A. Huberman
Peterborough