To the editor: Global Warming Act fails in flexibility

Well, Isaias is upon us here in Vermont, and the forecast for this afternoon is for wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour. We’re told there may be isolated power outages.

That’s a frequent occurrence in our rural communities — thunderstorms in the summer, and snow and ice storms in the winter.  Just facts of life.

Also upon us is the Global Warming Solutions Act that the Vermont legislature will be considering and voting on this month.

One of the things that disturbs me about the GWSA is that it directs the concentration of all energy sources and uses into the electric grid.

But what about the vulnerability of that grid?  I live on a dead-end road, and we lose power often.  Even so, in winter we are warm because we use a woodstove, we can cook because our cook stove is powered by propane, and we can travel because our vehicle’s tank is full of gasoline. So life goes on, even in local or regional storm events.

This resilience allows us to keep track of and attend to our neighbors as well as ourselves despite being without electric power.  The variety of energy sources makes us — indeed our state — more robust in everyday life and in response to minor and major emergencies.

A second point about the vulnerability of the electrical grid is its susceptibility to disruption, either accidental or intentional.  Is it not unwise to take away our flexibility to survive such events?

Anna Vesely Pilette
Weston