Our moral obligation to address climate change

I n early April, three energy corporations presented proposals for offshore wind developments located in the Long Island Sound. The Day stated its support of these wind farms, touting how such development could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and spur the economic vitality of New London (“Offshore Wind Energy Right for Connecticut”), April 22.

In considering these offshore wind farms, policymakers must also consider their overarching moral obligation to their children to ensure a habitable world in the years to come.

A recent study from Rutgers University found that sea levels could rise almost 5 feet due to global warming. Such sea level rise would destroy Ocean Beach Park, Groton Long Point, Main Street Niantic, Rocky Neck Beach and Stonington Borough. This kind of sea level rise alongside the increased incidence of major storms like Hurricane Sandy, summer droughts and the increasing prevalence of mosquito and tick-borne diseases, will have massive effects on my generation and generations to come.

A 2016 study by the Department of Energy found that the potential energy production from offshore wind farms in the U.S. equals our current total energy production across all sectors. Much of this potential lies off of the windy coast of New England. It would be imprudent to waste the opportunity that we have here in Connecticut to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

At first glance, a wind farm off of the coast of Connecticut may appear a baby step in the face of such a massive, international issue. However, it is only through these small steps that we can make real reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions. Your children and the generations that follow face the future that you build for them today. We must consider not only the economic growth brought to the area by this wind energy development but the world that our youth will inhabit in the future.

As a member of the next generation who may live to see our local treasures under water, I implore our Connecticut policymakers to approve the construction of wind farms off Long Island Sound.

Hugh Cipparone is an Old Lyme resident now attending Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.