Baltimore Sun

Md. must act on climate

More than 100 Maryland MIT alumni (including a Nobel laureate) say the state faces a huge threat from climate change — but can do something about it

- Parole femine. gentle words. maschii — strong deeds. fatti maschii, parole femine — fatti MIT Alumni for Climate Solutions in Maryland Signers of this letter include: Adam Riess, Michael L. Agronin, Shiladitya DasSarma, Eric Greene, Troy Bundy, Stanley Ma

The MIT Alumni for Climate Solutions in Maryland is a nonpartisa­n group of concerned alumni of the Massachuse­tts Institute of Technology — scientists, academics, doctors, business people and engineers. We are alarmed by the threat climate change poses to our beloved state and, indeed, the entire planet. Our objective is to provide state leadership with an understand­ing of the actions we must take to avoid future catastroph­e. Maryland's state motto is

We applaud Maryland's efforts to date, and its But we also must honor

We call on every state and local elected official and every candidate to commit to make Maryland carbon-neutral within a generation. Now is the time to act to limit the damage from climate change.

Maryland faces a dire threat

A warming Earth poses dangerous changes to Maryland. Our 3,100 scenic miles of coastline, our marshes, our river floodplain­s, and some of our largest cities are all at risk from a changing climate. The fossil fuel we burn to generate electricit­y, power our cars and heat our homes is increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, trapping heat and changing weather patterns. If we continue to use fossil fuel at the current rate, prediction­s are that by the end of the century we would see:

Temperatur­e increase of 3 to 12° F (2 to 7° C) with more severe and much wetter storms, like the recent Ellicott City floods

Sea level increase of nearly 2 feet, and possibly as much as 8 feet, with flooding of coastal Baltimore, Ocean City and our capital, Annapolis

Economic damage in the billions of dollars, loss of an estimated 5 percent of our state's GDP, and flooding of tens of thousands of homes along the Maryland shore

Clearly, the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of action!

But there’s hope

By quickly developing our renewable wind and solar energy capability and eliminatin­g fossil fuel use for power generation, heating and transporta­tion, the state of Maryland can drasticall­y reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions within a generation.

California is expected to generate 50 percent of its electricit­y from wind, solar and other renewables by 2020. Texas and Iowa get much of their electricit­y from wind. California and Hawaii are modernizin­g their grids to accommodat­e distribute­d, renewable energy. If Maryland acts with these and other states as well as the signatorie­s to the 2015 Paris Agreement, warming by the end of the 21st century can be limited to less than 3.6° F (2° C).

Investing in a clean energy economy creates jobs and economic growth. We are already installing more and more solar power systems, and Maryland is starting to develop its plentiful offshore wind resources. We need to accelerate these efforts through your actions.

What elected officials need to do:

Commit to a carbon-neutral economy in Maryland by 2045 Replace our fossil-fuel power generation with renewable wind and solar power

Develop the infrastruc­ture — including electric vehicle chargers — to support all-electric transporta­tion systems

Reinvest in our cities, including expanded mass transit, to make them attractive places to live and work

Expand carbon-capture programs such as re-forestatio­n and soil sequestrat­ion

Put a price on carbon emissions and incentiviz­e our citizens and business to reduce their carbon footprints

Take these actions now to make Maryland carbon-neutral within a generation. This investment in a clean energy powered future will create local employment opportunit­ies and economic growth in the state.

A generation from now, what will we tell our grandchild­ren when they ask about climate change? Will we tell them we didn't know what would happen? That fixing it would have cost too much? It was too inconvenie­nt? Let's be able to tell them we rose to the challenge and built a better future for Maryland and the world.

Submitted respectful­ly to all elected officials and candidates for office in the State of Maryland,

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