City should join clean-energy revolution

Pittsburgh was an early leader in the 20th-century dawn of the fossil-fuel era. Many of the captains of industry, the financiers and the innovators were located in Pittsburgh. They were people like Henry Clay Frick, the Mellon family and George Westinghouse. Today there is a revolution that is replacing fossil fuels. That revolution runs on renewable energy, which creates clean electrical power to run our homes and our growing fleet of electric vehicles.

The signs of this clean-energy and clean-transport revolution are everywhere. The prime minister of India spoke bluntly to coal-exporting Australia, saying India wants energy that won’t melt glaciers. China is also surprising the world with huge investments in wind and solar energy. The most surprising thing about China right now, though, is that it is rapidly replacing its smoky diesel buses with cleaner electric buses. China has already deployed about 400,000 of the buses, a number with three more zeros than most people would have ever guessed.

Pittsburghers want to see our city also join the clean-energy revolution. Two years ago, Mayor Bill Peduto boldly stated that Pittsburgh would honor the Paris climate agreement and that renewable energy would be our future. Over 120 U.S. cities have committed to getting their power from 100% renewable energy. We think it’s time for the city of Pittsburgh to finalize the ambition for 100% renewable energy through city council. Contact a council member today and please join us for the Allegheny SolarFest at the Frick Environmental Center on Sunday, June 23, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. FRED KRAYBILL North Point Breeze

The writer is the president of the Solar United Network of Western Pennsylvania.