I always return to CT. I love how green it is. I love that in an hour you can be in the mountains or the shore. I love it’s lakes and ponds and the diversity for it’s wildlife. But mostly, I love how green it is from east to west, north to south. We were the most tree-filled state in the country. Trees are our lungs. I was unhappy when we, the state, with our utility company Eversource spent millions trimming back the trees to prevent electrical outages in future storms. We just suffered 400,000 outages from Tropical Storm Isais; many are still out three days later. Eversource’s CEO, speaking on local fox news, said that the damage would have been greater if the pulling and pruning had not been done. Obviously, that is not provable. The trees that came down did not seem to be old or ill or overhanging dangerously but apparently many had internal damage due to issues arising from climate change. Preparation is complicated today.
CT has not experienced a tragedy on the level of Katrina but the hits keep coming. How do you prepare yourself and stay safe? Move to a town center? Several cities built new senior housing in downtown, in the decades after industry closed, not foreseeing that all the stores would close, as the area failed to revitalize. In Waterbury, the one grocery tried to downsize into a convenience store but that closed. So, seniors were stuck in a crumbling wasteland. I lived with my parents in a small town downtown when an early snowstorm followed a hurricane in 2011. We were without power for 11 days. A new transformer was delivered to our pole within 76 hours but it was dropped and broke before installation was complete. Crisis mode meant they moved on to next job and we were the last to be restored. Downtown? outskirts and off the grid? They both have limitations. They both require investment and resources.
Most of CT, especially near our State University campus has been safe from serious weather, historically. We have hurricanes but we are usually at their tail. Tornadoes and flooding are rare. There is some natural protection of the coastline. But severe weather is increasing in number and intensity. This storm took one life from a falling tree and created tremendous amount of damage to homes and businesses beside the inconvenience of loss of power. We need long term solutions beyond pruning trees and moving. If we are going to preserve our environment-preserve our uniqueness we need some new thinking and some bold action soon. We need the Green New Deal.
It will:
Provide investment as communities are affected by climate change
Repair and upgrade infrastructure to withstand extreme weather and
Guarantee future infrastructure bills address climate change
Invest in renewable power sources
Invest in clean energy manufacturing
Build or upgrade energy-efficient power grids distributed for affordable electricity
Upgrade all buildings for maximum energy and water efficiency, safety, affordability, comfort and durability
Support family farming, and build a more sustainable and equitable food system
Invest in transportation systems, zero-emission vehicles and industry, public transit and high speed rail
Restore ecosystems through land preservation and science-based projects
Clean up hazardous waste and abandoned sites
Identify unknown sources of pollution and emissions
Work with the international community on solutions and supporting Green New Deals globally
The target date to meet 100% of power demand renewably in the country is 2030. The GND also calls for the creation of millions of jobs to implement the program. It aims to guarantee to all Americans, access to nature, clean air and water, healthy food, a sustainable environment, and community resiliency. It makes sense- It can be done- It could be exciting. It is more reasonable than millions on band-aids and constant repair.
Somewhat related- new recording = Flood with Love
Violets in the Grass 
DZ, thanks for expressing every senior citizen’s fears. We must fight for a green new deal in order for the entire population to survive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The day before the storm I had driven around and was pleased with myself at the choices I made for where to live- on major highway, on busline with commuter bus to city, walking distance to grocery. I have a covered porch so cat less likely to escape and an alternate heating source if the power went out. I made fun of it being the fast food and car wash strip but our humble town of retirees and essential workers had made it through the covid19 shutdown without too much change or disruption. The more upscale towns with specialized stores and services looked like the were closed or on their last legs. The poorer areas of convenience stores and nail salons look gutted. Then the storm hit and all is up for reconsideration.
LikeLike