Ann Donnelly’s column “Blackout a wake-up call for council on energy” is seriously flawed. Electricity is not a singular source of energy. Would it be ill-advised to get all of our electricity from one source and location? Of course. It is important to have diverse sources of renewable energy, including diverse locations. Texas’s electrical system was isolated from other states, plus they chose to not weatherize their system for such a weather event.
Fossil fuels are a major cause of our climate crisis, causing the death of many globally from more heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods, and intense storms (such as the one in Texas). To use the storm in Texas as a reason to continue use of fossil fuels shows a short-sightedness in thinking that is dangerous.
We have done difficult things before in our economy. Slavery was what built the U.S. economy for hundreds of years, but it was ended because it was immoral and caused great suffering. Likewise, the continued burning of fossil fuels at a time when we know of the great damage it is doing, the great suffering that comes from entire communities and ecosystems being devastated, is immoral. We cannot pass this burden to future generations because it is easier to look away.
