Maryland LCV Statement on the Response to Extraordinary Heatwave
This is what a climate crisis looks like. Thermometer-busting temperatures are happening not just in Maryland, but across the planet.
We applaud Governor Moore and county and local leaders across the state for recognizing the seriousness of this heatwave, and we join them in urging Marylanders to take the necessary precautions over the next several days.
We appreciate that PJM Interconnection, which manages the electrical grid for Maryland and 12 other states and Washington, DC, is responding to this crisis by taking steps to ensure our neighbors can keep their lights on and air conditioning running. They have asked the federal Department of Energy (DOE) to grant them the authority to use backup generating facilities on the grid and to require power plants to run, while exempting those plants from environmental regulations. Unfortunately, most of the backup generation covered under this order is diesel generators, some of the most polluting power sources available, at data centers. Other power plants using coal or gas have important health-protective standards that will be surpassed. While this may be necessary in the short term, it points to a systemic problem and a self-fulfilling negative feedback loop: as long as we rely on fossil fuels for power, we will see these extreme events, which trigger an increase in more fossil fuels.
Building out renewable sources increases the likelihood that periods like this become the exception rather than the rule. Renewable energy is the cheapest and cleanest source of energy and we should be deploying clean energy sources everywhere we can.
As for the Department of Energy under this Administration, seem intent on marking our nation’s birthday by using energy sources from the previous century.
High temperatures are common in the summer in Maryland. Extreme temperatures don’t have to be. We got to this extreme place by relying on energy from fossil fuels. We have a chance to change that by calling on clean energy sources, which are both more accessible and cheaper.