Lost in transmission.

• Author: Schulman, Audrey
• Position: Increasing severe climatic events will continue

2003 WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY YEAR FOR WEATHER. Europe experienced its hottest summer in 500 years. 12,000 people died in France in the course of one week alone. In Australia, the worst drought in 100 years decimated crops in an area the size of Greece. In Bangladesh, a powerful monsoon flooded out three million people. In May, the United States experienced a record of 562 tornadoes, easily surpassing the previous monthly record of 399 set in 1992.

This is climate change.

THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY GENERALLY PREDICTS A stormier future with extremes of heat and cold, flooding and drought. In the same way that a person with a fever suffers extremes of chills and sweating, the complex ecosystem of the earth is struggling to adjust to its increased temperature. Just as no doctor can predict exactly how your body will react to a strain of the flu, no climate scientist can say exactly what the effects of climate change will be. However, the 2,500 top level scientists on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change do agree on a few things. These extreme weather events will continue. They will happen more often. And they will get worse.

Climate change is a serious threat to New England's environment and cultural heritage. On the current course, the sugar maples, cranberries, and local plants and animals that define New England may be decimated. Rising sea levels could submerge whole towns on Cape Cod, destroying homes and beloved beaches.

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are the main culprits behind climate change. Because a third of all greenhouse gases produced in New England come from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, CLF is developing a regional strategy to reduce those emissions from the electricity sector. Promoting alternatives to fossil fuels is a major thrust of CLF's battle against climate change.

THE HUGE BLACKOUT LAST AUGUST, RUNNING FROM Quebec to New York City, is partly responsible for the current rush to increase electricity transmission in New England. So far, over $1.4 billion in transmission upgrades have been proposed by utilities for New England alone. Because renewable energy sources are not yet available on a large scale, increased transmission is likely to require new fossil fuel burning power plants.

One of the companies pushing for increased transmission in Vermont, VELCo, has admitted that its proposal for increased transmission capacity for Northwest Vermont is not the least expensive solution...