Here Comes the Sun

A real energy bill may be stalled in Congress, but that does not mean the nation should give up on moving from fossil fuels to renewable sources to meet its energy needs.

First of all, we have no choice. The Pew Center on Global Climate Change describes a warming climate that "will have real consequences for the United States and the world, for with that warming will also come additional sea-level rise that will gradually inundate coastal areas and increase beach erosion and flooding from coastal storms, changes in precipitation patterns, increased risk of droughts and floods, threats to biodiversity, and a number of potential challenges for public health."

The consensus in the scientific community, as Pew points out, is that we need to drastically reduce carbon emissions – meaning we need to cut down on the burning of carbon-based fuels by moving toward other sources and becoming far more efficient in our use.

The United States should be a leader in this shift, but it has lagged, allowing others to outpace us in conservation efforts and the production of alternative fuels and alternative fuel technologies.

While a federal climate bill is necessary to make major progress, it is important to recognize the efforts being made by businesses, local governments and states.

The cosmetic plant in East Windsor has installed , one on its roof and another on an adjacent field. The panels helped the company cut its dependence on traditional electricity by 80 percent, a feat which won one of the Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards at the end of last year.

In Cranbury, the roof of the warehouse is solar panels. KDC Solar, the company responsible for the installation, credited the township's willingness to work with them as a factor in their decision to put up the array.

The private Peddie School is in the process of setting up its own solar arrays, which it estimates will ultimately satisfy up to a quarter of the school's needs.

These efforts are small but necessary and hopefully will demonstrate to federal elected officials that we can and should do what we can to create a cleaner energy future for us and our grandchildren.