Climate change is real and is here to stay for our lifetimes and unfortunately for my 4 and 5-year old nephews’ lifetime.. A heatwave encapsulating the majority of the Eastern Seaboard effected everyone I know or have heard from this weekend– from NYC stoops, backyards to 4.6k or 5.2k peaks in the upstate New York or New England wilderness. Non-denominational and unaffiliated news outlets are indicating rapid peaks and troughs in weather patterns as a result of global warming. Heatwaves in mid-July versus August/Sept. are the new reality. Which is why I’m not entirely appalled but a little bit surprised that considering all that Con Edison (NYSE:ED) $ED has done for grid modernization over the past five years, from sub-station upgrades via dispatched power and batteries, demand response software, and operating what is the largest fleet of photovoltaic (solar) power assets across the U.S., how that within its own tri-state grid some 72,000 people last week in the upper crust of Manhattan (midtown/west side) were and now tonight down a whole stripe of central to southern Brooklyn from Prospect Heights to Canarsie (33,000 people) were without power for upwards of 5 hours or more. It definitely gives me a pause for thought. Does a fan work the same as using air conditioner for a few hours? While I think city people in general are street-savvy, they’re by far and large not thrifty in terms of reducing their intake of plastic, of reusing a cup or utensil throughout the day, or be reducing their footprint on Earth via composting or reducing waste in other ways. Am I sounding like the most pious, condescending Eco-friendly person this side of the Hudson River? Well, I’m not. But I’ve taken baby steps for a few years while I send praise to Amy for taking what appear to be actual adult steps.
A utility with a $28.5 billion market cap managing the load and transmission ability of around 8.4 million people, think about how massive an undertaking that is. Poles and copper wires and building block sub-stations, coiled distribution and other things I can’t begin to describe. Blue and white trucks, trucks with turbines and what look like oil and gas drill bits. Orange and yellow striped vests and hard hat-clad service guys. A massive undertaking.
What if we made micro-grids, islands of four by eight blocks stretching north or south of Queens Blvd., Northern or Broadway in Queens for instance. What if each person had reusable forks, plates or straws at the office or at home? Would landfills go down a marginal or barely noticeable percentage?
What if I had an off-grid house to retreat to, take family to on weekends and vacations, to Airbnb out a half-dozen times? A sanctuary outside of urbanity.
Michael Schoeck 