To the editor:

Recent weather extremes in the South and East are examples of what climate change can cause — a warmer arctic that disrupts the polar vortex and pushes cold weather and snow farther south. It also changes moisture flows around the Earth, causing more rain, flooding and stronger storms in some areas and more heatwaves, droughts and wildfires in other regions.

Our use of coal, oil and natural gas, which contributes to climate change, must be reduced quickly. One approach is to reform outdated and cumbersome permitting processes so clean energy projects, such as for solar and wind power — along with more transmission lines — can be added to our grid more quickly.

Also, permitting reform can put battery storage systems online sooner to hold excess electricity from solar and wind power plants during peak generation periods and release it when needed.

Currently there are bipartisan efforts in Congress for reform. Email your senators and representative, or call them at 202-224-3121, to support sensible permitting reform for clean and cheap renewable energy.

Gary Jump, Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteer

Itasca, IL