Laura Rockefeller is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Fellow for 2021 - 2022 and is currently an undergraduate at Georgetown University.

Note: This reader commentary was originally published by the Baltimore Sun here.

By Laura Rockefeller

Powerful winds, intense snowfall and flooded streets swept much of the East Coast last month. Over 100,000 people lost power, mainly in Massachusetts. In Nantucket, streets were underwater. Atmospheric researchers say climate change — particularly the warming ocean — probably strengthened the storm.

Baltimoreans were mostly spared this time. Yet the greater threat remains. Climate change is on our doorstep in Maryland (”As Maryland faces growing flood threats, retreat is an unpopular solution. What would it take to change that?” Jan. 20). Sweltering heat waves, thunderstorms and even tornadoes are all part of the Maryland summer weather report. Baltimore is projected to be one of the American cities most impacted by climate change. In urban areas like Baltimore, higher temperatures increase ozone air pollution, which is a serious health hazard. By 2050, the typical number of heat wave days in Maryland is projected to increase from more than 10 to 50 days a year.

Climate change is a salient political issue. The number of Americans who are “alarmed” about climate change is at an all-time high, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications. Organizations like Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a national grassroots advocacy group, have been building the political willpower for a carbon fee and dividend for years. It has been encouraging to see U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen leading on this issue. Last summer, they passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill with more than $150 billion in funding earmarked for a transition to clean energy, more electric vehicles, green jobs and climate resilience.

Yet more wide-reaching policy is still needed to address climate change. If the U.S. is to reach its goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half within 10 years, a robust price on carbon requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for their emissions needs enactment. In the first few weeks of 2022, Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers nationwide have generated more than 15,000 emails and phone calls to President Joe Biden and the U.S. Senate urging for a price on carbon to be included in the budget reconciliation package.” CCL’s resources can be found at cclusa.org/action.

It’s not too late to prevent climate-driven disasters like these from getting worse and worse. If we act now, our lawmakers and our communities can be part of the solution. We need a carbon price now.