Spend wind lawsuit dollars on flooding

Editor,

I read the news that the plan to build offshore wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City is moving forward and I find that a promising and exciting step for the future of our area. It’s exciting because our area will be part of the solution to the climate-related problems directly impacting our wonderful city.

Look no further than the streets of Ocean City, which flood regularly – whether it’s due to a major rainfall or just a full moon. The flooded streets are more than an inconvenience; they are dangerous, cause significant economic issues and will only get worse unless we start acting.

That means we must expand our use of clean energy, including solar and wind energy, which will help us be less dependent on polluting energy sources like oil, coal and gas, which are exacerbating climate related impacts to Ocean City and up and down the Eastern Shore.

It appears that Ocean City is going to go to court to try to stop the offshore wind project. Wouldn’t it make more sense to spend our tax dollars on raising our roadbeds and installing reverse storm drains to block bay water from coming up into our streets and intersections instead of paying high-dollar legal fees on a lawsuit against the federal government?

We can’t pretend that problems like flooding will get better by themselves. We must do more, and building clean energy turbines far at sea is a very smart way to do that.

Cherie L. McNett
Ocean City