Offshore wind in Rhode Island will create thousands of good-paying union jobs in manufacturing, shipbuilding, port development, and electrical transmission — which is why it is backed by the state chapter of the AFL-CIO. Similarly, building decarbonization (electrification, insulation, and efficiency) will create hundreds of good-paying jobs here in Rhode Island as well.

China already dominates international markets in the production of solar panels and we can’t afford to let the same thing happen with wind turbines. Turbine manufacturing is growing domestically, but it will collapse if the current administration succeeds in killing domestic offshore wind projects. Green energy is booming worldwide and if the United States wants to remain a leader in technological innovation, it needs to maintain momentum in this field. As the home of the nation’s first offshore windfarm, it would be a shame for Rhode Island to squander its cutting-edge status.

Unpredictable fuel prices pose a major problem for businesses and residents alike. Oil and natural gas prices fluctuate widely based on geopolitical tensions. In contrast, the price of wind power is fixed by 20-year contracts and both wind and solar power are generated without any fuel costs, thus eliminating unpredictable pricing.

Insurance rates have skyrocketed nationwide due to the parade of natural disasters caused by climate change. Disaster relief for the recent California wildfires will cost an estimated $250 billion, while last year’s Hurricane Helen cost $78 billion. Who pays? We do, through higher taxes and rising insurance rates. Each natural disaster also robs billions in precious tax dollars from essential programs such as education, health care, national security, and more.

It’s easy to dismiss wildfires and hurricanes as distant disasters, but increasingly violent weather affects the quality of life right here in Rhode Island. Violent storms have eroded our beaches, flooded our basements, and caused portions of Newport’s historic Cliff Walk to collapse into the sea. With 400 miles of shoreline, our tiny state is particularly vulnerable to the combined impact of violent weather and sea level rise.

By far, the biggest threat to marine life — both large and small — is rising ocean temperatures and acidification. This goes for commercial fisheries as well. Any short-term environmental disruption caused by the construction of offshore wind pales in comparison to the oil disasters like the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska (11 million gallons) or the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (200 million gallons).

Closer to home, the Argo Merchant spilled 8 million gallons of oil when it ran aground on Nantucket Shoals in 1976, and a tanker spilled 800,000 gallons of home heating oil off Moonstone Beach in 1996, closing 250 square miles of Block Island Sound to commercial fishing.

For many of us, power production is out-of-sight/out-of-mind. That’s because fossil fuel plants are located in poorer neighborhoods, where they cause respiratory disease and childhood asthma. It’s no surprise that opposition to offshore wind in Rhode Island is led by wealthy coastal property owners who don’t want their million-dollar views disturbed by barely visible windmills more than a dozen miles out to sea.

Because the federal government is now openly hostile to clean energy, it’s more important than ever that states take up the challenge. This year in Rhode Island we have an opportunity to move forward on two initiatives that will have a huge impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

Rhode Island currently has three offshore wind projects in various stages of development that will provide enough clean electricity to power more than 200,000 homes in the state, according to figures from the US Energy Information Survey. But these projects, and many more, are under threat from the federal government.

Similarly, building decarbonization would dramatically reduce emissions from public and private buildings, which account for nearly a third of all carbon pollution in Rhode Island. Several bills are currently pending in the state legislature that would begin our transition to clean heating and cooling throughout the state.

So whether your top priority is jobs, national security, personal finance, equity, US competitiveness — or the environment — these initiatives will further your cause.

Providence-based writer Bill Ibelle is a member of Climate Action Rhode Island and the Rhode Island chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby.