Three takes on the first nor’easter of the season

Lexington
Re “A soggy saunter” (Metro, Oct. 13): If seeing is believing, the Northeast is already experiencing effects of climate change. Danielle Parhizkaran’s photos show flooding along Boston’s Long Wharf and flood barriers put up to protect the Blue Line’s Aquarium stop on the MBTA. The caption in the print edition mentioned that the nor’easter was expected to bring drenching rains to southeast New England and the Outer Cape.
Climate change is not a distant phenomenon, in time or space. It’s here and it’s now. There’s nothing new about occasional extreme weather events, but climate change is loading the dice. What was once rare is becoming common. Effects of climate change include rising sea levels and a wobbly jet stream. Coastal flooding is one result.
These changes are here to stay but, if we want to prevent more serious impacts, it’s essential that we stop pumping carbon and methane into the atmosphere, where greenhouse gases linger for decades. Renewable energy and battery storage solutions are not only available — they are significantly cheaper than fossil fuels. We need to fight for a speedy transition. Time is not on our side.
Marjorie Lee
Wayland
I am amused at the way the media continue to refer to Atlantic storms as “nor’easters,” as if we were 19th-century Gloucester fishermen who could not pronounce “northeaster.”
But I need to run. I have a meeting down the street at Nor’eastern University.
Eric Evans
Brookline