From Robert Whitcomb's "Digital Diary,'' in GoLocal24.com

The recent explosions and fires north of Boston were reminders of how dangerous natural gas can be, especially if pipes carrying it are old and corroded and gas is being sent at excessive pressures, in this disaster. Perhaps as battery storage improves, electricity from non-volatile energy from regional solar, wind and other nonpolluting sources will replace fossil fuel (all of which comes from outside the region) for virtually all residential and commercial uses, also making us less vulnerable to giant utilities for whom profit and stock price might trump public safety.

For now, we can only hope that the gas-line part of America’s crumbling infrastructure gets some fast upgrades.