Like many of us, I’ve been looking skyward this week and am excited that the first snowfalls are upon us. As both an owner of Pine Needle Mountaineering and a skier myself, the coming of winter is always a welcome turn in the seasons. This year, we have even more to celebrate now that Gov. Hickenlooper is beginning the process of designing a statewide plan to cut carbon emissions from coal plants, which will go a long way to protecting our winters and our local economy.
Just a few months ago, the Clean Power Plan – our nation’s first-ever efforts to cut down pollution from power plants – was finalized. Now it’s up to Colorado to decide for ourselves how we’re going to clean up our energy sector and reduce coal emissions within our state by 30 percent by 2030. Given our strong leadership for renewable energy in the past, Colorado’s already 75 percent of the way towards meeting this goal. By investing in clean energy technology, we can reduce our air pollution, address climate change, and spur job development across the state in one forward-thinking blow.
When I’m skiing in the La Platas I can look across the peaks and see the lights from coal plants in New Mexico. When Colorado and the rest of our nation implements the Clean Power Plan, it’ll mean that by the time I’m skiing with my son in our local mountains, maybe we’ll be looking down through a lot less smog, standing on healthy snowpacks we’ll be proud we took action to protect.
Miles Venzara
Durango
