As a health-care professional in La Plata County, I fully support the Environment Protection Agency’s recently released Clean Power Plan, which paves the way for cleaner air in Colorado and across the country. Once in place, the EPA estimates the Clean Power Plan will prevent up to 4,000 premature deaths and 100,000 childhood asthma attacks in the first year alone. Right now, we all pay the costs of air pollution. Whether its higher health-care bills, lost wages to take care of an ill child or respiratory illnesses that keep us home from work, we can do better and the Clean Power Plan will help us get there.
Besides helping keep our community safe from air pollution, the Clean Power Plan is one of our best tools for protecting our outdoor experiences, which are key to keeping our communities active and healthy. By curbing carbon emissions, the Clean Power Plan will help protect our snowpack, rivers and forests across Colorado that are already suffering the consequences of warmer temperatures and more erratic storms. Thankfully, Gov. Hickenlooper has committed to a strong state plan, and with the steps Colorado has taken to grow our clean energy sector in recent years, we are already well on our way to meeting the EPA’s goals. I thank Hickenlooper for his leadership on the Clean Power Plan, and I am excited for all the benefits it’s going to bring to our area.
Nathan Jesse
Durango
