Montezuma County is looking for ways to diversify its economy, especially since carbon dioxide wells that Kinder Morgan operates will one day run dry, eliminating 50 percent of our tax revenues.
Clean energy offers tremendous alternatives. The Brookings Institute just issued a report summarizing, “The transition to the clean energy economy will primarily involve 320 unique occupations spread across three major industrial sectors: clean energy production, energy efficiency and environmental management.” The Department of Energy’s 2017 report also revealed that solar energy was employing more workers than the traditional coal, gas and oil industries combined. The argument that “transitioning away from fossil fuels will tank the economy” doesn’t hold up.
A well-designed carbon policy can also be good for the economy. The bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act is an effective approach to significantly reduce carbon emissions without shifting the burden to the American people.
We can do this.
Jan D. Dixon
Cortez