Rep. Judy Solano: Progress Toward Energy Independence
In the past 10 years, a million people have moved to Colorado. In the next decade, a million more are expected. The bad news is our energy consumption is growing faster than our population. House Democrats realize there’s no time to lose. We passed the bipartisan Low Income Economic Assistance Package bill this year, which provides financial assistance to Coloradans struggling to pay their heating bills. In addition, Democrats insisted on including funds for energy-efficiency improvements, so we don’t face the same problems in years to come. Financial assistance is great, but it’s not a solution; it’s a short-term fix.
We’re also taking advantage of the tools living in Colorado affords us:
- Harnessing wind power to produce energy simply makes sense. Instead of large upfront payments, we have a bill that reworks the formula so wind-energy producers make tax payments over time. Values for property will be assigned only when facilities such as wind turbines are used to produce energy.
- We’re behind legislation that sets aside money to help develop cleaner ways of producing energy from coal, which can significantly cut down on carbon dioxide emissions – the leading cause of global warming.
- Colorado has four distinct seasons, but the one constant is abundant sunshine throughout. Solar power is becoming more and more feasible as technology advances and prices drop.
Most of all, the importance of conservation cannot be dismissed as simply a personal virtue – something admired, but not necessary. Resources like water and natural gas have limits.
Changing the way we do business across Colorado has to happen if we are to enjoy any semblance of energy security in the future. Read more in the Brighton Standard Blade.
RSS Feed