Attorney General Cynthia Coffman. (Denver Post file photo)
Re: “Colorado attorney general to join in suit on Obama’s Clean Power Plan,” Aug. 30 news story.
The concern that jobs will be lost or that electricity bills will rise if the Clean Power Plan moves forward is short-sighted, when compared to the enormous costs Coloradans will bear if the states do not reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions. These costs include loss of life and property (due to increased severity of storms, drought and wildfire); denigration of public health (due to escalating air pollution and exposure to increasing numbers of disease-carrying insects); and increased costs of food (due to loss of agricultural land and drought).
The controversy is no longer whether the climate is changing or why, but rather with what tools should we attack this problem. While Colorado has made progress toward meeting the Clean Power Plan’s goals, if the Environmental Protection Agency is found to lack the authority to implement this approach, we must hope and pray our U.S. senators and representatives will pass national legislation to do so.
Kathleen Wells, Denver
This letter was published in the Sept. 6 edition.
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