This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Our nation just passed a historic milestone, and I’m proud Longmont is on the leading edge of it. In 2018, we committed to powering our city entirely by clean, renewable energy. Now, one hundred million people live in a city or state that’s just like us.
This victory, in the middle of a global health crisis, reminds us of something important: why we made this commitment in the first place. Longmont's local businesses, non-profits, and neighbors wanted to make our city a safer and healthier place to live. And we deserve not just to be safe, but to be safe in the long run.
Even now, while our clean energy future has never been stronger, COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting our most vulnerable communities. It’s up to us to make our communities as resilient as possible to future crises. Structural changes--like changing where our energy comes from, making our air easier to breathe, and lowering electricity bills--will help us create more economic opportunities and be better prepared.
To achieve what we promised, we’ll need everyone. The movement for a just and equitable clean energy future leaves no one behind, and can only make Longmont more resilient and better prepared.
Karen Dike Longmont CO
