LETTER: Bullock energy plan will fight climate change

As a nurse with a background in environmental health, I know that air pollution is detrimental to everyone — the young healthy hiker who wants to climb a mountain, the child with asthma, and the elderly person with heart disease.

The health of each of us and the health of our planet are inextricably linked.

Montanans know this. They know that there’s nothing better for our hearts and minds than a day outside when the air is so clear you can see every tree on the mountainside.

But climate change, driven largely by dirty fossil fuel-based energy, is making it harder to keep our air clean. Warmer temperatures, drier conditions, and changes in precipitation are contributing to longer and more intense wildfire seasons, in turn producing dangerous particulate pollution, and also worsening conditions for those who suffer from allergies.

Earlier this summer, Gov. Bullock released a plan to guide energy policy in our state. If adequately funded and fully implemented, the plan will help address climate change — and thereby improve air quality — by emphasizing clean, renewable energy over dirty fossil fuel-based energy. Greater investments in clean, renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, mean less fossil fuel production and usage, cleaner air, and better health.

To protect the health of our residents, Montana must move forward on implementing strong clean air and energy policies, including the governor’s new energy plan. We deserve nothing less. —Kelli Barber Avanzino, Kalispell