We the people, or we the people led by the most powerful corporations in the world? Corporations whose interests are not justice or freedom, but their profit streams remaining unobstructed by the U.S. government. Interests that are cloaked in words like “deregulation,” “balancing the budget” and “good for our economy and the nation.”

President-elect Donald Trump started Nov. 10, paving that unobstructed road for the fossil fuel industry by picking top climate denier Myron Ebell to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. This is like picking the wolf to be the “protector” of Little Red Riding Hood.

The ravages of climate change will continue to worsen in the southwest affecting our ski industry, water, forests, crop damage and tourism. The solution recommended by climate scientists and economists is a carbon fee. This would encourage us to move toward a renewable energy future instead of investing in a future of more greenhouse gasses and the destruction that follows to our future generations. Sustainable energy has been shown to produce more jobs than fossil fuels. I vote for a carbon fee and a livable future for all.

I invite our three congressional leaders, Scott Tipton, Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner to usher in a new politics of respect for the land, the people and our future.

Susan Atkinson

Durango