We’re living it locally and hearing about it globally. Increased and more intense forest fires here in Colorado, persistent drought in California, catastrophic storms in the Midwest – it’s time to move beyond rhetoric and into action. Rep. Mike McLachlan has done just that.

I am proud to have a representative with a 100 percent rating from Conservation Colorado for votes on environmental bills in the Legislature. In the newly released 2014 Colorado Legislature Conservation Scorecard, McLachlan supported bills to enhance solar-energy development, conserve water and improve energy efficiency in schools and communities.

Regardless of whether you believe in human-caused climate change, there are many reasons to support strong environmental policies, as has McLachlan. We live in a world of finite resources and are polluting the air, land and water that we rely on to survive. Continued use of non-renewable fossil fuels is also bad for our recreation- and nature-based tourism economy.

Thompson writes that J. Paul Brown “is a believer in markets, and that if solar and wind generation were economically feasible and could function without huge federal subsidies, they would do so.” A report by Yale University’s Center for Business and the Environment states that renewables have received far fewer subsidies than gas and oil in their early years of development: $400 million annually for renewables compared to $1.8 billion per year spent on coal, oil and gas industry subsidies. From 1995-2012, J. Paul Brown received more than $180,000 in federal agricultural subsidies and may, in fact, believe in their value.

Investment in new energy sources supports job growth, drives technological innovation and creates economic opportunity. Mike McLachlan gets that and has the record to prove it. We don’t need a return to the past. Keep looking to a sustainable future and re-elect Rep. Mike McLachlan in November!

Ellen R. Stein

Durango