New Jersey is doing better on solar than we are. But we can and should be doing much more: To be able to zero out your electric bill and also cut carbon emissions is too good a deal to ignore. During the Carter administration, there were solar incentives, and we put in a solar hot water heater. For most of the year, we never had to use the electrical backup. It was amazing. We’ve moved since then and would like to put solar panels on our roof at our present home.

It’s time for us to do something really big on solar and be a national leader. We should set a goal of building 1 million solar roofs in Colorado by 2030. By creating this economy of scale and putting the policies in place for 1 million solar roofs, the thousands of people in my situation around the state could turn our ideas into reality – both for our own sake and for the sake of future generations.

Charla Ellis

Pagosa Springs