The following is a guest blog from Plains Speaking, Northern Plains Resource Council’s new blog, about a clean energy rally held in Billings, Montana, on March 29.
SUSTAINABLE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW
By: Joan Kresich
This week, Senator Steve Daines is hosting the Montana Energy Conference here in Billings. Despite Daines touting an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, the vast majority of his 50 speakers represent the fossil fuel industry. Moreover, Daines relentlessly preaches the “war on coal” rally-cry, a woefully misleading and unfounded, if not deliberately deceptive, narrative. He speaks of the jobs lost through coal-fired power plant closures, but fails to mention that the solar industry current employs more than 210,000 American workers, while coal employs less than 70,000. The solar industry has grown at 20% each year for the last two years, while the coal industry is in a steep decline.
The Senator speaks of the “devastating effects” the Clean Power Plan could have on our economy, but fails to celebrate the new small businesses that are bringing sustainable prosperity to our local economies. He warns of an increase in energy prices, but fails to acknowledge that wind and solar prices in the state are already below that of Colstrip’s energy, and continue to decrease rapidly with technological advancements. In short, Daines fails to recognize the incredible opportunities that a transition to renewable energy and sustainable climate solutions presents our people here in Montana.
Inspiring speakers
On Tuesday, March 29, I had the pleasure of emceeing a rally at which nearly 70 Montanans gathered together in freezing wet conditions on the county courthouse lawn in Billings to challenge Daines’ message and to demand strong, smart, sustainable climate solutions in Montana. The rally featured an inspiring set of speakers from our community, including Ken Medicine-Bull, a Northern Cheyenne Nation member and Sundance priest; Arlo Skari, a wheat farmer from Chester; Ben Reed, a solar energy business owner; Gabriel Aponte, the president of Rocky Mountain College’s Environmental Club; and Mike Mulberry, the pastor of Billings First Church.
Ken called for immediate action on climate change as our shared responsibility as caretakers of Mother Earth, the source of all life. Arlo gave witness to the effect of extractive industries and climate change on his family wheat farm and the greater agricultural industry. Ben reassured Daines that our civilization has gone through countless paradigm shifts in transportation, data calculation, and communication, and that if we are willing to adapt, we will not only survive, but prosper.
Gabriel showed us that our youth feel their place in the “community in charge of shaping the future” and are ready to work for a better society. Finally, Mike demanded that Daines face our energy and climate realities and do his duty to take care of his constituents, especially the most poor and vulnerable among them. Mike ended the rally with a haunting and resounding challenge for Daines: “At the very least, show yourself to be a man of honor, and speak the truth.” We all have been impacted, we all have stories. It is time Daines and our other elected representatives started listening to us and speaking the truth.
All fossil fuels pollute
Finally, in the wake of news such as Arch Coal joining Alpha and other coal giants in declaring bankruptcy and then pulling their permit for the Otter Creek mine, we must remember that although fossil fuels are part of what built this region, they are clearly not what will sustain it into the future. Deciding to turn a blind eye to our state’s energy realities and to stake our future on coal and other dirty energy sources is not only irresponsible; it’s dangerous. Do we want to be a fossil fuel island in a rising sea of renewable energy?
Time and time again, we’ve watched towns rise up around fossil fuels only to crash and disappear when geological and economic limits are reached, and we know that real lives are being affected by these boom and busts. We cannot continue to make decisions that destroy our agricultural heritage and squander our energy independence. We must support policies that preserve our natural resources and protect our rural communities.
Tuesday, we stood as Montanans demanding smart and sustainable climate solutions, Montanans in support of small business and energy independence, Montanans with faith in opportunity and ingenuity, Montanans with a strong confidence that we have the ability to tackle climate change right here in Montana.
We – as individuals, as communities, as Montanans, as Americans – need to be the leaders in this transition away from dirty, polluting fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources. We have made strides already, and this week, Montanans took another important step in that direction by demanding that our representatives advocate for clean air and water, our precious and productive family farms and ranches, and our unique quality of life, and we will continue to do so until we are certain that we have secured a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous world for generations to come.
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Read more clean, renewable energy stories here.
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