Editor:
The only way we can restrain the fossil fuel industry is by taking their money. Obviously, that’s all they care about. The industry certainly isn’t concerned about the future of the planet their children will inherit.
That’s why climate activists are proposing the Colorado legislature enact a Climate Superfund Act such as they have in New York and Vermont, and is being proposed in New Jersey. It would be similar to the federal hazardous waste superfund that requires the industries responsible for such messes to pay for the cleanup.
A climate superfund covers the damages caused by wildfires, storms, floods, droughts and other climate catastrophes paid for by those who caused it rather than the insurance companies or the taxpayers. It’d better be a chunk of change. The 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, by itself, caused $2 billion in damages.Â
Sure, the cause of the fire has been determined to be an out-of-control burn pit and a damaged Xcel Energy power line, but the extent wouldn’t have been possible but for the six-month period Boulder County experienced before the fire with no moisture. Winds of 100 mph are fairly common in the foothills. That level of drought isn’t. The fossil fuel industry should pay.
In cahoots with the federal administration, the industry will fight these acts in court. If recent decisions are any indication, the climate cause will do well in the lower courts, but be blocked by the grand high idiots on the U.S. Supreme Court. We urge the Colorado legislature, in honor of climate champion Faith Winter, to give it a try.
Fred Malo Jr.
Carbondale