LETTERS

Global warming is the most imperative health issue facing us

At a time when the mayor of Denver is leading a green development initiative (NPR, ‘Colorado Matters,’ and Saturday, Aug. 12), which includes the planting of thousands of trees, we in the city and county of Montrose are watching as old stands of trees are being bulldozed. We are told that this is progress and private property rights need to be protected.

There have been times in history when the concept of private property rights never superseded the common wealth and common health of the greater community.

The Denver initiative is anticipating the future at a time of global warming, which requires green development, energy conservation, energy efficient affordable housing and mass transit, recycling, and water conservation along with the massive tree plantings to counteract the rapid buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Let us here, in our communities, do something similar appropriate to our area as we are poised to move from being a rural town to a small city, and eventually a large city. The reality of the present climate trends and the growing populations of our future require forethought of how to incorporate wise water, land and energy use into our city and county growth plans.

Global warming is the most imperative health issue of recorded history. As Al Gore says in his recent film “An Inconvenient Truth”, it is a moral imperative we all face. What better time than now to unify our community around the creative planning and problem solving needed to meet this challenge. Our landscapes are changing, not only from development along the river corridor south of Montrose. Take a ride to the high country and see what is happening in our forests as the pine and aspen are dying. Our landscapes and our resources are changing, and we must change how we use our natural resources and how we manage growth, now.

Elizabeth Roscoe

Montrose