Our environment is the foundation of everything we do, from the air we breathe to the water we drink, and the land that nourishes us. It’s not just about preserving the beauty of nature; it’s about securing a healthy future for us and generations to come. Climate change, pollution, fossil fuel dependance, and antiquated infrastructure have resulted in real threats to us and placed an unconscionable burden on the future generation. Conversely, environmental sustainability offers numerous benefits for the economy, health, resources, and overall happiness. That is why we need a multifaceted climate action plan that addresses sustainability at every level, addressing a whole myriad of environmental issues facing us at the local and state-wide level.

• Protect our water resources. Colorado is running out of water. We need to implement sustainable water usage and xeriscaping regulations across the city, including eliminating exemptions for historically exempted residential communities. We need to finance upgrades to our irrigation and water storage systems across the state’s agricultural sector.

• Reduce warming with an emphasis on historically marginalized communities. The impacts of global warming are not distributed evenly across race and class. Our tree planting programs have prioritized neighborhoods that already enjoy more green space and cooler temperatures. We need to revise our regulations and prioritize the planting of trees in historically neglected neighborhoods and commercial zones, including on private property.

• Encourage use of public and multi-modal transportation. Nothing will help us reduce fossil fuel reliance and greenhouse gases more than encouraging alternatives to driving. We need to encourage multi-modal transportation. We need to subsidize the price of public transportation with the ultimate goal of making it free. At the same time, we need to stop subsidizing companies who engage in fossil fuel extraction.

• Support green infrastructure in historically overlooked communities. We are seeing a homeowner/renter gap in EV car ownership across the country. We need to ensure that green infrastructure such as EV chargers are placed in non-traditional housing markets like rental apartment buildings. We also need to provide rebates and subsidies for the purchase of used electric vehicles so that they become more affordable.