We’re at a critical decision-making point in Montana. It’s certain our coal-fired electricity generators at Colstrip are going down, and it’s time Montanans start talking about what kind of energy takes their place.
Here’s an article about Avista Energy. The utility is being bought by a Canadian company, and guess what? It looks likely the Canadians are going to insist that Avista divest its share of dirty energy at Colstrip:
At the same time, The Billings Gazette reports that Montana just received a very important federal grant for retraining Colstrip workers:
Things are changing fast. So the question is, are Montanans going to insist on clean energy as the replacement? 350 Montana is doing a petition drive this summer to educate Montanans about the upcoming choice and put pressure on decision-makers to make sure the choice is renewable energy from wind and solar.
That’s where you come in.
I know its summer but — if you’re going to be around on an upcoming weekend — please consider working with 350 Montana at the Missoula farmer’s market. We’re asking folks to sign two petitions. The first is a request to the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) to make NorthWestern Energy develop more clean energy. The second is a request to Governor Bullock to join other governors who have signed onto the Paris Climate Accord.
If you’ve never done petitioning before, that’s okay. When I do it, I really enjoy it because of the conversations with really nice folks interested in the issues. It’s not an “eat this it’s good for you” approach. I ask folks if they want to encourage renewable energy in Montana. Most say, “Yes!” And then I explain the situation: Colstrip’s going down, we need to plan for our future, and we want renewables.
We have openings on the following Saturdays:
August 5 –
August 12 –
August 19 –
August 26 –
September 2 –
September 9 –
September 16 –
September 23 –
If you’re available, please reply to Dave Harmon at ecollama@msn.com
We hope you can help us out.
Jeff Smith, co-chair, 350 Montana