In Montana, we know innovation. Our state is home to historic feats of engineering like the Going-to-the-Sun Road and the Fort Peck Dam. These days Montana engineers are hard at work solving new challenges, like harnessing new energy sources and leading the way in high tech industries.
Our history of innovation built Montana. We don’t shy away from the challenges we face. Instead, we work together to innovate and figure out the best way to confront them – the Montana way. Imagine what visiting Glacier National Park would be like today if highway engineers had said, “there’s no way we can build a road up that mountain.”
Today’s challenges are no different. And we cannot ignore one of the biggest challenges we all face: how climate change may soon affect Montana’s agriculture and the countless businesses and industries that rely on our lucrative outdoor heritage.
So how do we address it? The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new limits on coal pollution. In Montana we like to say that one size does not fit all, and thank goodness in this case, as the EPA is giving Montana flexibility to build its own road up the mountain.
Gov. Steve Bullock met the challenge by identifying several different ways to meet those new standards and invest in new jobs and technology – all while protecting existing coal jobs. Like so many Montanans before us, the governor showed us that we don’t have to back away from our most pressing challenges.
Montanans gave quick feedback to the governor’s vision, and he impressed many of us by providing a uniquely Montanan path forward.
Under the scenarios Bullock outlined, Montana can make homes and businesses more energy efficient. We can protect our clean air and water. And we can create jobs and improve economic opportunity. We can achieve all of these things without shutting down a single coal facility. We can save consumers money.
That’s innovation.
When Bullock announced his plans, he said he’s “less interested in rhetorical fights” and instead focused instead on knowing what the proposed EPA rule could mean for Montana. That too is the Montana way. On this particular issue, let’s set aside our partisan differences and focus on what’s right for Montana. Let’s continue to innovate. Let’s put our creativity to work for the future.
I encourage all Montanans to take a look at the governor’s scenarios for meeting the EPA’s proposed standards. The standards can be found at governor’s website.
Niles Hushka is CEO of KLJ, one of the largest, regional multi-disciplinary engineering and planning firms. He also sits on the Board of the Montana Chamber of Commerce.