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Letter: Development doesn’t pave the way

In response to “Carbondale creativity?” the guest column by Ed Cortez in Wednesday’s Aspen Times:

Unlike Ed, I do not believe development paves the way to economic prosperity. There is a reason the marketplace project was defeated twice by the majority of the Carbondale community. We don’t want our community to become another Montrose or Anytown USA. The proposed carbon tax, Thompson Divide and the remaining agricultural community are intrinsically connected. Not so long ago, Town Hall was filled to the rafters with people opposed to drilling in the Thompson Divide. The example that we as a community set to the energy industry, the Western Slope and the rest of the country is that Carbondale is looking for energy alternatives.

We must be willing as a community to put our money where our mouth is. We oppose drilling on Thompson Divide. Now we must be willing to fund programs that find alternatives to natural gas and that will help us make more efficient use of the energy sources we already have.



As the “average wage-earner” that I am, I will definitely feel the impact of the proposed carbon tax. But I see the need to fund energy-efficiency programs, not just for myself, but for generations that follow.

Which would you rather? Sacrifice our clean air and clean water or make a monetary sacrifice?




I’m voting “yes” on 2A. I think this is a much more creative approach to long-term prosperity in our community.

By the way, last I heard the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus system is taxpayer-supported. The “historic” wage and benefit increases you negotiated come out of my wallet every time I make a purchase.

Greg Fitzpatrick

Carbondale