Bridging the red-blue divide on climate

Heather Reams, the president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), stepped onto the stage at Breckenridge’s Mountain Towns 2030 summit — a room full of progressives accustomed to negotiating with Republicans on climate policy. She faced an audience from Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado — areas that often depend on Republican-controlled legislatures to achieve local sustainability goals.

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Reams suggested that the instinct of these communities shouldn't be to lecture or shame. It should be to listen and find common ground. “Democrats can’t do it alone,” she said. “Republicans care deeply about their land. They hunt, they fish, they ski. They love the outdoors as much as anyone. So, of course, they care about clean air and water. The question is: How do we talk about it?”

A lifelong Republican, Reams has made it her mission to answer that question. CRES collaborates with GOP lawmakers to promote clean energy, arguing that the conservative case for renewables is grounded in innovation, competitiveness and energy independence — not ideology, according to the Tribune News Service.