There are plenty of issues on voters’ minds this fall as they fill out their ballots: the economy, foreign policy and reproductive rights among them.

But where does the environment and climate action fit on the priority list? And what policies do people care about?

A Study at the University of Colorado published in January indicates that less than 5 percent of voters in 2020 listed climate change as the most important issue in the election, but that’s not the whole story.

“I found it that particularly in 2020, how important you thought climate change was was a very strong predictor of who you voted for,” said the lead researcher. Matthew Burgess. “So, for example, something like a quarter of Republicans who thought climate change was very important voted for Joe Biden.”

Burgess is an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming. He said the number of people who care about climate change as a voting issue has increased from 2016 to 2020.

“The estimates we came up with were on the order of … 1.5 percent of voters that could change with climate change,” he said.

How close recent elections were, that figure could be significant.

More importantly, Burgess said people want politicians to do something.

He said the data shows there are opportunities for action that have bipartisan support. According to the survey, how much two thirds by the support of the Americans INITIATIVE such as renewable energy and prioritizing wind and solar over coal.

“Where do you build wind and solar?” he asked. “You build it in rural areas.”

They present opportunities for action at local level. For example, Pitkin County has approved permitting for a self-feeding solar array The energy of the Holy Cross grille.

Peter Davidoff, an economist who lives in Carbondale, sees even more opportunity for climate action in the valley through policies that allow more solar development. He said there’s a lot of farmland you can’t build on but would lend itself to solar farms.

“And we can pump things into the grid probably at a more efficient level than trying to put panels on every roof,” he said.

Kristi Wray, a library specialist who lives in Rifle, recognizes the importance of natural resources to Garfield County’s economy, including oil and gas. But, she wants more diversity in the county’s energy production.

“Because we have wind, we have sun, we have water, we have oil and we have gas,” she said. “For example, we can come up with a plan to use them all more responsibly.”

Davidoff said moving away from fossil fuels requires a concerted effort by oil and gas companies and communities to see the economic benefits.

“We need programs to take those workers immediately and move them to other occupations,” he said. “So there’s an incentive for them to give up some of the work.”

But Wray acknowledged that accomplishing all of these things can be very difficult in a polarized political environment.

“And I think it’s going to require more ‘ands’ instead of ‘ors,'” she said.

Burgess said that despite the polarization, climate action can present opportunities for compromise and consensus, particularly when it comes to spending federal dollars on climate action, such as Inflation Reduction Act.

“If we don’t increase the rate at which we approve power lines and other types of permits, then the IRA money is going to be wasted or not going where it needs to go fast enough,” he said. “And that’s actually an area where I think there’s a lot of opportunity for bipartisan cooperation.”

And, Burgess continued, disadvantaged communities could benefit.

“There is … amazing potential for the energy transition to address some of the issues of rural alienation and inequality by bringing manufacturing jobs and other types of good jobs and industries to rural areas,” he said.

In communities like Roaring Fork and the Colorado River valleys, it’s not just about livelihoods and economics, but something tangible that we see in our backyards.

And Kristi Wray said it’s what makes us unique — and vulnerable to a changing climate.

“Like, we can see,” she said. “We know when the ski slopes have to open late or close early. We know when the river isn’t flowing enough for people who make rafts and stuff to make their money.”

She says politicians need to look at climate and the economy as connected issues – and that the future of our community is at stake.