I have to respond to Rick Whitbeck’s letter regarding Biden’s comment on how we need to “transition away from the oil industry.”
Mr. Whitbeck is right that oil and gas does account for a huge part of our state’s economy. But oil and gas will not be here forever, and if we continue to rely so much on a declining industry, we will always be scrambling to manage our losses.
We should take this moment to invest more in renewable energy. The world will turn to it eventually — why shouldn’t Alaskans take this opportunity to become leaders in new and growing markets, with job skills that will be highly desirable in the coming years?
We need to think long-term about our state’s economy. We can continue to react to every change in the market, or we can get out in front of this problem.
Zoe Lowery
Anchorage
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