Antonia Gonzales

New funding is supporting efforts to help fossil fuel-dependent communities in our region adapt to other forms of energy. One of the projects will focus on the Four Corners region, including the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more. The work is part of an effort led by the nonprofit group Resources for the Future and partner universities. The Four Corners project is backed by about $70,000 and focuses on a Mountain West region long shaped by coal production and power plants and, lately, rising energy costs. Daniel Raimi helps lead the initiative. He says the focus is not simply on replacing fossil fuel jobs. “It doesn’t have to be solar or wind or geothermal or nuclear or anything else. There might be a great opportunity in aerospace, or there might be a great opportunity in some kind of medical sciences, or there might be a great opportunity in tourism.” He says it is about helping tribal communities build new economic paths — on their own terms. President