I read with great disappointment the letter submitted by Mr. Dustin Granger regarding Carbon Capture and Sequestration .

Mr. Granger will have you believe that CCS is a creation of the oil and gas industry, backed by republicans in Washington, DC. What Mr. Granger leaves out of his letter is the fact CCS has had bipartisan support since the early 2000’s, beginning under George W. Bush, continued under Presidents Obama, Trump 1, Biden, and now, Trump 2. The science of CCS has endured through multiple presidential administrations because it is one way to keep America’s manufacturing sector competitive globally. CCS is a bi-partisan push for emission reductions and global competitiveness.

Mr. Granger also fails to mention that in addition to CCS, as an emissions reduction tool, there is also nuclear energy and biofuels that companies are evaluating to meet their emissions reduction goals. All these emissions reduction tools cost money. They have capital costs associated with them, engineering and construction costs, maintenance costs, and labor costs, just to name a few, all of which have a tax associated with them. To say the manufacturing industry pays no taxes is simply not accurate and is a disservice to the hard-working labor force that supports manufacturing in Louisiana and pays taxes.

While the rest of Mr. Granger’s letter does not deserve a dignified response due to its outrageous claims, I will close by saying this: Manufacturing executives, along with a skilled labor force, truck drivers, industrial and commercial construction workers, lab technicians, industry operators, and the like, make up a strong Louisiana labor force. They breathe this air and drink this water, as their families do, and to imply that they do not want to protect the environment is an insult to every one of them.

Desiree Lemoine is an LSU graduate residing in Pointe Coupee and the campaign manager of Industry Makes, a manufacturing industry advocacy group.