Energy and the Environment

For the record: America should use 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020—the same as legislation I sponsored in Colorado.

For the sake of national security, we must change our energy priorities. In Congress I would be a strong supporter of legislation to establish a national renewable energy standard as well as call for stricter fuel efficiency standards. I cosponsored legislation that was signed into law that doubled the renewable energy standard requiring utility company’s of Colorado to get 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020—up from 10 percent. America should adopt the same standards nationally and I would like to serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee if elected to Congress. The 2nd Congressional District should be a leader in renewable energy with institutions like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado providing us with environmental breakthroughs.

My goal is to cut carbon emissions to 80 percent of 2000 levels by the year 2050, a benchmark that the International Panel of Climate Scientists believe we must hit to avoid the inevitability of irreversible global warming. We must reduce our carbon emissions to head off a planetary emergency.

Under my leadership in the Senate, a package of bills was signed into law including the first renewable energy standard—20 percent renewable energy by 2020, a law to build transmission lines for renewable energy development, a bill to expand energy efficiency programs and reformed the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Colorado is a leader in renewable energy, and when in Congress, I'll work tirelessly to make America a leader among nations in renewable energy.

The lack of initiative from the U.S. government on the issue of global warming can be laid directly at the feet of the Bush/Cheney administration. From President Bush’s refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol to the alterations of government scientific reports and studies ordered by political operatives of the White House, this administration has steadfastly refused to recognize global warming and killed most every effort to address it.

Again, Colorado is leading the way in this area. The Colorado General Assembly raised the percentage of renewable/alternative energy that must be supplied by energy companies from 10 percent to 20 percent. Further, recognizing that Colorado is uniquely situated to generate significant energy from wind and solar but in parts of the state that do not have transmission lines, I wrote and passed a bill to help build power transmission lines to these remote wind and solar power sites. The creation of more alternative/renewable power is good economic development that will create new jobs that last over time.

Already power companies are reporting customer demand for “green energy” far outstripping their projections even with customers paying a higher price to obtain it. Up to this time, our nation’s addiction to fossil fuels has served us poorly from both an energy independence viewpoint and a national security viewpoint. For our nation’s security we need to develop a basket of different energy sources so we never become so dependent on one kind of energy source again. This includes a recognition that we need to reorient the power supply grid to accommodate decentralized power sources such as generation from photovoltaics on rooftops of warehouses and other localized power generators.

In the state legislature I carried a bill for “Net Metering”—a special billing agreement between customers and their utility provider that allows customers to return power to the grid. It ensures that customers have a reliable source of energy at all times and simultaneously provides significant benefits to the electric power-generating system, the environment, and the economy.

I also carried the Clean Energy Fund bill to enable new technologies, from small entrepreneurs, to come to market and a demand side management bill to economically encourage consumers to upgrade to energy efficient appliances, thereby delaying the need for new coal fired plants.

Curbing our own demand is one of the best ways to start reducing carbon emission. On a personal note, I buy green energy from my supplier, United Power, and drive a Civic hybrid, which gets 47 miles per gallon.

Protect Piñon Canyon & Southern Colorado: We must protect Piñon Canyon. I have been to Piñon Canyon and seen the beauty and importance of the land. Even though it is clear that we have entered an era when our biggest threat comes from non-traditional warfare, parts of the Pentagon have apparently not gotten the message. The Army’s insistence on nearly quadrupling the size of tank warfare training grounds in the Piñon Canyon area of southeastern Colorado is another example of Defense Department being out of touch with the reality of current warfare and current budget constraints.

The large expanse of canyon grasslands swallow more carbon than rainforests and are a vital environmental asset. I have opposed Piñon Canyon warfare tank expansion from the beginning and shepherded the passage of an anti-expansion resolution by the Colorado General Assembly with near unanimous approval.

Because of my strong environmental record, I was awarded a 100 percent rating by the Colorado Conservation Voters for the last five years.