The 2007 Clean Energy Act will benefit Colorado’s Environment

By U.S. Rep. John Salazar

The new Democratic leadership in the U.S. House has opened the door of opportunity for our nation by passing the Clean Energy Act of 2007.  This bill, if passed in the Senate and signed by the president, will help Colorado lead the country in alternative fuel creation that will also benefit our natural environment on which our economy and quality of life depend.

Colorado is known for its majestic mountains, clear lakes, and blue skies. Our picturesque scenery is the reason so many people come from across the nation to fish in our streams, ski our slopes, and breathe in our clean, crisp air. 

To continue to protect our state and its beauty, we have to do more to redirect our energy to alternative fuels.  By implementing a renewable energy agenda, we can be responsible stewards of our environment. 

The Clean Energy Act would help us accomplish this goal. It can help break our oil addiction by taking money that would have otherwise gone to oil companies and redirecting it to a renewable energy fund to develop clean, safe energy that reduces harmful global warming pollution. 

Specifically, this legislation would extend energy efficiency tax incentives and renewable energy production tax credits.  It would increase tax credits on efficiency vehicles and require Congress to invest in our scientists and facilities like Colorado’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to ensure that we use every resource we have to solve our energy problems. 

Rising gas prices and calls to achieve energy independence have forced our country to shift its attention to increasing alternative fuels.  As we transition from using fossil fuel to renewable energy, it’s important to use and encourage technologies that minimize damage to our land during the extraction of fossil fuels.  More importantly, we have to be responsible and protect Colorado’s treasured landscapes, such as the Roan Plateau. 

We cannot afford to ruin the land we retreat to for recreation, to dirty the air we breathe, or to jeopardize our water quality and supply.  We have to move in a new direction.  Every year, fossil fuel burning power plants use 20 billion gallons of Colorado’s limited water resource.  These power plants create harmful pollutants that clog our air with carbon monoxide and smog and mix with precipitation. The result is acid rain. 

Our state is too clean and beautiful to risk irreversibly damaging its landscape and polluting its air. By supporting and passing the Clean Energy Act, Congress can start to pave the path towards a clean energy future for every state in our nation.  If and when this act becomes law, Colorado will better protect its environment while leading the nation in renewable energy creation.