http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/group_rss/SmartEnergy We have to be smarter about our supplying our energy needs. By building up sustainable sources of energy we can create much-needed jobs in our communities, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and we can enhance our national security by decreasing our reliance on foreign oil. And we won't have smarter energy policy unless we demand it. Now. Click here to join this group. Check out the energy policy section in the ProgressNow.org online clearinghouse. Being the complete and utter nerd that I am, I would be remiss if I didn't post this. Some fellow nerds at Harvard University have a new project going that is way too cool. It's a piece of software that runs on your computer during idle time to process computer models of different materials in order to discover new and more efficient designs for solar cells. It runs using the same distributed computing scheme as the long-lived SETI@Home project, which uses your computer's extra cycles to find little green men. Only our friends at Harvard are looking for ways to make a big green planet. Download it and use a few of your electrons to help get us off of fossil fuels ! http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CQDr http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CQDr/commentary#comments Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:37:41 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CQDr Michael Ditto http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/f660dc8ce688a8bfdc_5fmmv2i99.jpg Michael Ditto 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDr/ Colorado Public Utilities Commission 1560 Broadway, Suite 250 Denver, CO 80202 Ref.: Xcel proposed rate increase December 5, 2008 Dear Sirs, I am writing you to object the rate increase that Xcel is proposing for the electric power service. I hope this letter makes it on time because the Xcel notification of their proposed rate increase just came in the mail a couple of days ago and this is also unacceptable short notice. This company has recently raised the rates already by quite a bit, they still claim is not enough and I find this very hard to believe. Also, last summer they produced unjustified blackouts California style, for tricking the people into believing that there is a reason for their unjustified rate increase. The excuse that the population grows and so does the demand is not a good excuse because although such demand does increase then their income does in proportion and even if there are capital improvements needed that is no different from what it has been all along. If Xcel does not want to look at the future and invest its own money in maintaining and expanding the electric grid, then the State should do it but it should keep ownership and only LEASE the grid to the utilities company(ies) that are willing to use it. The only justification for a rate increase would be if inflation in their unit cost occurs and in the current recession it is rather the other way and their costs are effectively deflated. As it is, they do not have any inflated costs but instead they are the ones PRODUCING the inflated prices while we suffer reduction on our income or at best freeze. I find that the State of Colorado needs indeed to get rid of Xcel altogether and go back to a decentralized and competitive system where smaller and local companies are allowed to produce and distribute electric power locally and statewide through the State grid that should be owned by the State. The cost of grid maintenance has to be shared and administered under very tight control from the State to assure it is fair and we never fall again on the current situation where Xcel monopoly puts us under their boot. The system should be what it was before the monopolies took over, taking advantage of a lenient government that gave in to the lobiest pressures to stop encouraging competition and fairness. Our government should work for us and not against us like it is doing now. If the democrats government does not go for the people than the republicans will get back the power because the people will get cynical and will withdraw participation in governemnt issues. This happened in the past and could happen again if we don't watch it. Of course we are trying to cut back on the unnecessary usage, and use alternative energy, but this is by no means a justification for Xcel to raise the rates to make more profit while delivering less of their product. At least for now, I require from Xcel that they maintain just a reasonable profit and explain where the money goes in full detail. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/juanfontenla/CQDZ http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/juanfontenla/CQDZ/commentary#comments Sat, 06 Dec 2008 10:41:37 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/juanfontenla/CQDZ User from Erie, CO User from Erie, CO 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDZ/ For several years now the evidence of the Alberto Gonzales gang's manipulation of the Federal Civil Service within the Department of Justice has been well publicized. The fact that right-wing political ideologues were being approved for career professional positions based on social issue orthodoxy, rather than competence and qualifications, is yet another blight on the scandalous legacy of the current occupant of the White House. Today's report in the Washington Post reveals that this practice of burrowing right-wing political operatives into the Civil Service is also in-place in the scientific agencies. Perhaps this is the mis-administration's strategy for making permanent the Republican obsession for combating the truth of science with their twisted political and social priorities. The Center for Public Integrity is soon to release their "Broken Government" study. The fund-raising teaser release promises 120 specific cases. This kind of investigative effort to hold the Bushies accountable as the mis-administration fades into oblivion is crucial.  Revealing and acting on the depth and breadth of this conspiracy is vital to the success of any reforms and corrects to the offenses of the past eight years. The Obama-Biden Administration will be stretched and tested to uncover and flush-out these right-wing activists who have burrowed their way into the Civil Service like so many termites. The evidence of these infestations must be met with quick action. Executive appointees selected for positions above these people must be prepared to take every possible action within the laws and regulations of the Civil Service structure to either get them dismissed, or make it too hard for them to stay and accomplish their nefarious goals. Attention to the selection of the Administrator of the Office of Personnel Management will be a key to success in this area. Various Executive agency inspectors general must be supported in investigating these political opportunists. IF they are found to be substantially unqualified for the job description that they were hired to fill, then it should be clear grounds for dismissal as an unlawful appointment. The Obama-Biden appointees who are saddled with these burdens must enforce clear, precise and enforceable performance standards. When confronted with qualitative requirements to enforce and perform based upon laws and regulations that these infiltrators are likely to hold ambitions to undermine and avoid, could more easily force them to resign. Even in its demise the minions of the current mis-administration are appearing to be increasingly unwilling to follow the current occupant of the White House and the vice out of Washington. This certainly adds to the challenge and urgency of establishing the new administration's executive leadership. Too many months and too many acting, caretaker, leaders in the executive departments will make it all the harder to untangle the tentacles of the Bush parasites. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQDn http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQDn/commentary#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:53:14 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQDn Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 425 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDn/ Comments by Nelson Bock, of Colorado Interfaith Power and Light, on the need to support green jobs in a renewable energy economy. I am pleased to represent Colorado Interfaith Power and Light, and the IPL movement which now has affiliates in 28 states, and whose mission is to mobilize the religious community to respond to the threat of climate change. I am here to support green jobs in a new energy economy, because it is our conviction that green jobs is not just an economic issue, and not just an environmental issue, but that it is also a profoundly spiritual issue. The earth, our home, is a sacred gift, the care of which we have been entrusted, and on which we live in a web of interdependent relationships. Living with reverence for that gift and those relationships is at the core of spirituality, and also the key to our survival and health as a human family. This is an issue that connects the health of our planet, the health of our people, and the health of our economy, because those things are all intrinsically connected in the larger scheme of things The earth, our home, is in peril because of our excessive dependence on the fossil fuel economy we have built over the last two hundred years. Climate change, accelerated and exacerbated by greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere as a result of human activity, threatens to severely disrupt the ecological balance which has supported human life, and the life of millions of other species with whom we share the earth. At the same time, human health is threatened by the emission of many other pollutants which foul not just the air, but the water and the land on which we likewise depend. And the health of our communities is threatened by economic dislocation and by the environmental destruction of public lands caused by ever more rapacious activities necessitated by the drive to seek and extract the last drops of fossil fuels wherever they may be found. These activities do not just damage landscape and wildlife habitat; they damage our spirits, as they increasingly estrange us from the earth, which we treat not as a living system of which we are a part, but as an inert depository of raw materials and a convenient repository for our waste. Further, these activities estrange us from one another, as exploitation of the earth's resources is based on exploitation of people and communities whose environment is despoiled and whose labor is treated as just another commodity, and who are then left to deal with the economic and environmental fallout when the resources are depleted. What we are learning is that a healthy society--one in which people and communities are healthy and happy and secure-- is dependent on a healthy relationship to our environment. Yes, people need jobs, and that is why we are here today. But a job is not just a job. Work is an expression of the human spirit. The work we do also shapes our spirit, making us more or less healthy as we embody our relationship to the earth through our work. So what kind of jobs are going to give us healthy people, a healthy economy, and healthy communities? The kinds of jobs which preserve a healthy planet. Jobs which discover, create, and utilize renewable sources of energy, jobs which help us to conserve the earth's finite and precious resources. Jobs which are based on sustainable sources of energy and other natural resources. Jobs which create and promote alternative forms of transportation. Jobs which allow communities to be more self-sustaining and less dependent on global supply lines and the exploitation of the labor and resources of people from other parts of the world. Jobs which allow people to express and take pride in the dignity of their labor through a reverent and respectful use of the earth's resources, and which provide families with a living wage. So we want to urge the people of Colorado and the United States to support candidates, initiatives, and policies which move us away from our unhealthy reliance on fossil fuels and towards green jobs in a green economy, for the health of our people, our communities, and our planet. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/nbock6552/CQDS http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/nbock6552/CQDS/commentary#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:24:51 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/nbock6552/CQDS Nelson Bock http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/4b519578d91f18752b_efm6b4e7n.jpg Nelson Bock 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQDS/ Bob Schaffer's out of touch, wrong on critical issues rap-sheet grows by the day. I found this latest charge in Ed Quillen's column in the Sunday Denver Post. Read the whole column online at http://www.denverpost.com/quillen/ci_10799075 or scroll down to the extended post text. The Referendum A test still carries a lot of weight with me.  Once again here's a case where Bob Schaffer sided with big-monied interests and against Colorado farmers, ranchers and communities. Hopefully, he'll be sliding into the dustbin of Colorado political history by 10:00 PM on November 4th.  Being too cozy with the "drill baby, drill" crowd of oilies is bad enough, but working on the wrong side of water policy is unforgiveable. PS - If you get a chance, drop a complimentary email to Ed (his email link at at the end of the Extended Post Text).  It is so hard to find something worthy of praise in the Denver Post these days that we should encourage Ed to continue his good work. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQ8p http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQ8p/commentary#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:59:31 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CQ8p Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CQ8p/ I was just listening to former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder on a radio show. He made a critical and brilliant observation about John McCain. His evaluation of the Sarah Palin selection rests on that decision as an indicator of how McSame would later decide on the people to fill the other leadership positions in a supposed McSame mis-administration. This is a powerful indictment of a candidate for president of the US when the nation so despirately needs a clear change of direction. The specter of Sarah Palin equivalent appointments throughout the US Executive Branch shows no chance of reforming, and certainly not reversing, the criminal excesses of the past seven years. There will be no resolution to the US Attorney firings, and little hope of removing the fraudulently hired radical right-wingers who have been peppered throughout the Department of Justice to undermine, rather than enforce, the law. This demonstrated decision-making pattern by John McCain is a screaming warning to America. No other fact shines so brightly than the selection of Sarah Palin to confirm that McSame is the incarnation of a third, and perhaps more devastating, term for the G.W. Bush policies. Considering everything you find important, think your retired relatives who will be hurt if McCain succeeds and leads America down the path of more for the wealthiest and less for the rest. Victory in the race for the White House is critical, but top to bottom electoral victories on the ballot is equally important for our communities and state. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CZB9 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CZB9/commentary#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:22:03 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/CZB9 Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZB9/ Several email exposes regarding Sarah Palin have landed in my in-box. The most useful is the message from MoveOn.org (go to the extended Post Text). I hope my mother, my wife and my teenage daughter will excuse this one - but, my initial reaction holds that McCain is having a post midlife crisis moment here. Now he gets to spend the rest of the campaign on stage with either a blonde or a brunette former beauty queen; sometimes both. Considering the depth and experience available to him in the rest of the GOP universe I am completely baffled that there can be any other reason for this decision. I am now even more appreciative for the intelligent and practical decision by Barack Obama to grab Joe Biden as his VP running mate. The supposed VP Debate won't be. With this line-up it is clear that candidate Palin will carefuly recite radical right wing talking points fed to her by the McCain handlers. Even if Biden were allowed in the format/rules to challenge her on any issues we'll hear nothing original. Thus there could not be a more distinct choice between the two tickets. Looking at the "rap-sheet" provided by MoveOn, American voters can have no doubts of the radical and destructive policies and positions John McCain is accepting by filling the GOP ticket with Palin. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cq7N http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cq7N/commentary#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:56:44 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cq7N Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq7N/ Report by FOX-31 TV: http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqPf http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqPf/commentary#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:05:26 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqPf Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPf/ If you've been reading your newspaper(s) this week, you've probably read that the righties really thought they had Rep. Mark Udall caught in a "broken promise." They've been crowing about it for two days. Just one problem -- they're full of crap. Udall votes to oppose ending Congressional session It turns out that Rep. Mark Udall kept his promise after all to oppose Congress taking its summer break without first considering a crucial energy bill. Udall, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, took a drubbing this week from his Republican opponent, Bob Schaffer, when he missed the vote on whether to recess. During a debate Monday with Schaffer, Udall vowed to oppose the recess unless energy legislation was considered. The resolution Wednesday called for Congress to adjourn by Thursday, Friday or Saturday of this week and return to Washington Sept. 8. For that resolution to be official, there had to be a final adjournment motion sometime this week. In floor action today, the House voted on the final adjournment motion. Udall joined Republicans in requesting a recorded vote to oppose the motion to adjourn. "I think the House should continue trying to pass legislation to improve our national energy policies," he said. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this , this , or this . Or maybe don't bother--it's all pretty stupid as it turns out. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqPq http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqPq/commentary#comments Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:46:24 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqPq Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqPq/ Our prescient video from a few months ago: Apparently, the answer is "yes." http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyQ http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyQ/commentary#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:05:45 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyQ Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqyQ/ This is looking kind of bad, folks: Feds look at Schaffer oil deal in Kurdistan An oil contract U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer helped negotiate in Iraqi Kurdistan is one of several production deals the U.S. State Department has flagged as problematic for Iraq and its attempts to establish a national oil policy. The oil contract, finalized in November 2007, allows a subsidiary of Schaffer's former employer, Denver-based Aspect Energy, to produce oil on a nearly 104-square-mile plot in the Dohuk Governate in northern Iraq. Schaffer confirmed Wednesday he was one of several Aspect Energy executives who visited Kurdistan in November 2006 and laid the groundwork for the company's oil deal. The Kurdistan Regional Government, which governs the semiautonomous region of Iraq, has moved during the past several years to aggressively develop crude oil resources in northern Iraq. Those efforts run counter to moves to implement a national oil policy. According to a June 23 report from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, Aspect Energy's oil contract and roughly two dozen other similar deals have been a point of contention between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. "The (Kurdistan Regional Government) has negotiated an estimated 25 contracts with foreign oil firms, which the Iraqi federal government claims are illegal," according to the report. Update: The Dead Guvs sum this one up : As we discussed late last week, this is another potentially devastating situation for Schaffer, possibly worse than the Abramoff/Marianas scandal--which polls show has already seriously damaged his election prospects. The finalization of an Iraqi petroleum law is viewed by most experts as critical to the stabilization of Iraq, and the story emerging here is about American oil companies--like Schaffer's--who were more concerned with getting 'a piece of the action' than they were with supporting American foreign policy goals in Iraq. Is there even another former Congressman out there who voted to invade Iraq, then immediately went to work for an oil company pursuing contracts there? We're not aware of any. That's bad enough, but the idea that the contracts he pursued could be prolonging the Iraq war instead of helping end it? If you were trying to imagine something worse than defending sweatshops and forced abortions on American soil ...well, here you are. Horrifying, isn't it? http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyK http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyK/commentary#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:25:13 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqyK Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqyK/ I was listening to yesterday's news about the current occupant of the White House on his farewell tour of Europe. This phrase was used by the reporter in the form of, "The last visit to Europe by President Bush." I realized that this is a very positive development. I'm looking for more "lasts" of anything and everything for the coWH. The case against the mis-administration regarding Iran is particularly damaging. It's clear that since entering office that the coWH has acted against the best interests of the United States on relations and policies towards Iran; the jumbled focus of his European tour sound bite script. Rather than advancing the best interests of the US, the current mis-administration has consistently played to the advantage of Ahmadi-Nejad and the ruling Iranian radicals. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cqm7 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cqm7/commentary#comments Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:16:11 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/ralphtrenary/Cqm7 Ralph T http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/22970b0cb82ab5861b_e6yymv1de.jpg Ralph T 1 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cqm7/ While doing our due diligence looking into claims made in recent independent ads, we discovered something pretty interesting. A few months ago, we took a routine screenshot of Senate candidate Bob Schaffer's biography web page at his former employer's site, Aspect Energy. Here's what it said. Bob Schaffer CHx Capital - Vice President Emeritus Bob Schaffer is Vice President for business development at CHx Capital, LLC where he is involved with a variety of energy, mining and education projects. Additionally, Bob is actively involved in international business development activities for Aspect Energy, including sourcing and development of international oil and gas exploration opportunities for the Company. In 2007, Bob Schaffer provided notice to Aspect and CHx of his intention to run for the United States Senate. Bob Schaffer resigned his position with CHx Capital, LLC / Aspect Energy, LLC effective December 21, 2007. We wish him the best of luck and offer him our congratulations for his contributions to energy and wind development efforts. Sounds about right, doesn't it? I mean he doesn't come right out and say "he led Aspect's delegation to Iraq in search of oil development contracts," but it doesn't seem at first glance like he's hiding anything. Unless you read the bio they replaced it with a few weeks ago: Bob Schaffer CHx Capital - Vice-president Emeritus Bob Schaffer previously acted as Vice-President for business development at CHx Capital, LLC. Bob was involved in a variety of wind power investments, international energy opportunities, and education projects. Bob worked to improve the US Wind Industry. Specifically, he worked to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for small business owners by ensuring that wind-specific tax credits could be utilized indirectly by wind developers classified as small business owners. Bob helped educate Congress about the benefits of wind power including its positive impact on the environment, job creation, and its importance to making the United States less dependent on foreign sources of oil. In 2007, Bob Schaffer provided notice to Aspect and CHx of his intention to run for the United States Senate. Bob Schaffer resigned his position with CHx Capital, LLC / Aspect Energy, LLC effective December 31, 2007. We wish him the best of luck and offer him our congratulations for his contributions to energy and wind development efforts. Amazing how quickly you can go from Aspect Energy's point man for "sourcing and development of international oil and gas exploration opportunities" to helping "educate Congress about the benefits of wind power including its positive impact on the environment, job creation, and its importance to making the United States less dependent on foreign sources of oil," don't you think? Were precautions against whiplash necessary? Actually, all it took was a text editor. All told, a rather dishonest little "greenwashing," as we noted in a press release a few minutes ago: http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqsY http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqsY/commentary#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 12:23:48 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqsY Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqsY/ UPDATE: Here's a link to the Denver Post coverage. Mark Udall has issued a press release responding to the challenge Hillary Clinton has issued on the gas tax holiday: UDALL ANSWERS CLINTON GAS TAX CHALLENGE, STANDS WITH COLORADANS FOR MEANINGFUL ENERGY RELIEF Yesterday in Indiana, Hillary Clinton challenged every member of Congress to go on the record with a position regarding her proposal to temporarily suspend the federal gasoline tax, and state whether they were with her or against her. Senator McCain has offered the same proposal, despite experts from all sides declaring that this plan will not actually lower costs for drivers. Today, Congressman and Senate candidate Mark Udall responded to the challenge: "There is no issue I have spent more time on in my public service career than working for real, responsible change in our energy policy - the kind that breaks our addiction to foreign oil and puts us on a path to greater national security, a stronger economy, and lower energy costs for our families. There is certainly no question that families are hurting with the soaring cost of energy and need relief. "The so-called 'temporary gas tax holiday' that Senators Clinton and McCain propose won't deliver this needed relief. This will not create the economic relief they say it will, because prices will continue to rise until we address the real source of this problem. We do need to provide immediate relief for families hard-hit by spiraling gas prices, and we can do that by demanding the President stop adding to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This will ease the production crunch that is causing these skyrocketing gas prices. "Senator Clinton claimed yesterday that I either stand with her on this proposal or stand with the oil companies. To that I say: I stand with the families of Colorado, who aren't looking for bumper sticker fixes that don't fix anything, but for meaningful change that brings real relief and a new direction for our energy policy. We can't afford more Washington-style pandering while families keep getting squeezed. "It is exactly the kind of short-sighted Washington game that keeps us from getting real results to our energy problem. Experts across the ideological spectrum agree that it will increase the deficit, drain money away from Colorado roads and bridges, and hurt the environment, all without actually making prices lower for drivers." http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/think/Cq9X http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/think/Cq9X/commentary#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 14:38:28 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/think/Cq9X Bobby http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/ee6099c9a5ad8f13ea_6dm6bih04.jpg Bobby 7 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq9X/ Al Gore is my hero: Former vice president Al Gore will launch a three-year, $300 million campaign Wednesday aimed at mobilizing Americans to push for aggressive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, a move that ranks as one of the most ambitious and costly public advocacy campaigns in U.S. history. The Alliance for Climate Protection's "we" campaign will employ online organizing and television advertisements on shows ranging from "American Idol" to "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." It highlights the extent to which Americans' growing awareness of global warming has yet to translate into national policy changes, Gore said in an hour-long phone interview last week. He said the campaign, which Gore is helping to fund, was undertaken in large part because of his fear that U.S. lawmakers are unwilling to curb the human-generated emissions linked to climate change. "This climate crisis is so interwoven with habits and patterns that are so entrenched, the elected officials in both parties are going to be timid about enacting the bold changes that are needed until there is a change in the public's sense of urgency in addressing this crisis," Gore said. "I've tried everything else I know to try. The way to solve this crisis is to change the way the public thinks about it." http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/think/CqdL http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/think/CqdL/commentary#comments Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:03:55 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/think/CqdL Bobby http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/ee6099c9a5ad8f13ea_6dm6bih04.jpg Bobby 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqdL/ Note to astroturf pro-oil demonstrators: if your bosses get "ruled out" of Colorado's vast trove of energy resources because they refuse to develop them responsibly, somebody willing to do so will replace them. And make boatloads of money. That's called the marketplace. Oil and gas rally asks: Please don't rule us out The Colorado Oil and Gas Association held rallies in Greeley, Denver, Trinidad and Grand Junction to protest proposed regulation of the industry that they say is a complete rewrite of the rules that have governed the industry in Colorado. Industry official contend the new rules would choke the industry in Colorado. "If we didn't have oil and gas in Weld County, that would mean that all of our property tax would be about 40 percent higher," he said. "That would not be a fun bill to pay." Deb Frazier, spokeswoman Communications Director for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, which includes the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said the new rules won't destroy the industry in the state. "We believe that the energy industry will continue to thrive," she said. "We believe that it can continue to thrive and protect our water shale and our environment." She also said the new rules are not a one size-fits-all solution and may not change that much in Weld. Two simple points: 1. The idea that better protection for the environment and property owners is really going to "drive the energy industry out" of one of the most important reserves in the country is ridiculous. This is about a couple of extra percentage points on an energy company's bottom line versus irreplaceable land, water, and livelihoods. It should be an easy choice, and if the current leaseholders decide they can't drill without protecting the land around their site, they don't deserve to drill. Go ahead and get "ruled out" in that case, let those willing to follow the rules do it. But there's no real worry about that, since 2. The push for better regulation of oil and gas drilling in Colorado isn't happening in a vacuum: Frazier said the state hasn't updated the rules since 1996 when there were only 1,000 requests for new drilling permits. Last year there were 6,300... Really sounds like an industry on its last legs, doesn't it? They're not going anywhere. They'll be here playing by the rules even if they'd rather not have any rules. They need the resource every bit as much as we need them to extract it responsibly. The energy industry is free to go on organizing fake protests, free to mislead their employees into believing that sensible environmental protections at drilling sites will cost them their jobs. Just like I tell my seven year old, they'll have to clean up either way, and throwing a staged tantrum won't convince anybody. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqdB http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqdB/commentary#comments Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:27:31 MDT http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/CqdB Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 563 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqdB/ As legislators gear up to tackle large fiscal shortfalls in Colorado this spring the same question keeps coming up each time….how are we going to pay for this? Tomorrow as the Colorado General Assembly begins it’s 2008 session they will start  dealing with how to prioritize improvements in health care , transportation , and both secondary and higher education .  Also on their plate are topics such as Colorado’s response to global warming, agriculture issues , immigration reform , and fixing the state constitution. Meanwhile, Governor Ritter is entering his second year of office.  While widely popular coming out of his firs year, many of the of the blue ribbon panels he set up to report on issues like education, transportation, and health care are starting to report back.  The verdict: we need money – to the tune of $3 billion more a year. So it appears the honeymoon for the Governor may be over and the real work is about start because laying in the path to these reforms are the morass of constitutional provisions limiting state spending, a hesitant state electorate when it comes to tax increases, and a host of pundits who like to remind of us of both. GOOD LUCK! http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqFl http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqFl/commentary#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2008 08:32:38 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqFl KJ Meyer KJ Meyer 2 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqFl/ Like most people, when it comes to issues I know very little about, I tend to make decisions roughly 65% of the time with my gut. So when I first heard of a process that turned coal (the most polluting of fossil fuels) into a liquid fuel, my gut reaction was that this was probably not a good idea. To be honest, the other 35% of my thinking controlled by my brain thought is was even worse. The process of turning coal into liquid fuel requires heating coal to high temperature and pressure, converting it first to a gas and then to liquid fuel. Thus the massive inputs of energy needed for this process means that liquid coal currently produces double the greenhouse gas emissions of regular gasoline. But I held off strong criticism when I heard things like what the Denver Post wrote yesterday about a company called Rentech that is constructing a $50 million demonstration plant in Commerce City that will, among other things; display the coal to liquid process. Rentech proposes to remove carbon dioxide from the coal during the conversion process and sell it to be pumped underground for enhanced oil recovery. That sure sounded good. But my gut wasn't fully convinced. So I did a little more research. It turns out that this very issue was deliberated last summer during the Senate's Energy Bill debate. In testimony to a Senate Finance subcommittee in April liquid coal industry representative John Diesch stated; It runs cleaner than conventional fuels from petroleum, producing slightly less greenhouse emissions than conventional diesel when used in the same engines,…When compared to similar vehicles with gasoline internal combustion engines, there is about a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Thus Montana Senator John Tester (a liquid coal backer) tried to nullify environmental concerns when he stipulated in his liquid coal amendment that any project receiving "taxpayer support produce at least 20 percent less global warming pollution than gasoline over the lifetime of the product, and initially capture at least 85 percent of the carbon dioxide". So, when : (f)aced with the possibility that they might actually have to live up to their promises, the Coal to Liquids Coalition (an unholy alliance between the coal industry and some elements of the AFL-CIO) suddenly changed its tune. In an about-face, the members opposed Tester's amendment, despite the subsidies windfall it promised. Rather than touting their ability to make liquid coal clean as they had in their Senate testimony, industry officials now said it would be unfair to require them to live up to the environmental standards they themselves had promoted. Billionaire Richard Branson once stated that "I rely far more on gut instinct than researching huge amounts of statistics". When it comes to liquefying coal for automobiles I think my gut may be on to something. http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqKH http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqKH/commentary#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:39:10 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqKH KJ Meyer KJ Meyer 130 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqKH/ This week we sent out a letter asking Progress Now members to urge Governor Ritter to support protection of the Roan Plateau as he plans to release his 120 day review to the Bureau of Land Management.  Over 500 members responded by signing the open letter.  You can read the letter here We also have a sampling of just some of the comments that members left.   Douglas Schnitzspahn - Please consider the long-term effects of short-term thinking. The amount of natural gas that can be recovered form the Roan Plateau can never make up for the fragile, wild character of the place I want to be able to tell my children that you helped save this place for them and their children. Jane Shellenberger - I've seen photos of the drilling platforms already in the Roan Plateau area and know that many, many more are planned.  This would be an irreplaceable long-term loss for our state, and I don't believe the short term energy gain warrants it, especially since conservation measures are still not a priority. In addition to the wildlife, there are many native plant species that will suffer if drilling goes ahead as planned. It is extremely difficult if not impossible to restore native plant species once their habitat is disturbed and it is these species that the wildlife depends on. Nancy Zeilig - I'm so glad you're Colorado's governor. It's great to have a governor we can trust to act out of integrity. Les Gray - The Roan Plateau is a jewel.  Only a small percentage of existing leased land has been developed.  We don't need the Roan now and future drilling techniques may do less damage.  Mr. Bush has already handsomely rewarded his patrons; don't let them get the Roan, too.   http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqKC http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqKC/commentary#comments Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:43:09 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/americansforamericanenergy/CqKC KJ Meyer KJ Meyer 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/CqKC/ Colorado's own ex-US Interior Secretary Gale "James Watt in a skirt" Norton had this friend, Italia Federici... Well, you know, more than a friend, more like her former campaign principal, executive director of the bogus rightie "environmental" group Norton founded called the Council of Republicans for Environmental Adovcacy ( CREA --amusing link here). And when Gale Norton went to DC, so did Federici, and CREA--where the big game was waiting. It's a shame to report that the whole experience in the majors didn't work out very well, for our poor naive fellow Coloradan Federici, her fast friend Jack Abramoff, and perhaps Norton personally before the whole business is worked out (for shame) criminally speaking. The Denver Post will report tomorrow, Go-between in Abramoff scandal sentenced A one-time Colorado political activist who arranged lobbyist Jack Abramoff's entree into the Interior Department was sentenced today to two months in a halfway house and four years' probation. Italia Federici, who pleaded guilty in June to tax evasion and obstructing a Senate investigation, was spared prison only because she has become a key witness in the Justice Department's ongoing corruption investigation. Federici, who was a fundraiser for former Interior Secretary Gayle Norton's 1996 campaign for Senate in Colorado, has admitted acting as a link between Abramoff and J. Steven Griles, the former deputy Interior Department secretary who for five years was her boyfriend. Griles provided Abramoff with advice and internal agency information, sometimes directly and sometimes through Federici. Griles, the highest-ranking Bush administration official charged in the Abramoff scandal, is serving 10 months in prison. Abramoff is serving prison time for an unrelated fraudulent casino deal. His sentencing in the Capitol Hill influence-peddling case has repeatedly been delayed so he can keep helping prosecutors. Federal prosecutors, who recommended that Federici be placed under house arrest, have not said whom Federici is cooperating against. People close to the case have said Federici may be able to provide information about Norton... Which put a pretty fine point on what I was talking about exactly two years ago today: Norton helped found Federici's front group, appears as the star at Abramoff-arranged dinners with Indian tribal leaders, decisions magically go Abramoff's clients' way... I don't know anybody who thinks she should just skate away with any culpability she may have or may not have in the Abramoff corruption ring, any more than Scooter Libby did for lying to federal investigators about Valerie Plame. Maybe all it will ultimately result in is an Iran-Contra scandal worth of pardons, and maybe nobody even cares abou Gale Norton anywmore now that she's stepped through the revolving door into Shell Oil's legal offices, but this is the kind of thing people need to be held accountable for even after they parachute out of public office in disgrace--right? http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/Cq2m http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/Cq2m/commentary#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:59:36 MST http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/Cq2m Alan Franklin http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/profile_picture/1b6fb917dd91e10cc0_ge5omv53a.jpg Alan Franklin 0 http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/comment_rss/Cq2m/