Earth Day is a time when we renew our commitment to our planet. It’s a time when we work together to clean up our parks and open spaces. It’s also the time for remembering the importance of clean air, clean water, and healthy habitats for our fish and wildlife. And it’s a day to think about the Earth’s many resources and how we can use them better for the sake of our children and our children’s children.
Finding better ways of producing and using energy is one of the most pressing challenges for America and the world, because energy production and consumption affects our health, environment, economy, and national security – and indeed, the very future of our planet.
America is too dependent on fossil fuels, to the detriment of our environment, our national security, and our economy. With today’s gas prices higher than just after Katrina, Americans understand we must reduce our dependence on the petroleum that has become fundamental to our way of life. But this is not the insurmountable task that some would have us believe. The technology is already available. The federal government now needs to take the next steps to encourage industry to expand production to make alternative energy technologies widely available and affordable to the general public.
The problem is that the federal government isn’t taking on this challenge. The energy bill signed into law last year serves up a heaping buffet of goodies to oil companies and encourages our addiction to fossil fuels. It reduces payments to taxpayers for drilling on federal lands and shifts the cost of cleaning up groundwater polluted by gasoline additives from manufacturers to taxpayers – an unfunded mandate on our communities.
Putting the comfort of car makers before national security, Congress failed to require more fuel economy, even though that would do more for energy supplies than drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And while subsidizing more oil exploration, it is stingy in its support for renewable energy sources.
Overall, the bill reflects an absolute refusal to think strategically about our national security and a failure to understand the challenges of our post 9/11 world. But while Congress and the president remain stuck in the past, many states are taking the bull by the horns and showing a new way of doing business.
Colorado is charting its own course with Amendment 37, passed in 2004. It requires a certain percentage of Colorado’s energy to come from renewable sources. The former Speaker of the Colorado House Lola Spradley and I joined to campaign for the initiative, and last year she and I met with farmers and community leaders in the state’s eastern plains to discuss how they can tap the region’s abundant wind, solar and biomass resources for energy. They know if they can harvest that renewable energy as well as they harvest wheat and other crops, Colorado can lead the nation in energy independence.
A program that would complement Amendment 37 and that the President should support is the Agriculture Department’s Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements program. Even though it’s been an unqualified success, the Republican leadership in Congress insisted on cutting it in a budget bill. To remedy that, I have introduced legislation to reauthorize and increase funding for this program, which provides grants and loans to farmers, ranchers and rural businesses to help them install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements.
There’s been much progress since the first Earth Day -- but much remains to be done, especially regarding energy. Our national security and economic future depend on cutting energy waste and investing in solar, wind, biofuels, and other clean energy sources – reducing our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and the threat of global warming, creating jobs, and protecting our air and water. We can and must meet our energy needs and achieve long-term energy security without risking our own health and the health of the Earth.