From an e-mail sent out by Mark Udall:
I have some great news to share and a request to make for your help. I just passed through the House of Representatives with broad Democratic and Republican support, a package of common-sense proposals to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and to increase our usage of clean, renewable energy.
For the first time ever, national energy policy will require all electric utilities to acquire 15% of their power from wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources by the year 2020. I sponsored or cosponsored important provisions in the energy bill that will provide funding for climate change research, surface owner protection, funding for research into carbon capture and storage, and protection of the Roan Plateau.
But the fight's only begun, and I need your help right away.
The bill still needs to pass the U.S. Senate and be signed by President Bush. But not everyone supports this important bill, and some in the oil and gas industry are organizing to prevent passage. According to theRocky Mountain News, "a newly formed nonprofit in Denver, Americans for American Energy, has raised tens of thousands of dollars to launch a campaign in the coming weeks to push for drilling on the Roan."
What the News did not report is that this organization is not new, and they have raised a lot more money than that. Though it is based in Golden, this advocacy group for the oil and gas lobby has been around since 2005, has raised millions of dollars, and has run TV ads in several states promoting drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This group has now pledged to pull out all the stops in order force Western Slope communities to give up on protections they have sought for the top of the Roan Plateau.
You can show your support for John Salazar's and my efforts to protect the Roan and passage of needed legislation to secure America's energy future today by signing this petition and sending it around to your friends. I'll share the results with my colleagues in the Congress to show that we have broad support for protecting the Roan.
www.markudall.com/SaveTheRoan
Lets show the oil and gas lobby what the grass roots really looks like. While they prepare to spend "tens of thousands" as documented by the Rocky (or millions of corporate dollars if history repeats itself), we prepare to fight for what's right our way--the Colorado way. Sportsmen, anglers, conservationists, the Garfield County Commissioners, and the town councils of Silt, Rifle, New Castle, Carbondale, Parachute, and Glenwood Springs have voiced their support. These are fellow Coloradans trying to protect the West Slope. Sign the petition. Pass it on. Time is short, as this bill will be voted on in the Senate when Congress reconvenes in two weeks, and then it's on to President Bush's desk.
www.markudall.com/SaveTheRoan
Over the next few weeks, I'd like to tell you the story behind my twelve-year fight for energy independence that also protects our natural resources and the air that we breath. But this issue is pressing, and I really need your help today. Please--sign the petition and spread this far and wide.
Warm Regards,
Congressman Mark Udall