Earth Equity News

Open Colorado Senate Seat To Be Fought Largely over Energy. By Michael Riley, Denver Post, June 17, 2008. "[When Colorado Democrat and Senate candidate Mark Udall] talks about the risks of the Bush administration's full-bore approach to drilling in the West, [he] shows a flash of anger. 'We've had an oil-and-gas man for eight years as president; we've had an oil-and-gas man for eight years as vice president. There is no question we've gone too far,' said Udall, who is running for Colorado's open Senate seat. Just up the road, millions of tons of oil shale sit in what's known as the Green River Formation. If new technology works the way supporters believe, it could unleash oil reserves bigger than Saudi Arabia's. Udall's call for a year-long moratorium on rules to lease the shale make Udall's Republican opponent, Bob Schaffer, just as angry... Symbolic of the national energy debate and its impact on Colorado, this is terrain over which much of the Senate race will be fought. Udall's campaign believes the timing couldn't be better for a man who has been talking about renewable energy for more than a decade. Between global warming, rising gas prices and Middle Eastern wars, 'green energy' is the theme of the moment, and Udall is one of its top proponents in Congress." [Check: Environmentalists Target 3 Senate Races. Press Release, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, April 17, 2008.]