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In his first term, Sen. Brandon Shaffer
(District 17) has proven to be an environmental leader for Colorado, earning a 100 percent scorecard rating by Colorado Conservation Voters.
He supported measures that would have increased energy-efficiency standards
for appliances and encouraged utilities to set up natural gas efficiency programs. Both of these measures would help reduce pollution and the demand for coal, oil and natural gas.
“At a time when natural gas prices are skyrocketing and coal prices increasing,
we need to be looking for ways to reduce our demand for fossil fuels,” said Sen. Shaffer. “I voted for energy efficiency measures because it is the quickest way to do that, and it saves money for consumers.”
Sen. Shaffer also supported our efforts to curb sprawl and a highway known as the “Super Slab,” which would have cut through much of the eastern plains and the homes of many Coloradans.
Sen. Shaffer said, “We should be taking
a more sensible approach to urban sprawl. Instead of letting out-of-control projects ruin Colorado’s landscape, we need to find ways to increase smart-growth solutions such as FasTracks.”
Passed by Denver-metro area voters in 2004, FasTracks increased light rail and bus services.
Sen. Shaffer became involved in Colorado
politics in 2000 and 2002 as the Get Out The Vote coordinator for Boulder County.
He was elected in 2004 to his first term, and his first-ever elected office, for state senate district 17 (Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, & Erie).
During his campaign, Sen. Shaffer was a strong supporter of two initiatives that Environment Colorado helped pass, FasTracks and Amendment 37.
Amendment 37, the clean energy initiative,
set a 10 percent standard for renewable energy such as wind, solar and biomass power.
“Renewables not only produce cleaner and sometimes cheaper energy, but they also provide opportunities for rural economic development,” said Sen. Shaffer.
In the 2006 legislative session, Sen. Shaffer is looking to expand Colorado’s
investment of renewable energy and rural Colorado through biofuels such as biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol.
“Colorado should be creating the infrastructure for biofuels now,” said Sen. Shaffer. “Technology for renewable
fuels is constantly improving and will pave the way toward energy independence.
”The Environmental Protection Agency reports that E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) produces
less ozone-forming volatile compounds,
less carbon-monoxide and less greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the Department of Energy,
biofuels are already cost-competitive
with regular diesel and gasoline.
Large-scale biodiesel projects can produce
fuel at $1.50 per gallon and corn ethanol can sell between $1.20 and $1.50 per gallon.
(* Note: 2001 numbers from www.eere.energy.gov). |
