Note to I.R.E.A.: Get R.E.A.L. !!!

The I.R.E.A. (Intermountain Rural Electric Association) is the 11th largest electric co-op in the United States.

The I.R.E.A. needs to get R.E.A.L. (Renewables Enhance All Life; annie's term).

One would think, with this size of co-op, it would express a fairly progressive philosophy regarding future energy needs. That is, one would think IREA would be looking at all possible and positive means to meet the exploding population in this area, as well as taking climate change and depleting resources into serious consideration. For example, Xcel energy has broken ground on a new solar plant, and has worked to educate consumers regarding conservation and the need for renewable energy. There are hundreds of other examples.

That is what one would expect of a good "corporate citizen".

And we're not talking just about Al Gore here. The vast majority of business, government and other entities have finally come around to the fact that global warming (or climate change) is real, and is an escalating threat, not just to polar bears, but to all life on earth. Groups as divergent as Ford Motor Company (Denver Post 4/24/07), school districts, and churches (Genesis Church in Castle Rock, CO Denver Post 6/29/07) have expressed concern and their resolve to decrease their impact on the earth's resources. Most people that I have spoken with have expressed concerns about the environment. Many people have taken their own initiative to do everything they can to reduce their personal impact.

Yet the IREA seems to be moving in the opposite direction! This was so hard for me to understand that I sat through two different presentations by IREA officials before I could grasp the depths to which they would go to push their antiquated agenda. "Press on, regardless!" seems to be their philosophy regarding additional coal plants (Comanche 3 in Pueblo, CO), and it is my belief, amongst many others, that they are truly backpedalling into the 20th Century as fast as they can. (Additionally, I attended 4 other presentations: 3 by highly respected scientists, and one by Al Gore. These 4 presentations were very convincing on climate change.)

To this aim, the IREA has paid more than $100,000 to obtain opinions and "scientific facts" that support their philosophy. Many of their sources have been debunked. I know I didn't OK any of my monies to be spent this way; did you? They also seem to take bits and pieces of facts and rearrange them to agree with their head-in-the-sand attitude. At a recent meeting, I got Stan Lewandowski Jr, the General Manager, to admit that they plan to spend even more in an attempt to defeat Colorado Governor Ritter's study recommendation on the environment. I also asked him why the IREA was not focusing on conservation as an important factor in reducing consumption, and his response would have been laughable if it was not so sad. I asked about renewables, and he said, "Well, people can do that if they want...." (this quote to my best recollection); this seemed to imply that the IREA sure wasn't about to encourage it.

Part of the IREA's campaign seems to be not only to characterize climate change as "hysteria" (IREA Watts & Volts most recent insert in their bill), but also to deliberately foster a climate of fear. It seems to me they want to make everyone, especially older or less-advantaged persons, so afraid of climate change that they will vote against their own best interests. (Can't guarantee dependable energy at a decent price in the future, I guess.)This reminds me of the old adage of what FEAR can mean: False Evidence Appearing Real.

Yet if one pays attention to the news, there is evidence every day that exciting growth is taking place in the renewable energy business. As renewables grow and meet the demand, these businesses will flourish. So will jobs.

There is a volunteer group that anyone can join: www.IREAvoices.org This is a small but growing group of IREA members who feel the IREA is not headed in the right direction and needs to be more accountable and transparent to their members. There is no cost to join, and I encourage everyone to do so. Let's join the volunteers, and together we can all help the I.R.E.A. get R.E.A.L.

Thank you!