Also, he is clearly opposed to permits for three new coal-fired power plants in Nevada.
As he said in the Democratic National Convention speech last summer, "There are no quick and easy answers here, folks,"
but a new direction is essential for the long-term viability of Nevada and the nation.
Reid
does not look at the world through rose colored glasses. He is willing to face reality. He realizes creating a long-term
energy plan is difficult. He said, "There are honest answers to the problems we face, but they call for hard solutions
and common sacrifices."
In the November 26, 2008, Las Vegas Review-Journal, in a story
by John G. Edwards, it is reported that Senator Reid has written to Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons to urge him to oppose plans
for the state's three new coal-burning plants.
Pointing out that the Environmental Appeals Board
has used carbon dioxide questions as ample reason to reconsider the coal plant in Utah, Reid has said in the letter to Gibbons
that the decision "makes it overwhelmingly clear that the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection cannot move forward
with legal certainty in granting final air quality to any of the proposed coal-fired power plants currently being considered
in Nevada unless such permits consider the extremely high greenhouse gas emissions from those plants."
According to Edwards' R-J article, Reid asked Gibbons to "join me in putting Nevada quickly on a cleaner
(path) toward a renewable energy and efficiency-driven enconomy and safer future."
Rather than
giving different messages to different audiences regarding energy resources, Reid seems to consistently say the "green"
route is not easy, but it is right.
Toward the end of his nationally televised
speech in Denver, Reid said, "It is time to bring our nation back to reality. It is time for an energy policy that recognizes
national security means ending dependence on oil and that the future is about new ideas and change for the better."
In truth, the U.S. is going to be depending on foreign oil for many, many more decades. Petroleum will never be totally eliminated
from our lives.
Still, a state like Nevada, with such an abundance of renewable resources, as
well as so much creative thinking and scientific expertise, can only benefit by establishing its own niche in the realm of
sustainable energy possibilities.
So, he draws a line in the sand. Only environmentally sound, locally
produced energy development should cross the line, Reid seems to be repeatedly saying.
