Former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart has joined forces with former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm and others as a board member for Energy Literacy Advocates, a non-partisan energy-education organization working to empower a responsible and sustainable national energy policy.
In keeping with Thomas Jefferson’s dictum that “an informed democracy will act responsibly,” Energy Literacy Advocates (ELA) educates citizens, the media and policy makers about the deepening crisis caused by America’s reliance on vanishing affordable energy resources. ELA uses the media, Internet and other far-reaching educational platforms to provide the latest energy information in easy-to-understand language.
Hart represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 1975-1987 and was a presidential candidate in 1984 and 1988.
During his 12 years in the Senate, he served on the Armed Services Committee, Environment Committee, Budget Committee and Intelligence Oversight Committee. He played a leadership role in major environmental and conservation legislation, military reform initiatives, new initiatives to advance the information revolution and new directions in foreign policy.
“Our national policy of oil dependence is why we are engaged in the second Persian Gulf war in a decade and why we will continue to fight wars in the Middle East for decades to come,” Hart said.
“Were we to become sufficiently independent of Persian Gulf oil, so that our economy could flourish without it, we would liberate our foreign and defense policies, contribute substantially to solving climate change, make our livelihood more secure, liberate resources for education and health, and dramatically increase our sense of genuine security. Not incidentally, we also would save the lives of future generations of our sons and daughters, and thus bequeath greater security for future generations.”
ELA President Chris Atwood said, “For years, Gary Hart has been the most articulate voice in the Rocky Mountain West on the profound damage our national energy policy causes our economy, our environment and our foreign policy. We are honored to have his leadership in our effort to educate citizens about the need for a national energy policy that supports serious levels of energy conservation and a sustainable global energy source portfolio worthy of passing on to our children.”