More than a dozen environmentalists rallied in downtown Fort Collins today. At issue was Republican 4th Congressional District Congressman Cory Gardner’s support of legislation that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
The protesters delivered a letter to Congressman Gardner, questioning his support for a bill that would have taken away the EPA’s ability to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Gary Wockner is Colorado program director for Clean Water Action, which helped organize Friday’s event.
“Representative Gardner’s statements [are] extreme, and they’re attacking the EPA, but they have no basis in factual reality,” he says.
Wockner points to a University of Massachusetts report that he says demonstrates new EPA air pollution rules would help create 1.4 million jobs.
But Rachel Boxer, a spokesperson for Gardner, disagrees.
“[Gardner] believes that the EPA has overstepped with its efforts to regulate those emissions in a way that is harmful to jobs and the economy.”
The Energy Tax Prevention Act that Gardner supported passed the House, but failed in the Senate.
In addition to the Fort Collins event, groups also gathered outside Rep. Gardner’s Greeley office.
