Our nation is back in the business of producing our own energy! Renewables are great, when they make economic sense, but our policy needs to be “all of the above.” With recent drilling technologies and new discoveries of oil and gas reserves, we are launching an economic recovery of historic proportions. We must strengthen our national resolve to develop our energy resources for decades to come.

The state treasurer, as a state-wide elected official needs to be an advocate for real-world energy solutions that will put our state and nation in first place for energy production.

I designed and built my own home to run on wind and solar, without any government subsidies or tax credits. It is a free market exercise in renewable energy.

The building is passive solar, with most windows on the south wall. The house is bermed into the earth to stabilize the temperature in both the winter and summer. Most of the electrical power is produced by our solar panels. A wind generator helps supplement our energy needs when storms blow through.

We have learned what works, and what does not work well when relying exclusively on renewable energy. Without heavy government subsidies, it is not cost effective to run a home on wind and solar. This applies to our nation’s energy needs as well.

Free-market strategies are the most responsible way to drive down energy costs with viable, long-term solutions. Mandates and subsidies make about as much sense as the Nixon-era gas price controls. As soon as the artificial controls are removed, the market adjusts with a crash, fixing nothing and destroying much.

Knowing that consumer choice trumps government coercion, in 2008 I introduced the bill that repealed the prohibition of deep discounts (ten cents to $1 per gallon, and more) on gas sold at the pump here in Colorado. Retailers now have the freedom to choose how they want to market their products, instead of the heavy price controls that were a part of Colorado’s laws.