Even before oil prices soared in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, exposing the price volatility of our unstable oil supply, each week seemed to bring news of plans to increase energy production in the Rockies. Home to vast reserves of both traditional fossil fuels and potential renewable energy sources, the Rockies are emerging as a strategic piece in the evolving national energy picture.

The energy resources of the Rockies will continue to be developed, but how they'll be used is still largely an open question. There are different views.

The "Rockies Energy Futures" section of the 2005 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card evaluated the energy policies suggested by the Bush administration, the Western Governors' Association and the Western Resource Advocates, a Boulder-based environmental research group.

All three groups envision an increase in energy development in the Rockies, but each presents a unique approach to realizing our energy future. The Bush administration focuses on fossil fuel and nuclear energy development while nodding to renewable energy and conservation; the Western Governors' Association presents a pragmatic approach to fossil fuel development and renewable energy growth; and the Western Resource Advocates envision a plan of energy conservation, renewable deployment and more efficient fossil fuel use. Each plan expects the Rockies to produce a large amount of additional energy - the differences emerge in the means of production and the legacy that is left behind.


The region holds much of the energy resources of this country. Known reserves of natural gas within Colorado would supply national demand for about two years. By itself, Colorado's coal could meet national demand for nine years, while Montana and Wyoming alone could supply America's coal demand for more than 100 years. Known reserves from the eight-state region could keep the United States, at current levels of demand, supplied with natural gas for eight years and coal for 120 years.

While natural gas and coal are relatively plentiful and essential for generating electricity, oil - the chosen fuel for transportation - is far less abundant domestically and most at risk to supply and price disruptions abroad. The known oil in Colorado would supply national demand for a paltry 11 days. The entire Rockies region has known oil supplies sufficient for 100 days of national use, and these projections are contingent on zero demand growth.

(If the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is your answer to oil independence, don't plan on being independent for more than a year and a half.) Just for comparison, the oil reserves of Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia contain enough known oil to supply the United States for the next 70 years at the current rate of consumption. Growing world petroleum demand, especially in China, challenges the one-fourth share the U.S. currently absorbs.

It's evident that any meaningful degree of U.S. energy independence cannot be achieved while this nation continues to consume oil at the rate of 20 million barrels per day. The 36 million acres the Bush administration has opened to possible energy production in the West will hardly dent our dependence on foreign sources of oil, or alone provide any meaningful solution to long-term energy concerns.

The coal reserves of the West seem vast, but when compared to the renewable energy potential of the region, they begin to look meager. One realistic measure of the wind energy potential of Colorado alone is nearly twice the total electrical generation capacity of the entire Rockies region. Wind resources in the region are capable of producing more than six times the amount of electricity currently generated.

A mix of traditional energy and renewables makes sense. In our own economic and environmental self-interest, Colorado and the Rockies should become the most vocal proponents of incorporating diverse and clean energy resources into the national energy mix.

With unified support and effective leadership, Colorado and our neighboring states could help shape our region's energy future rather than passively accept the impacts and consequences. From generating electricity to create hydrogen, to growing bio-fuel crops, Colorado needs to take the lead in fulfilling what New Mexico's Gov. Bill Richardson sees as the West's promising future.

"Our nation's need for energy security provides a market incentive for the West's indigenous resources, from natural gas to wind to biomass to solar. The American West - where the wind blows and the sun shines - has the potential to be a major part to our energy solution. We could become the nation's energy storehouse, and the economic impacts could be extraordinary."

Can we learn from past booms, which have then led to "busts" of immense harm and prolonged duration? We must have a more active regional voice in how the nation "helps itself" to energy resources and leaves behind challenging social, economic and environmental impacts.

Chase Whitney is a researcher for the 2004-05 State of the Rockies Project. Bryan Hurlbutt is the program coordinator.Visit www.coloradocollege.edu/ stateoftherockies/05ReportCard.html to read the 2005 State of the Rockies Report Card.