Director Elizabeth Ouzts talks to NBC-17 reporters about the New Energy Future campaign.

North Carolina’s dependence on oil, coal and natural gas will pose many challenges in the years to come, ranging from economic vulnerability, to global warming, to threatening North Carolina’s security and public health. And each and every one of these problems is likely to become more critical in the future if we continue our present course of increasing energy use and increasing imports of energy from abroad.

We have the know-how and the resources to move away from our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. We can do so by tapping into clean, renewable, home-grown energy sources, and by building our homes, businesses, and government buildings more efficiently. But we need to start now.

That’s why Environment North Carolina and its national network called on all candidates for Congress to endorse the promise of a New Energy Future last fall. We asked candidates to support policies that would increase clean, renewable energy, reduce our energy consumption, and cut our oil dependence.

Our effort saw big returns. Twenty-one of the winning candidates in 50 of the most closely-watched congressional races signed on to the New Energy Future platform, including newly-elected Congressman Heath Shuler from the mountains and Congressman Brad Miller from Raleigh.

We asked the same of candidates for the General Assembly, and had equally-promising results, across the state and across party lines. Platform-signers included newly-elected officials like Rep. Ty Harrell of Raleigh, along with veterans Sen. Fred Smith and Rep. Joe Hackney.

All this work, made possible by your support, has helped lay the groundwork for moving the state toward a bold new energy future, one that puts our economy, our environment, and our children’s future above the oil industry and other powerful interests.

Elizabeth Ouzts
State Director