Cory Gardner unsurprisingly scores 11% from the League of Conservation Voters

Cory Gardner, brought to you by ShellToday, the League of Conservation Voters released their annual National Environment Scorecard, which "reflects the most anti-environmental session of the U.S. House of Representatives in history." Cory Gardner received a score of 11% from the group. Shockingly this pitiful score is not the lowest in the state, with Rep. Mike Coffman scoring 6% in 2011 and Doug Lamborn scoring a 9% for the year. To come up with its scoring, the LCV rated each House member's votes on 35 pieces of legislation. Though Gardner was not the lowest scorer in the Colorado delegation, it is worth noting that Gardner's signature bill — the Drill in Alaska bill (H.R. 2021) — was one of the rated bills, with the League saying:

H.R. 2021, the so-called Jobs and Energy permit- ting Act of 2011, which would allow oil companies to sidestep critical Clean Air Act protections and avoid common-sense air pollution limits on their offshore drilling operations. The bill would exempt these companies from requirements to apply available pollution control technology to vessels involved in offshore drilling, and waive permit reviews by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board. ... "No" is the pro-environment vote.

Cory Gardner is one of the top anti-environment crusaders in this year's House, sponsoring one of the most harmful bills in a year that saw "200 house votes on the environment and public health". It's too bad that clean air and clean water aren't able to make as many campaign contributions as Gardner's sponsors in the oil industry. Most of these anti-environment bills are the bill Gardner cheer leads in each week's newsletter as job creation bills. Why can't we just call them what they are: hand outs to whoever forks over enough cash to sell out our nation's natural heritage.

The good news is that while the house voted against the environment an unprecedented number of times, both the U.S. Senate and the Obama administration stood firm against the vast majority of these attacks. Indeed, not only did the nation’s bedrock environmental protections emerge largely unscathed from 2011, the Obama administration also made major progress through administrative actions to protect our air and water.

That's a big thank you to the Senate and the President from the environment. And from future generations who might get to breath something other than smog-filled air.