Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) – CORE Electric Cooperative
Background
The Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA), rebranded in 2021 as CORE Electric Cooperative,1(Press Release). “Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) Rebranding to CORE Electric Cooperative,” PR Newswire, August 30, 2021. Archived October 25, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GyNUD describes itself as the largest electric distribution cooperative in Colorado, serving 150,000 customers and a 5,000-square-mile service territories around Denver.2โCompany Information,โ IREA. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3jgep The IREA is a tax exemptย 501(c)(12) cooperative electric companyย under the IRS definition.3โSection 12. Organizations Exempt Under IRC 501(c)(12),โ IRS.gov. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/u7I3e
As a customer-owned cooperative, IREA / CORE Electric Cooperativeย โoperates on a nonprofit basis; earnings exceeding expenses are invested in the facilities used to provide electric service and are booked as member equity.โ The IREA is governed by a seven-member board of directors, which sets rates and regulations.4โCompany Information,โ IREA. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3jgep
IREA/CORE buys wholesale power under long-term agreements with Xcel Energy and the Western Area Power Administration, as well as energy from Victory Solar, a 12.83-megawatt solar array. IREA also owns a pulverized coal plant in Pueblo, operated by Xcel, whichย provides IREAย 25.3% ownership and output from the plant.5โCompany Information,โ IREA. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3jgep
Stance on Climate Change
2008โ2010
IREA formerly maintained a section of their websiteย titled โThe Global Warming Debateโย where they promoted a range of studies, videos, and views promoted by climate change deniers like John Coleman,ย David Deming,ย Laurence I. Gould, James Inhofe, S. Fred Singer, and numerous others. The page starts with an introduction claiming that the EPA‘s endangerment finding โwill disproportionately affect minorities, senior citizens and the poor.โ6 โThe Global Warming Debate,โ Intermountain Rural Electric Association. Archived October 7, 2010. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/xgVyF
Aย 2008 archive of the IREA homepage showsย they promoted the idea that Earth was entering a cooling cycle. Text below:7โWelcome to the Association!โ Intermountain Rural Electric Association. Archived July 21, 2008. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/cPG8h
โIs Earth Entering Another Cooling Cycle?ย
With all the talk about global warming, itโs surprising to hear about some of the coldest, harshest winter weather ever observed. Now the talk is shifting from ‘global warming’ย to ‘climate change’, with some people believing that even cold weather is caused by humans. ‘Weโre not hearing nearly as much about catastrophic man-made global warming this month.’โ
July 17, 2006
In 2006,ย Stan Lewandowski, General Manager of IREA, sent a letter to members describing a campaign to combat global warming โalarmists.โ In the letter, he outlines how the campaign included a $100,000 donation to climate change denier Patrick Michaels. The letter suggests that climate change is a manufactured issue, and also that a period of global cooling could be on the way. The top portion of theย letter is reproduced below:8IREA Letterย (PDF), July 17, 2006. retrieved from The Public Interest Network. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
Stanley R. Lewandowski, Jr.
General ManagerMost of the electrical power furnished by rural electric cooperatives is produced by coal-fired power plants. That will also be true for the foreseeable future. This then raises a concern about all of the publicity on global warming and costly measures being advocated to control CO2 emissions.
IREA currently purchases 94% of its power from Xcel Energy, of which a significant portion is coal-fired. In addition, we are a 190 MW partner with Xcel in their 750 MW Comanche 3 power plant, which is currently under construction. This plant will allow a considerable shift from gas-fired generation. We project that when Comanche 3 comes online sometime in 2009, we will be able to implement a rate decrease and then freeze rates for a 10 โ 15 year period. A carbon tax or a mandatory market-based greenhouse gas regulatory system would erode most, if not all, of the benefits of coal-fired generation. The negative impacts of a carbon tax or a mandatory cap and trade program would affect almost all G & Tโs and distribution cooperatives.
The CO2 global warming issue has three components as we see it: the science, information dissemination, and politics. Al Gore and others state that the scientific community has reached consensus and the debate is over. That is simply not true. Disputing this contention are climatologists, meteorologists and astrophysicists like Richard Lindzen, William Gray, Fred Singer, Roy Spencer, Patrick Michaels, Robert Balling, and Craig Idso and the 17,000 signatories to Dr. Arthur Robinsonโs Petition Project who said of the Kyoto Accord; โThere is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases is causing, or will in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the earthโs atmosphere and disruption of Earthโs climate.โ In an article that was printed by the Canada Free Press on Monday, June 12, 2006, noted scientists from Canada, Australia, Finland, Sweden and the U.K. took issue with the conclusions reached in the film An Inconvenient Truth. Vladimir Shaidurov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and other atmospheric scientists, noted that the effects of atmosphere water vapor on global temperatures overwhelm the impact of carbon dioxide and other gases released by human activity.
We here at the IREA believe that it is necessary to support the scientific community that is willing to stand up against the alarmists and bring a balance to the discussion. Many scientists have an opinion, but only a minority have any involvement in climatology. We decided to support Dr. Patrick Michaels and his group (New Hope Environmental Services, Inc.). Dr. Michaels has been supported by electric cooperatives in the past and also receives financial support from other sources. He has A.B. and S.M. degrees from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in ecological climatology from the university of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Michaels is the Virginia State Climatologist, Research Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, a Senior Fellow in environmental studies at the CATO Institute, and a Visiting Scientist with the Marshall Institute in Washington, DC. In February of this year, IREA alone contributed $100,000 to Dr. Michaels. In addition, we contacted all of the G & Tโs in the United States and as of the writing of this letter, we have obtained additional contributions and pledges for Dr. Michaels group. We will be following up with the remaining G & Tโs over the next several weeks.
The issue of information dissemination is why I am contacting you. I am enclosing a fact sheet that if you are inclined, you could print copies for your employees and ask them to mail these to friends, relatives and acquaintances. The information could also be used for informing your members, the local media, and local and state elected officials. We plan to contact unions, other social and business groups, as well as industrial corporations served by the investor-owned utilities. We cannot allow the discussion to be monopolized by the alarmists.
There are other groups that are interested in the issue of global warming and the concerns about its costs. Koch Industries is working with other large corporations, including AEP and the Southern Company, on possibly financing a film that would counteract An Inconvenient Truth. Koch has also decided to finance a coalition that very likely will be administered through the National Association of Manufacturers. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has been running two ads in ten states that were financed by General Motors and the Ford Motor Company. CEI has a director on climate change and other employees working on the issue. We have met with. Koch, CEI and Dr. Michaels, and they meet among themselves to periodically discuss their activities.
The last component is the political arena and that is where this issue will be finally resolved. Although our preference would be for the issue to simply go away, that is not going to happen. There are too m any special interest groups involved. Most investor-owned utilities are looking for certainty and will merely pass on the costs of a mandatory program. An army of scientists and researchers are determined to make man-made global warming a threat in order to continue obtaining their funding. Federal spending on climate research has increased from a few hundred million dollars prior to 1990 to $1.7 billion dollars today. Publicity on the issue might resurrect a political career. Legislation concerning major issues like global warming will generate tens of millions of dollars in political contributions. Millions will also be donated to environmental groups. Aaron Wildavsky, Professor of Political Science at Berkeley, stated that โglobal warmingโ is the mother of all environmental scares. His view is worth quoting, โWarming (and warming alone) through its primary antidote of withdrawing carbon from production and consumption is capable of realizing the environmentalistโs dream of an egalitarian society based on rejection of economic growth in favor of a smaller population, eating lower on the food chain, consuming a lot less, and sharing a much lower level of resources much more equally.โ
Although Senators McCain, Lieberman, Jeffords, Bingaman, and Domenici propose a carbon tax or a mandatory market based greenhouse gas regulatory system, there are others in opposition to these proposals. Rep. Barton has questioned data presented by some climatologists and Sen. James Inhofe, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has referred to the threat of a catastrophic climate change as โthe greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.โ
Since there are individuals and groups whose true motivation is to stop growth, develop renewable resources, discontinue the use of fossil fuels, especially coal, the issue will not go away. This is even true if it were positively determined that climate change resulted from normal cycles, and CO2 and human contribution was negligible.
It appears that there are โother agendasโ driving this issue and that the cost of a negligible reduction in temperature would be tremendous. The Kyoto Accord is used for illustrative purposes because it can be used as a benchmark for costs. Some scientists who favor Kyoto also state that it does not go far enough. A paper titled, Global Warming – A Closer Look At The Numbers, by Monte Kiel states โThe Kyoto Protocol calls for mandatory carbon reductions of 30% from developed countries like the U.S. Reducing man-made CO2 emissions this much would have an undetectable effect on climate while having a devastating effect on the U.S. economy. Can you drive your car 30% less? Reduce your water heating 30%? Pay 20 โ 50% more for everything from automobiles to zippers? And that is just a down payment with more sacrifices to come later.โ Tom Wigley, a Senior Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has calculated that compliance with Kyoto โwould have 0.11 โ 0.21ยฐ C (0.20 โ 0.38ยฐF) effect on global average temperatures by 2100.โ For the record, Wigley favors Kyoto, but believes additional measures are required.
The lobbying effort in the political arena will be done by the professionals like NRECA.
We do not want to do anything that would harm our ability to be able to provide the best possible service at the lowest possible cost to our members.
Realizing that this issue is not going to go away, the next best solution in our opinion is for any carbon reduction to be voluntary and let technological advances solve the issue, if it even exists. The least desirable effect would be a carbon tax for mandatory cap and trade program. If this occurs, the following criteria should be used (one that is supported by the Administration and some members of Congress).
1. China and India must be included.
2. All emitters of CO2 must be included in a program (not just power plants).
3. The U.S. economy must not be damaged
A Russian Scientist (Khabibullo Abdusamatov) predicts that a decrease in the sunโs radiation beginning in 2012 will cause global temperatures to decline into the middle of the 21st century. We hope that this actually occurs prior to a tremendous impact on our economy.
Sincerely,
Stanley R. Lewandowski, Jr.
The letter also enclosed a โfact sheetโ that lists the primary causes of global climate change as follows:
1. โCyclical variation in the sun’s energy output.
2. Eccentricities in the earth’s orbit
3. The influence of plate tectonicsโ
Funding
990 Forms
Lobbying
A 2009 article atย The Colorado Independentย notes that the IREA maintained a $500,000 annual bill for lobbyists. One co-op member,ย David Harlan of Divide, questioned the group’s allocation of funds:9David O. Williams. โIREA election spending: โOutrageousโ or โnormal political fightโ?โ The Colorado Independent, April 15, 2009. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nQncv
โIREA spent $500,000 in 2007 to lobby against alternative energies; spent $100,000 in 2006 to purchase the skewed opinions of an industry-paid spokesperson skeptical of climate change warnings; and, spent less than $75,000 to defray energy costs for senior citizens and low income households,โ he said.10David O. Williams. โIREA election spending: โOutrageousโ or โnormal political fightโ?โ The Colorado Independent, April 15, 2009. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nQncv
Harlan also noted that the IREA had sent out a self-promoting mailing from incumbent Gene Sperry, who opposed renewables:11David O. Williams. โIREA election spending: โOutrageousโ or โnormal political fightโ?โ The Colorado Independent, April 15, 2009. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nQncv
โIn February, an IREA– and self-promoting mailing from incumbent Gene Sperry was included with the electric bill,โ Harlan said. โThe IREA board sends to customers similar โpersonalizedโ mailings on a rotating basis. I found it curious that Gene Sperryโs mailing predated by 30 days his campaign for re-election, and I found it outrageous that this mailing may have saved him about $20,000 in campaign fees.โ
Political (527) Contributions
Lobbying details are not required to be included in the IREA‘s 990 tax filings, the following contributions are listed to political organizations:
Organization Name | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | Grand Total |
Colorado Leadership Fund | $2,500 | $2,500 | $7,000 | $7,500 | $5,500 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $45,000 |
Senate Majority Fund | $4,500 | $10,000 | $4,500 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $7,000 | $41,000 | ||
Care Membership Account LLC | $10,000 | $5,000 | $15,000 | ||||||
Colorado Business PAC | $500 | $4,600 | $250 | $5,350 | |||||
Common Sense Values | $2,500 | $2,500 | $5,000 | ||||||
Colorado CItIzens Alliance | $2,500 | $2,500 | |||||||
Coalition for Colorados Future | $1,500 | $1,500 | |||||||
Mining for COs Future Pol Comm LLC | $1,050 | $1,050 | |||||||
Priorities for Colorado | $1,000 | $1,000 | |||||||
Colorado Assoc of Comm & Industry | $550 | $550 | |||||||
Peak Leadership Committee | $500 | $500 | |||||||
Liberty Leadership PAC | $500 | $500 | |||||||
Conservative Leadership PAC | $500 | $500 | |||||||
Colorado Republic Leadership Fund | $500 | $500 | |||||||
Colorado Association for Commerce Industry | $250 | $250 | |||||||
Grand Total | $2,500 | $3,000 | $11,500 | $19,100 | $17,100 | $22,500 | $22,500 | $22,000 | $120,200 |
Key People
The following people have been listed on IERA‘s publicly available 990 forms, website, and annualย reports:
Name | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | Title |
Bruff Shea | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Vice President, Director of District 5 | |
Timothy L White | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | President, Director of District 4 | |
Michael Kempe | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Director of District 1 | ||||
Eugene Sperry | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Secretary-Treasurer, Director of District 3 | ||
James T Anest | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Director of District 7 | |||||||
Robert W Graf | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Director of District 6 | |||||||
James C Dozier | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, Director of District 2 | ||
Patrick Mooney | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | CEO | |||||||
Dede P. Jones | Y | CFO | |||||||||||||
Edwin Jenks Jr | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | DIstr Ops Mgr | ||||||
Konstantinos Lagos | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Facility Fleet and AcquIsItIon Mgr | ||||||
Anne Thomas | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Finance Manager | |||||||
Gerald R Hacker | Y | Y | Y | Y | HR Manager | ||||||||||
Pamela L Feuerstein | Y | Y | Y | Y | Asst General Manager Ops & Eng | ||||||||||
Amanda Lesher | Y | Y | Consumer Srv Mgr | ||||||||||||
Mark Jurgemeyer | Y | Engineering Mgr | |||||||||||||
Rob D Youngquist | Y | InfoTechnology Mgr | |||||||||||||
Walter Jones | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Asst General Manager | |||||||||
Dana Mike Kopp | Y | Y | Corp Affa Irs Mgr | ||||||||||||
Amanda Zimmerman | Y | Y | Y | Y | Cons./Info Svcs Mgr | ||||||||||
William Schroeder Jr | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||||
George R Hier | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Director | ||||||
John E Pope | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Asst General Manager | |||||||||
Michael Rheinberger | Y | Y | Y | Y | System Eng Mgr | ||||||||||
Stanley R Lewandowski Jr | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | General Manager | |||||||
Sidney Hanks | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Vice President | ||||||||
Jeanne M Oakes | Y | Y | Former CFO | ||||||||||||
Richard M Soash | Y | Y | Govt & Bus Liason | ||||||||||||
Richard Stith | Y | Mgr Member Rel | |||||||||||||
Thomas H Phillips Sr | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||||||
Richard A Strain | Y | Y |
Actions
March 2011
Mike Kempe, a board member at IREA, โarguably the only green-minded board member for a rural electric co-opโย was facing โa bitter re-election bid โ one in which he says the co-opโs old guard is fighting hard to unseat him and forever end any meaningful reform at the stateโs largest rural electric co-opโ after he helped to redirect more than $260,000 in spending to conservative think tanks and conributions to climate change skeptics, The Colorado Independent reported.12David O. Williams. โStateโs largest electric co-op sees heated election debate on climate change, renewables,โ The Colorado Independent, March 23, 2011. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL:ย https://archive.is/kfpPl
June 1, 2010
IREA board members voted to oppose the โAmerican Power Actโ at the June meeting of the Board of Directors,ย claiming that climate science was not settled:13โBoard Resolution,โย (PDF), IREA, June 1, 2010. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.
โThe science of climate change is far from resolved, with prominent scientists disagreeing on the extent to which CO2 increases influence climate and especially whether mankind has any meaningful impactย [โฆ]
Decreasing CO2 permits and increasing permit costs would cost trillions of dollars in added energy costs, plus trillions of dollars in added costs for food and other products because of increased energy costs used in producing food products and manufacturing all other products;ย and
Whereas, It is estimated that the legislation would reduce temperatures only 1/15th of a degree Fahrenheit in 2050 and 1/5th of a degree Fahrenheit in 2100โ the board resolution read.
March 2010
The IREA board, excepting Mike Kemp, voted for a resolution on HB 10-1098 which would regulate Rural Electric Associations director elections. The board resolution claimed that the reason for the bill was that โadvocates of high cost solar and wind power and of raising electric rates to force conservation have been unsuccessful in getting their allies elected to the boards of rural electric cooperatives.โ14โBOARD RESOLUTIONโ (PDF), IREA. Document created by Richard W Stith, March 4, 2010. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.
February 13, 2007
Bill Shroeder, representing Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA), testified in opposition to billย HB07-1281 before the House Committee on Transportation & Energy. The bill would implement a new renewable energy standard in Colorado, increasing the standard toย 20% by the year 2020.15โFinal BILL SUMMARY for HB07-1281,โ HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY, February 13, 2007. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4XKFu
Environment Colorado reported that the bill would also be the first to set a renewable energy standard for all rural electric cooperatives, which would be required to getย 10% of their electricity from renewables by 2020.16(Press Release). โ’New Energy Economy’ย one step from Governor’s desk,โ Environment Colorado, March 15, 2007. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/F4mct
Shroeder said that IREA customers favored the opt out provision of Amendment 37 and HB 07-1281 will not allow his customers that option. ย He said IREA should be included in a grandfather clause to keep the opt-out provision in place.17โFinal BILL SUMMARY for HB07-1281,โ HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY, February 13, 2007. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4XKFu
July 17, 2006
In 2006,ย Stan Lewandowski, General Manager of IREA, sent a letter to members describing a campaign to combat global warming โalarmists.โ One recipient of IREA funds would beย climate change denier Patrick Michaels. Desmog reported on the โVampire Memoโโdubbed such because it ressurects an earlier campaign abandoned in the mid 1990s.18Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
Lewandowski notes that, in February of 2006, โIREA alone contributed $100,000 to Dr. Michaels.โ He added,ย โwe contacted all of the G & T’s in the United States and as of the writing of this letter, we have obtained additional contributions and pledges for Dr. Michaels [ibid] group.โ19IREA Letterย (PDF), July 17, 2006. retrieved from The Public Interest Network. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
According to Associated Press, viaย The New York Times,ย another company planned to give $50,000 more to Michaels while a third would contribute in the following year.20The Associated Press. โUtilities Pay Scientist Ally on Warming,โ The New York Times, July 28, 2006. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/5oXxt
โThis is a classic case of industry buying science to back up its anti-environmental agenda,โ said Frank OโDonnell, president of the Washington advocacy group Clean Air Watch.
Lewandowski encouraged recipients to spread the information to the local media, local and state officials, to supplement the IREA‘s efforts. โWe plan to contact unions, other social and business groups, as well as industry corporations served by the investor-owned utilities. We cannot allow the discussion to be monopolized by the alarmists,โ he said.
Lewandowski highlights a coordinated campaign by Koch Industries, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Southern Company, the National Association of Manufacturers, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Michaels, and other key groups to push back against โalarmismโ on climate change:21Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
โThere are other groups that are interested in the issue of global warming and the concerns about its costs. Koch Industries is working with other large corporations, including AEP and the Southern Company, on possibly financing a film that would counteractย An Inconvenient Truth. Koch has also decided to finance a coalition that very likely will be administered through the National Association of Manufacturers. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has been running two ads in ten states that were financed by General Motors and the Ford Motor Company. CEI has a director on climate change and other employees working on the issue. We have met with Koch, CEI and Dr. Michaels, and they meet among themselves periodically to discuss their activities.โ22Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
Lewandowski portrays global warming as a manufactured threat as โAn army of scientists and researchers are determined to make man-made global warming a threat in order to continue obtaining theirย fundingโ and suggests there are special interest โwhose true motivation is to stop growth.โ23Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
In justification for spending member funds, Lewandowski writes:24Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
โWe do not want to do anything that would harm our ability to be able to provide the best possible service at the lowest possible cost to ourย members.
Realizing that this issue is not going to go away, our next best solution in our opinion is for any carbon reduction to be voluntary and let technological advances solve the issue, if it even exists. The least desirable would be a carbon tax or mandatory cap and trade program.โ25Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
Jake Meffley, an Energy Advocate for Environment Colorado, pointed out that many of the so-called โscientistsโ mentioned in the IREA letter may not be qualified to comment on the issue:26(Press Release). โIntermountain Rural Electric Association Gives $100,000 to Global Warming Skeptic,โ Environment Colorado, August 4, 2006. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL:ย https://archive.is/5QRva
โThe real issue here is not global warming, its cause, and our collective responsibility for the generation of greenhouse gases. That is a debate (if there is one) best left for qualified climate scientists. The issue deserving our attention is IREAโs contribution of a huge sum of money last February to such a questionable source with virtually no input from its members,โย Meffley concluded, as quoted by a Environment Colorado press release.27(Press Release). โIntermountain Rural Electric Association Gives $100,000 to Global Warming Skeptic,โ Environment Colorado, August 4, 2006. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL:ย https://archive.is/5QRva
The so-called scientists mentioned by Lewandowski are outlined in this paragraph (links to DeSmog research on each individual added):
โDisputing alarmists are expert climatologists, meteorologists and astrophysicists like Richard Lindzen, William Gray, Fred Singer, Roy Spencer, Patrick Michaels, Robert Balling, and Craig Idso and the 17,000 signatories to Dr. Arthur Robinson‘s Petition Project who said of the Kyoto Accord ‘There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases is causing, or will in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the earth’s climate.โ28Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
The โPetition Projectโ listed above is the debunked Oregon Petition, which was disguised to look like official National Academy of Science documents and included many fake names intentionally placed to prove theย invalid methodology with which the names of scientists were collected.29Kevin Grandia. โThe 30,000 Global Warming Petition Is Easily-Debunked Propaganda,โThe Huffington Post, August 22, 2009. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/ULbSv 30H. Josef Hebert. โJokers Add Fake Names To Warming Petition,โย The Seattle Times, May 1, 1998.ย Archived October 24, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/eQIGW
The letter also enclosed a โfact sheetโ that lists the primary causes of global climate change as follows (the greenhouse effect is listed as a โsecondaryโ cause):
- โCyclical variation in the sun’s energy output.โ
- Eccentricities in the earth’s orbit
- The influence of plate tectonicsโ
Related Organizations
- Excel Energy, Inc.
- Western Area Power Administration
Contact & Address
As of May 28, 2016 the main contact information was:31โContact Us,โ Intermountain Rural Electric Association. Archived May 28,ย 2016.
5496 North US HWY 85
P.O. Drawer A
Sedalia, CO 80135 USA
Phone: 303-688-3100
Toll-free: 1-800-332-9540
Engineering Fax: 720-733-5862
Consumer Services Fax: 720-733-5872
http://irea.coop/
Social Media
- Intermountain REA (@IREAColorado) on Twitter.
- Intermountain Rural Electric Association @IntermountainREA on Facebook.
Other Resources
- โIntermountain Rural Electric Association,โ SourceWatch. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/iT1Ki
- Stephen Lacey. โElectric Co-op Association Fighting Climate Policy Ironically Laments Financial Impact of โHistoricโ Extreme Weather,โ ThinkProgress, January 5, 2012. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/i2vxV
- โDisinformation? You want it, IREAโs got it,โ RealClimate, July 28, 2006. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/5cmFe
Resources
- 1(Press Release). “Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) Rebranding to CORE Electric Cooperative,” PR Newswire, August 30, 2021. Archived October 25, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GyNUD
- 2โCompany Information,โ IREA. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3jgep
- 3โSection 12. Organizations Exempt Under IRC 501(c)(12),โ IRS.gov. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/u7I3e
- 4โCompany Information,โ IREA. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3jgep
- 5โCompany Information,โ IREA. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/3jgep
- 6โThe Global Warming Debate,โ Intermountain Rural Electric Association. Archived October 7, 2010. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/xgVyF
- 7โWelcome to the Association!โ Intermountain Rural Electric Association. Archived July 21, 2008. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/cPG8h
- 8IREA Letterย (PDF), July 17, 2006. retrieved from The Public Interest Network. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 9David O. Williams. โIREA election spending: โOutrageousโ or โnormal political fightโ?โ The Colorado Independent, April 15, 2009. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nQncv
- 10David O. Williams. โIREA election spending: โOutrageousโ or โnormal political fightโ?โ The Colorado Independent, April 15, 2009. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nQncv
- 11David O. Williams. โIREA election spending: โOutrageousโ or โnormal political fightโ?โ The Colorado Independent, April 15, 2009. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nQncv
- 12David O. Williams. โStateโs largest electric co-op sees heated election debate on climate change, renewables,โ The Colorado Independent, March 23, 2011. Archived July 20, 2017. Archive.is URL:ย https://archive.is/kfpPl
- 13โBoard Resolution,โย (PDF), IREA, June 1, 2010. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.
- 14โBOARD RESOLUTIONโ (PDF), IREA. Document created by Richard W Stith, March 4, 2010. Archived .pdf on file atย DeSmog.
- 15โFinal BILL SUMMARY for HB07-1281,โ HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY, February 13, 2007. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4XKFu
- 16(Press Release). โ’New Energy Economy’ย one step from Governor’s desk,โ Environment Colorado, March 15, 2007. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/F4mct
- 17โFinal BILL SUMMARY for HB07-1281,โ HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY, February 13, 2007. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/4XKFu
- 18Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
- 19IREA Letterย (PDF), July 17, 2006. retrieved from The Public Interest Network. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 20The Associated Press. โUtilities Pay Scientist Ally on Warming,โ The New York Times, July 28, 2006. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/5oXxt
- 21Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
- 22Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
- 23Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
- 24Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
- 25Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
- 26(Press Release). โIntermountain Rural Electric Association Gives $100,000 to Global Warming Skeptic,โ Environment Colorado, August 4, 2006. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL:ย https://archive.is/5QRva
- 27(Press Release). โIntermountain Rural Electric Association Gives $100,000 to Global Warming Skeptic,โ Environment Colorado, August 4, 2006. Archived July 19, 2017. Archive.is URL:ย https://archive.is/5QRva
- 28Ross Gelbspan. โ’Vampire Memo’ย Reveals Coal Industry Plan for Massive Propaganda Blitz,โ DeSmog, July 27,ย 2006.
- 29Kevin Grandia. โThe 30,000 Global Warming Petition Is Easily-Debunked Propaganda,โThe Huffington Post, August 22, 2009. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/ULbSv
- 30H. Josef Hebert. โJokers Add Fake Names To Warming Petition,โย The Seattle Times, May 1, 1998.ย Archived October 24, 2016. Archive.isย URL:ย https://archive.is/eQIGW
- 31โContact Us,โ Intermountain Rural Electric Association. Archived May 28,ย 2016.