As the holiday season nears, we have a lot to be thankful for in Nevada, even in the midst of a struggling economy. Clean air, clean water, and wide open spaces are abundant in Nevada—and we need to thank those leaders in Nevada who make our way of life possible. Their support for industry safeguards, promotion of our clean energy economy, and protecting our natural heritage are keys to ensuring we have safe and healthy communities.

But we need all of our leaders on board!

We need to speak to all of our leaders about the role our public treasures, such as Red Rock, Tule Springs, and Gold Butte in southern Nevada, play in our local economy. Investments in public lands continue to increase tourism and the demand for cycling, hiking, and hunting equipment.

As a matter of fact, the business of providing access and equipment to our amazing outdoors should play a stronger role in our economic recovery. The equipment sales, tour guides, and ancillary goods and services of visiting Red Rock Canyon, Lake Mead, and other public lands contribute an estimated $1.8 billion to the state’s economy. We need to offer the same protections to Gold Butte and Tule Springs to ensure this industry maintains and increases these vital economic contributions. Check out a recent letter to President Obama from 100 economists on the economic potential of public lands at Headwaters Economics’ website.

Also, the notion that regulations are somehow preventing businesses from hiring more employees is the most alarming.

Businesses hire workers based on demand for products and services. ALL of our leaders should trust the scientists and health professionals who create commonsense safeguards—not the lobbyists and CEOs of large corporations.

In fact, these commonsense safeguards that protect the air we breathe and the water we drink lead to a healthier workforce with fewer sick days and higher productivity.  And they actually create jobs. A new Ceres Study notes that new regulations from the EPA will actually create an estimated 1.5 million highly skilled, well paying jobs over the next five years.

Finally, it’s fair to say that Nevada’s bet on clean energy is paying off and we need to double down on our investment. We should ask all of our elected officials to lead, not follow, on the development of our state’s abundant clean energy resources, and while they are at it, push back on the fossil-fueled rhetoric that claims clean energy isn’t the answer to our country’s energy needs. We don’t mine coal, or drill for much oil in Nevada, so why do some of our leaders insist on doing the bidding of these polluting industries? Instead of selling out to Big Oil, our leaders should support investments in new technologies that will both help Nevadans lower their energy costs and put so many of our neighbors back to work.

The economic downturn in Nevada provides us with a chance to rethink our values and priorities. There are tremendous economic opportunities ahead for Nevada. We must continue to increase our stake in clean energy investments and move away from dirty, polluting fuels. We must expand our outdoor recreation industry by protecting some of our most treasured public lands. We must turn the challenges of climate change into opportunities for new businesses and technologies. We must do all of this for the benefit of our economy today– and for the health and livelihood of future generations.

We need our Congressional delegation to support investments in clean energy and public lands. And we cannot let special interests and corporate polluters use this opening to promote their own dangerous agenda.

Contact Senator Harry Reid and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley to thank them for their support:

Senator Harry Reid
1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343)
http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
(702) 220-9823
http://berkley.house.gov/contact/email-me

And then Ask Senator Dean Heller and Congressmen Joe Heck and Mark Amodei to represent your best interests instead of voting for policies that favor corporate polluters and protect Big Oil profits:

Senator Dean Heller
202-224-6244
http://heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=contact-form

Congressman Mark Amodei
(775) 686-5760
https://amodei.house.gov/contact-me/email-me

Congressman Joe Heck
(702) 387-4941
https://heck.house.gov/contact-me/email-me