From: Craig Markham

Sent: Mon Aug 27 14:53:51 2012

To: CleanFuelsAug2012

Subject: Oregon Needs a Strong Clean Fuels Program

Importance: Normal

Members of the Environmental Quality Commission,

I support creating jobs, cleaning the air, stabilizing the climate and breaking Oregon's dependence on oil. I urge you to adopt a strong standard and move forward with the Clean Fuels Program.

Oregon needs to explore, develop and apply all environmentally safe measures to reduce our dependence on gas and oil. In the past ten years, Oregon has experienced skyrocketing costs of fossil fuels, sending more than $5 billion out of state each year for the gas and diesel we need for our households and businesses. We must act today to make clean fuel alternatives more widely available, and support local innovators who are already creating cleaner fuels here at home.

It is important to be aware that some “clean” fuels alternatives may be double-edged swords. All must be evaluated for all of their impacts. For example, Arundo donax (Giant Reed), now being touted by PGE as a possible source of biofuel feedstock, is a serious invasive species elsewhere in the U.S. and has potential to overrun riparian zones in the Columbia Basin. There are no feasible control and containment measures available for controlling A. donax in any environment where it can be grown efficiently for biofuel.

Accordingly, provisions must be added to the Clean Fuels Program that will ensure that development and use of alternative energy sources will lead to a net improvement in environmental, social and economic quality.

Oregon has already shown that certain investments in clean energy can pay off. The investments we made in energy efficiency 30 years ago have made our state a national leader, even as we put people to work and avoided sinking billions into more energy generation that leads to pollution. That is the kind of bold action we need for tomorrow's transportation, and we need to act today.

I urge you to adopt the Clean Fuels Program, including the amendment described above, today and start building a stable, strong Oregon for tomorrow. Thank you for your consideration.

Craig P. Markham

22245 NE Ilafern Lane

Dundee, OR 97115