As we watch the so-called "Energy Citizens Rally for Jobs and Affordable Energy" occur here in Farmington this week, it's critically important that the public understand who and what is really behind this "event."

The "rallies" are being organized nationally by the American Petroleum Institute. Let's be clear: API has no interest in addressing climate change. API's interest lies completely in keeping America hooked on fossil fuels.

Many of the rallies, as detailed in a New York Times article this week, are comprise primarily paid oil and gas company employees. This is not to say that the rallies are not attended by people with valid concerns, but the premise of the "event" is less than forthright.

The greenhouse gas emissions topic demands informed dialogue and legislation will require balancing out economic and environmental concerns. Now is not the time to polarize the American public in a manner that negates action.

The misinformation being perpetuated by industry about proposed climate legislation is suspect, very similar to what is occurring in the current health care debate. $4-a-gallon gasoline because of a carbon tax? I seem to recall that we had $4-a-gallon gasoline not too long ago, when climate legislation wasn't even being seriously considered.

Several international oil and gas companies potentially represented at the Farmington rally on Friday have pledged to take action on climate change. In fact, two large companies here in the San Juan Basin,

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ConocoPhillips and BP America, are members of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, "a group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to call on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions."

A premise of the USCAP is " that well-crafted legislation can spur innovation in new technologies, help create jobs and provide a foundation for a vibrant, low-carbon economy." Check it out at http://www.us-cap.org/. An Aug. 12 USCAP statement on costs, entitled "USCAP Says Climate Bill an Investment in Future," says, "Each year we delay action to control emissions increases the risk of unavoidable consequences at potentially greater economic cost and social disruption. Delay means we are walking away from today's less expensive solutions, which will only become more costly for consumers and our economy the longer we wait. For these reasons, USCAP supports enactment of responsible climate legislation as soon as possible."

Many us who live in the San Juan Basin are asking for a balance of energy development that takes action on reducing known pollutants. Our region is relied on to provide a vast energy supply to regions well beyond New Mexico, yet nearly everyone who lives here agrees that air quality needs significant improvement.

Let's demand that this country's leadership start the transition to a cleaner energy economy, with new sustainable energy sources and good-paying jobs that are less dependent upon finite resources.

The oil and gas industry here in the San Juan Basin has a responsibility to seek technological solutions rather than reversing course and refuting responsibility for their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Don't allow the so-called "Energy Citizens Rally for Jobs and Affordable Energy," to divert our attention from the tasks at hand that require all of us to problem solve to develop responsible climate legislation.

Mike Eisenfeld is the New Mexico Energy Coordinator for San Juan Citizens Alliance, 108 N. Behrend Ave., Suite I, in Farmington. He can be reached at meisenfeld@frontier.net