WASHINGTON – Earlier this month, Governor Mark Gordon appeared on 60 Minutes. 

During the segment, Gordon spoke on fossil fuels and renewable energy with 60 Minutes news anchor, Bill Whitaker.

The interview took place just a few weeks after Gordon had essentially agreed to debate, only to later recant his acceptance, a team of 31 legislators seeking further information regarding the governor’s agenda for Wyoming and its citizens. 

It all started in October, during the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, at the Harvard Kennedy Institute of Politics, Gordan made remarks regarding his future agenda for Wyoming.

“In his speech at Harvard, Governor Gordon asserted that the earth was warming and stated, ‘It is clear that carbon dioxide is a major contributor to that challenge. There is an urgency to addressing this issue.’ He declared publicly that Wyoming ‘will be the first carbon negative state,’  State Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle explained in an earlier interview. “The global elites want to use the “green energy” scam to control every aspect of our lives.  They want to tell us how to live, how we are allowed to worship, how to raise our children, how to use our land and water,” Steinmetz said. “In Wyoming, our elected officials must defend our way of life every single day-not compromise with these elitists.”

Steinmetz lead the efforts along with 31 Wyoming State Legislators challenged Gordon to debate his political stance on Wyoming and one of his main policy initiatives, ‘decarbonizing the West’.

Initially, Gordon agreed the war of words however, within days, the governor issued a statement declining the offer to further discuss his plans on fossil fuels and livelihoods of the citizens of Wyoming.

“Respectfully, I would suggest the nonsensical allegations that I have changed my tune on our coal, oil and gas industries are either craven misrepresentations of my record on the topic for venal political gain or complete ignorance of my commitment to defend our core industries against all corners regardless of national climate policy,” Gordan began. “So rather than join the unfruitfulness of that fray, and recognizing that, alas, one side of that argument currently holds most of the levers of regulation, I have sought to position our industries competitively as a practical and more proximate way to attain the stated objective of reducing CO2 in the atmosphere without also putting people out of a job,” Gordon wrote.

On December 10, CBS aired a segment of 60 Minutes titled, Red and green: Governor Mark Gordon pursues green, carbon-negative agenda in one of the nation’s reddest states.

According to the interview, Governor Gordon is trying to be both “red” and “green,” and is promoting a climate-friendly energy projects and action to address the climate crisis.

Gordon told Whitaker he believes the climate change is real and it is an urgent crisis for Wyoming. The governor also expressed he’d received some rebuff regarding the subject. 

“Governor Gordon continues to fail at presenting facts to support his belief that climate change is an urgent crisis,” Steinmetz told the Telegram. “The Governor has never told the people of Wyoming what his efforts in decarbonizing the west and Wyoming becoming the first carbon negative state will cost them.” 

Gordon said the receding glaciers had helped convince him to set the goal of making Wyoming carbon negative, eventually, according to the report. 

“The legislature has not seen a true cost/benefit analysis to date in order to evaluate the policy position he has taken,” Steinmetz said. “We must understand the harm to our economy, energy sector and even nation security before we blindly follow the Governor down this road.” 

The governor continues during the segment, stating Wyoming has tremendous wind energy resources as well as the largest reserves of uranium. He added Wyoming is the largest coal producer, number eight in oil production and number nine in natural gas. 

“The governor is not capable of defining what ‘carbon negative’ means, that has already been decided by the Biden and AOC ‘green new deal’ crowd,” Steinmetz said in an earlier interview. “By using their narrative and terminology, he is subjecting Wyoming industry to scrutiny under their terms which asserts that CO2 is a pollutant and by association our industries are polluters. Those involved in agriculture and industry and those who understand the basic premise by which the world functions understand the vital role of CO2 in the world especially as plant food. CO2 is being managed as a pollutant to advance a political agenda rather than using common sense which and decades of experience which clearly show the need for CO2.”

During the segment, the governor mentioned he will continue to pursue what he refers to as an “all the above” energy policy for Wyoming including nuclear power plants from a next-generation reactor to be built with a nearly $500 million investment from Bill Gates. 

“Governor Gordon needs to put all of his cards on the table and let the citizens of Wyoming decide if they want his vision of the future or if they believe he is putting all of our futures at risk to accomplish his own agenda,” Steinmetz told the Telegram.