Arent giving in. Theyre speaking up. There are many reasons coloradans are acting on climate and transitioning their energy mix away from fossil fuels. Colorado has the benefit of fossil fuels, but they want to protect their beautiful, natural landscape. They want to sustain their Winter Sports and hospitality industries. They want a healthy prosperous future for their children and they understand the risks of developing those fossil fuels. They recognize that there are strong forces coming in the Energy Market forces that will shift away from frak and natural coal. Coloradans know its better to lead that shift than to wait until the bottom drops out. Weve known for a while that coal is facing big problems. Murray energy, a Major Coal Company with cozy ties to the Trump Administration just filed for bankruptcy last week. Alarms are going off about natural gas, a type of fuel that the fossil fuel industry touts as less dirty. In boulder, paul bodner, managing director of the Rocky Mountain institute, highlighted a report r. M. I. Issued in september, showing just how quickly this shift this Cost Reduction across the renewable spectrum, is going to make the economics of natural gas untenable. R. M. I. s report fortells im quoting here ar a turning point for the relative economics of clean energy sources, including wind, solar, storage, energy efficiency, and demand flexibility, versus new gasfired generation. The report continues. For the first time the rapidly falling costs of renewables and batteries are allowing optimized combination of these resources to systematically out compete gasfired generation on a cost basis while providing all the same Grid Services. End quote. Same Grid Services means same reliability, same availability, but at a lower costs at a lower cost. Heres a graph showing how fast clean energy will overtake gas plants. This has been the falling cost of clean energy. This is the cost of building and operating a new gas plant. This is the cost of operating an existing gas plant. So we are now at the crossover point where its cheaper to use renewables, Clean Energy Power, than it is to build new natural gas plants, setting aside the pollution and the other extraneous costs, all of what the economists would call extranalaties that comes with burning natural gas. Setting aside that, just on even the heavily subsidized existing natural gas pricing, Clean Energy Still beats it right now and they are projecting that its going to go ahead and by about 2035, it will be cheaper to build a new Clean Energy Power facility than it will be to continue to feed natural gas into your existing already built depreciated natural gas facilities. Just on price is where we are going. So somebody building natural gas facilities into this projected future has a real problem on their hands. R. M. I. Has found that Clean Energy Resources beat on price alone on price over 80 of proposed gasfired power plant capacity and that clean energy will render 70 of proposed gas plants uneconomic, cant compete, just on price by 2035. In other words, it wont make sense even to run, let alone build, those uneconomic natural gas plants. Theyll be shuttered. Theyll be stranded assets dealing a financial blow to the company or the investors that own them. And if the utilities can shove that cost through to their consumers, leaving consumers in the lurch. If over half of your fleet is stranded, thats catastrophic for a Utility Company just on the economics. And it actually gets worse for natural gas. A new investigation by the Watchdog Group unearthed based on data from a very respected fossil fuel industry firm, the Expert Consulting Firm ricetad. Based on their data, the new report finds that the big oil companys promise to curb the methane emissions from natural gas extraction appear to be completely bogus. The report found that the biggest industry players, including exxonmobil and b. P. , were among the worst when it comes to wasting and burning off methane. So natural gas is facing a double whammy. First natural gas is worsening our Climate Crisis faster than we knew and some of our biggest fossil fuel companies are driving the problem. Now while were finding out how the fossil fuel industry has misled us about its methane emissions and about how much leakage and burning off there is, were being treated to the spectacle of one of the biggest fossil fuel Industry Trade groups, the American Petroleum institute launching a sevenfigure ad campaign to convince america that, quote, were on it. Were americas Natural Gas Industry and were on it when it comes to Greenhouse Gas emissions. Well, not so much apparently. This ad Campaign Looks like just more fossil fuel industry disinformation. Its an industry that just cant seem to help itself from saying things that arent true. Anyway, if you pair natural gas rapidly becoming uneconomic against renewables with the emerging data showing a much bigger methane problem for the industry, that pairing that combined result is very gloomy for natural gas investors. So that is why, back to colorado, its such a smart move to unhitch your Energy Market from those fuels while you can. Savvy move, colorado. Mr. President , across this country americans are already acting on climate. In the face of the president s extraordinary illadvised decision to pursue departure from the paris agreement, states, municipalities, major corporations are all standing up and saying, nope, were still in. They get the problem that we face. They get how important it is, and it is time, mr. President , for us in the senate to join them in waking up and coming up with a solution to this evident problem. I thank the presiding officer. I yield the floor, and i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call full mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan i ask unanimous consent that jesse ownie, an intern in my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the congress. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , its one of my favorite times during the week when i get to come down on the senate floor. I know its the senate pages time to learn a little about alaska and talk about my state and present what we weekly call the alaskan of the week. Its the opportunity to talk about someone in the community who has done something great for their community, for the state, maybe for america and id like to recognize this Great Variety of wonderful alaskans, great americans that we have in my state and talk about them. By the way, mr. President , i always like to give a little update on whats going on in alaska and to talk to people in the gallery and who are watching on tv and encouraging them now is the time to plan your next trip to alaska if youre going to come next summer, but also you should know the winter which is you know, winter is coming. Its pretty much come to alaska. Its a great time to come visit, too. Its a winter wonderland. You can ski, snowboard. At the end of the day sit back, drink something warm and watch the Northern Lights dance in the sky. You cant do that in many states in our great nation. So come on up. Trip of a lifetime. We want you to come whether its summer, winter, fall, spring, doesnt matter. Youll not be disappointed if you come visit us in the great state of alaska. So, mr. President , im going to break the rules a little bit on the alaskan of the weej week of the week. I usually recognize one but were going to recognize four alaskans, four teachers in my state who are the recent recipients of the president s award for excellence in math and science teaching. So here they are. Joshua hall, a math teacher at Diamond High School in anchorage and the chair of the math program there. Jennifer childress is also a teacher at diamond, teaching science and engineering courses. She currently teaches 11th and 12th grade physics and advanced placement in physics. Don wilcox teaches second grade at Campbell Elementary School in anchorage and angie wright teaches fourth and fifth grade math in juneau, alaska. So we are very, very proud of them. This is a great achievement of all four of these wonderful teachers. This is the this award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government specifically for k12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics and Computer Science teaching, something we need more of, not just in alaska but in america. And we need Great Teachers who can do this and thats what this award recognizes. Mr. President , as any state has, alaska, north dakota, we have thousands of teachers in my state who do such great work day in and day out to make sure our next generation is not only educated on the facts but also understand in the words of the great leader Nelson Mandela, education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Thats Nelson Mandela said that. These four teachers have been working hard every day for years so that their students will go out and do just that, change the world. Make alaska, america, the world a better place. They as well as our teachers all across the country, all across alaska certainly have one of the most important and most difficult jobs. So we salute all of them. But i want to salute these four teachers in a little bit more detail. They have chosen not only to master these science, engineering, physics subjects but to teach it to the next generation. Now, despite a slight improvement in the stem skills of americans over the last 20 years, its widely recognized that the United States is still being outpaced by countries all over the world in these critical subject matters. So now more than ever our country desperately needs skilled americans, skilled professionals who can innovate for our nation, who can improve our nations infrastructure, advance our health care system, build the tools that defend our country, and ensure our nations prosperity and a strong economy. We need stem education. There is so much to say about all four of these teachers, but let me give you a brief example of how theyre teaching the youth of alaska in these critical areas. Mr. Hall, a math teacher at Diamond High School who by the way has former students and fans in my office. This is a bit of a theme, mr. President. A lot of these teachers have taught some of a lot of my staff right now, including jesse here. Hes been an educator, mr. Hall, for more than 20 years, has been teaching math for the past 14 years at diamond high and as the department chair, he decided that the school needed an event where math students could show and take pride in the skills that they are learning. So he worked with another math teacher to design and organize a schoolwide math competition. They just had their Fourth Annual event. 175 students participated. The audience cheered. Students were excited. It was a huge deal studying math. Thats really cool. Its great. Gosh, 175 students. So, thats mr. Hall. Mrs. Childress is also at diamond high and also has a big fan base in my office of former student, including jesse, i believe. She has taught for over 20 years, 14 of which have been teaching science and engineering courses at diamond. She helped found the Engineering Academy at diamond and she and another teacher developed and ran a program called smart girls rock. Smart girls rock. Exposing freshmen and sophomore girls to female engineers from anchorage and encouraging young women to pursue stem careers. Now, as a father of three daughters, i know just how important it is to do that. So a fun fact. Mrs. Childress and mr. Hall have been married for 23 years which makes this award all the more special for both of them. I would call them a true power couple in alaska smem Education System education. Miss wilcox, the teacher from campbell elementary has had a 20year career and has been teaching at campbell for the past three years. Working with her colleagues, she created a stem school at campbell, the first stem Elementary School in anchorage. Again, these are innovators. You can tell these teachers are innovators. Also as a project for the iditarod teacher in every classroom which is a Science Program based on our famous sled dog race, the iditarod, she worked with another colleague to get their classroom to adopt and improve a local park. Miss wilcox second graders appeared before the school board, the community council, the Parks Commission to advocate for their idea. So not only are they learning stem, but theyre learning civics and for their efforts, they were awarded a 20,000 Anchorage Parks Foundation matching grant and the park now has Outdoor Learning labs, pass signs and is a joy to visit. So all you visitors who are going to come to alaska, youve got to make sure you check out this great, new innovation in our parks. Finally, let me talk about miss wright. Miss wright has been an educator for over 16 years. She began her career teaching in murla, alaska, the heart and soul of our state. She taught at akbay in juneau where she was born and raised. Shes passionate about incorporating placebase knowledge into the classroom. She says that every year her students participate in placebase learning. They pick berries, a traditional part of alaskan native subsistence lifestyle in order to gather the data and more detailed information about our incredible environments throughout the state. Quote, students in my classroom learn a lot of alaskan native languages and participate in klinket dance groups performing around alaska. She takes her fourth and fifth grade students on a field trip to the ecosystem so they can learn how animals adopt to survive in different environments. Teaching in alaska is a gift and taking advantage of it is something i value very much, miss wright said. It was in fact, mr. President , a sentiment expressed by all four of these teachers who won this very prestigious award. Mr. President president , henry adams once wrote that a teacher affects eternity. He or she can never tell where their influence actually stops. Think about that, teacher impacts eternity. The influence these teachers have over the lives of so many Young Alaskans will really never stop. As i mentioned, my many members and Staff Members of my office are direct recipients of this influence, which will continue, help to grow the next generation of leaders, workers, dreamers, thinkers, and doers, and im sure the next generation of teachers through their example. And as these students, in turn, will continue to make our state and our country, the great places that they are, we cant thank these teachers enough for what theyve done. So i want to graduate mr. Hall, ms. Childress, ms. Wilcox, and mr. Wright for this great award and for all they do, for their dedication and passion for math and science and for your commitment to alaskas next generation. And, of course, i want to congratulate them on being this weeks alaskans of the week. I yield the floor. Mr. Sullivan mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan for the information of senators, tomorrow the senate will vote on the confirmation of the rudofsky and wilson nominations at 11 45 a. M. And the confirmation of the nardini nomination at 1 45 p. M. The presiding officer duly noted. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of senate res. 396, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk s. Res. 396, designating october 2019 as National Health literacy month. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. , thursday, november 17, further, that following 7, excuse me. 10 00 a. M. Thursday, november 7, further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, morning business be closed, and the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the rudofsky nomination under the previous order. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the the presiding officer the today senators voted to confirm danielle and of organ court of appeals judge fo