"Conservatives are all about conservation"

That’s the message of Young Conservatives for Energy Reform, a new advocacy group aimed at influencing Republicans and getting conservatives to pay attention to the need for new energy policies — a topic former Gov. Mitt Romney hasn’t seemed eager to touch.

“Conservatives are all about conservation,” said Michele Combs, the organization’s founder. Combs cited Teddy Roosevelt, who established the first U.S. national parks, and Richard Nixon, who signed the Clean Air Act, as examples of Republican environmental leaders.

“I don’t consider myself an environmentalist,” she said emphatically. “I just consider myself an American who cares about energy and cares about the environment and cares about the future of this country.”