DENVER -- Leading up to the November election, 7NEWS and TheDenverChannel.com will check the accuracy of political ads.

Do the ads contain facts or fiction?

An ad supporting Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, is currently airing and references the Gulf oil spill. It's paid for by Clean Energy Works.

Who is "Clean Energy Works"?

According to its Web site: Clean Energy Works is a diverse coalition of more than 80 grassroots organizations representing more than 12 million Americans. This unprecedented grassroots coalition includes faith leaders, labor organizations, veterans, environmental activists, sportsmen, farmers, business leaders, youth, community leaders, and other groups, all calling for urgent action on a comprehensive clean energy and climate plan that delivers clean energy jobs, less pollution, and a more secure America.

Among the organizations listed as part of Clean Energy Works includes: Live Earth, National Wildlife Federation, Clean Water Action, League of Women Voters and Environment America.

Editor's note: On Thursday, 7NEWS spoke with a representative from Live Earth, who was surprised to learn the organization was associated with Clean Energy Works. The representative to us they would contact Clean Energy Works to have the Live Earth name removed from the site.

AD: "Oil, sliming more miles of the gulf coast every day."

FACT: Oil continues to spill into the Gulf. On Wednesday, the cap on the broken well was removed after an underwater robot slammed into it. Even before this happened, oil was still leaking despite the cap. A worst case scenario puts the leak at up to 2.5 million gallons a day.

AD: "And in Washington, big oil lobbyists are looking to slime our Senator too." They tried to bully Michael Bennet to vote for a big oil bailout worth $47 billion."

MISLEADING: The vote referred to in this part of the political ad is a piece of legislation that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases.

Senate Joint Resolution 26, June 10, 2010 vote

The amount cited in the political ad is a projection.

In December 2009, the EPA released scientific findings that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment. According to an EPA news release, greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles contribute to the threat.

According to the December 7 news release: EPA’s final findings respond to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that (greenhouse gases) GHGs fit within the Clean Air Act definition of air pollutants. The findings do not in and of themselves impose any emission reduction requirements but rather allow EPA to finalize the GHG standards proposed earlier this year for new light-duty vehicles as part of the joint rulemaking with the Department of Transportation.

EPA’s proposed GHG standards for light-duty vehicles, a subset of on-road vehicles, would reduce GHG emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of model year 2012-2016 vehicles.

EPA’s endangerment finding covers emissions of six key greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride -- that have been the subject of scrutiny and intense analysis for decades by scientists in the United States and around the world.

The findings allowed the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. In January, Sen. Linda Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced a resolution in the Senate that would not have been a "bailout," but would have allowed oil companies to continue business as usual.

The $47 billion dollar figure is an estimate used by Clean Energy Works from information collected from the EPA and the White House.

According to Clean Energy Works, using a quote from an NPR article: "EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and the White House said the resolution would force the EPA to rescind the standards for emissions from future-model cars and light trucks it came up with earlier this year with the Transportation Department. The result, she said, would be a need for the country to consume an extra 455 million barrels of oil." Source: NPR article, June 10, 2010

Clean Energy Works continues: The lifespan of a vehicle is 12-13 years. The (Energy Information Administration) projects that the average crude oil price between 2012 and 2025 is $102.19 per barrel. By multiplying the total barrels saved by the average future price of crude oil, yields $46,496,450,000 in revenue for the oil and gas industry.

EPA greenhouse gases endangerment findings

AD: "Senator Bennet had two words for big oil: 'No Way.'"

FICTION: According to Bennet spokesman Michael Amodeo, Bennet may never have said the words "No Way," but was one of the first Senators to come out against this resolution that he considered a free pass for polluters and big oil.

This ad is actually duplicated in seven other states. In Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia and Washington, the ad runs with the same script, except different Senators are supported. In each of those ads, the different Senators are said to have told big oil, "No Way.'"

The duplicate ads support Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

YouTube channel showing "Slimed" ads in eight total states

AD: "He voted to hold companies accountable so they can't pollute and get away with it."

FACT: Bennet voted against the Senate Joint Resolution. The resolution failed to pass 47-53.

Senate Joint Resolution 26, vote 184, June 10, 2010

AD: "Senator Bennet, keep standing up to big oil and fighting for America's clean energy future."

NEITHER FACT NOR FICTION: The end of the ad is simply a statement of opinion.