State’s excuses parallel arguments by climate deniers: 1) there is no problem, 2) if there was a problem, we can’t be sure it is our responsibility, 3) if it is, we really can’t do anything about it. “The state has fully complied with the requirement in SB19-096 to propose rulemakings that would be necessary to meet the HB 19-1261,” Conor …
Globeville, Elyria, Swansea issues and efforts in Colorado
Some history of GSE from a journalist ( Cara DeGette) . Journalist view ( Michele Swenson) that ties it all together. Alternative to I-70: https://youtu.be/YzWyb6LsLrc Storm Water Drain & I-70: https://vimeo.com/169650756 (ties it together) EPA VB/I-70 Site: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0801646 CDOT Settlement for GSE /I-70: https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/settlement-reached-on-central-70-project Note that the lawyer for CDOT on this settlement is now at CDPHE the health assessment is gearing up …
Re-thinking housing and commuting in Boulder
Abigail Bradford and James Horrox, Frontier Group; Danny Katz, Copirg Foundation; Travis Madsen and Mathew Frommer, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project August 8, 2019 https://frontiergroup.org/sites/default/files/reports/FINAL%20-%20Boulder%20Growing%20Greener.pdf By combining policies that encourage compact development, sustainable transportation and green building practices, Boulder can help to address global warming, improve the quality of our air and water, and protect Colorado’s undeveloped areas from sprawling development. The inability …
Rocky Mountain Fracker Extraction Oil Greased the Political Skids in Colorado: Before filing for bankruptcy, company spent millions to influence local regulations affecting its business
https://www.wsj.com/articles/rocky-mountain-fracker-extraction-oil-greased-the-political-skids-in-colorado-11600853402 Erin Martinez argued for stricter regulations on oil-and-gas companies during a commission hearing in Greeley, Colo., last year. Ms. Martinez lost her husband and her brother in a 2017 explosion linked to the industry. PHOTO: ALEX MCINTYRE/ASSOCIATED PRESS By Peg Brickley, Sept. 23, 2020 In the two years before it went bankrupt in June, Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. funneled more than $10 million into political …
Colorado’s GHG Roadmap announces what could have been said by the Administration the month after its signing
Colo. Public Radio Sam Brasch September 30, 2020 The full brunt of climate change is bearing down on Colorado. The recent summer brought drought, record-high heat and two of the three biggest fires in state history. According to scientists, it’s likely only a preview. Unless people can rapidly reduce their dependence on greenhouse gas emissions, those effects will only grow worse in Colorado and across the rest …
Empower Boulder: Leave Xcel franchise and form a muni
Thanks to the American Public Power Association for these graphics. n Thursday, August 20, the Boulder City Council voted to put a new Xcel franchise agreement on the November 2020 ballot. That agreement actually consists of multiple parts including: A new 20-year franchise agreement with unenforceable interim “off-ramps” will commit the city to a new 20-year relationship that could be difficult to end. A …
Guidance from CDPHE Air Pollution Division for Xcel was led/drafted by a former Xcel staffer
Further, an unadvertised “stakeholder” group only allowed entities not supporting rapid decarbonization by the electricial sector or anything that could impinge on Xcel profits, even a mere study bill of Community Choice Energy Clean Energy Plan Guidance – Draft Release for Public Comment Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment – Air Pollution Control Division, September 25, 2020 Introduction During …
$7 billion estimate for CO abandoned well closures
Dave Sirota – This spring, states pitched the Trump administration on an innovative jobs proposal: use federal stimulus funds to hire thousands of unemployed fossil fuel workers to plug oil and gas wells leaking emissions that are intensifying the climate crisis. Instead, the Trump White House funneled nearly $100 billion in bailouts to oil and gas corporations through the Federal …
Rural Utilities Want Their Own Piece Of Colorado’s Low-Carbon Future. That Could Mean Breaking Up Big Power Providers
By Grace Hood December 20, 2019 When it comes to greening up Colorado’s power supply, seismic shifts aren’t just coming out of the state Capitol. They’re also shaking out of rural Colorado, places like Coal Creek Canyon where utility customer Stephen Whiteside lives. Whiteside is a conservative Republican. He’s also pro-renewable energy. It’s not a combination you’d expect, but a recent …
Colorado Regional Haze SIP Overview, Fall 2020, for period 2021-2028
What is a Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP)? The federal Clean Air Act contains provisions, called the regional haze provisions, that are designed to eliminate visible air pollution (i.e., haze) in certain national parks and wilderness areas. The Regional Haze rule requires each state to submit to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an air quality protection plan to …