Environment
Net-zero emissions by 2040? Council committee advances bill to achieve ‘aggressive plan’
A proposal to increase Denver’s sales tax to better fund the city’s efforts to address climate change is one step closer to appearing on the November ballot. In a unanimous vote, Denver City Council’s Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness Committee gave preliminary approval on July 15 to a bill that, if passed by the full […]
Colorado farmers struggle to cope with a drought that keeps coming back
It’s no fun having to water your crops at night, but for Abe Rosenberg and many other farmers across southern Colorado right now, the weather isn’t giving them much of a choice. “If we try to water during the day, or even in the morning, it’ll just evaporate too quickly,” said Rosenberg, who owns a […]
Court made signature gathering harder. Some ballot initiative groups are undeterred.
Despite a recent Colorado Supreme Court order that makes collecting tens of thousands of voter signatures an even more difficult task during the COVID-19 pandemic, at least a few groups remain optimistic they’ll be able to make the state’s August deadline to submit initiative petitions. Others, however, including one that aimed to create new setback […]
More abandoned oil and gas wells likely in Colorado — but how many?
At some point in the next few weeks, PetroShare Corp., an Englewood-based oil and gas producer that has operated in Colorado since its founding in 2012, will legally cease to exist. Under a bankruptcy plan approved in May, its assets, which include 80 producing or shut-in wells scattered across Weld, Adams and Arapahoe counties, will […]
New Colorado oil and gas commissioners seated ahead of critical rulemakings
More than a year after Colorado lawmakers passed Senate Bill 19-181, a landmark package of oil and gas reforms, large swaths of the new law still haven’t yet been implemented by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission — and now a new set of commissioners will finish the work that their predecessors started. The […]
Pipeline projects suffer setbacks across the country. Is Jordan Cove next?
It hasn’t been a good few days for companies in the oil and gas pipeline business. The Dakota Access Pipeline, which famously sparked protests at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during its construction in 2016, will be temporarily shut down and emptied of oil after a federal judge on July 6 ordered regulators to conduct […]
Colorado braces for high-risk July 4th wildfire conditions
Millions of Americans across Colorado and the West are heading out to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday weekend — but federal officials and wildland firefighters will be hard at work, keeping a close eye on hot, dry conditions that forecasters say are ripe for dangerous wildfires. “There’s a lot of people who have been […]
Coronavirus recovery requires end to environmental racism
By Alexis Schwartz “Safer at Home” they say. But all who are weathering the pandemic at home do not have the same level of safety; many people’s health has already been compromised precisely by the location of their residence. A lot of things are unknown about COVID-19, but one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Where […]
Colorado enacts ‘forever chemical’ cleanup measures as federal action falls short
Even in a shortened session, Colorado legislators managed to pass a pair of bills that will help the state kickstart cleanup of so-called “forever chemicals” that have contaminated drinking water in communities around the state. Under Senate Bill 20-218, the state will create a fund to help communities detect and clean up contamination from perfluoroalkyl […]
Neguse touts Colorado priorities in House climate-action plan
Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse is celebrating Colorado’s contribution to a landmark congressional climate-change plan, and pledging to continue pressing for stronger federal policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the transition to clean energy. “Solving the Climate Crisis,” the report released by the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis on June 30, contains […]
Relief money flows to Colorado’s oil and gas industry as global emissions rise
Last month, as federal officials continued to expand their historic efforts to rescue American businesses from the economic chaos caused by the spread of COVID-19, Denver-based Extraction Oil & Gas announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — and no one was less surprised than veteran environmental activist Phil Doe. “We predicted it a […]