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Tag: Environmental Policy

Ambitious Climate Targets In Boulder Clash With Energy Realities
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Just The News, Approved, Local

Ambitious Climate Targets In Boulder Clash With Energy Realities

By Kevin Killough | Just the News Boulder, Colorado is suing oil companies for climate change and setting aggressive emission-reductions target. A Just the News analysis shows the city is unlikely to reach either of those goals, but the city says it's not backing down. When it comes to anti-fossil fuel policies, few cities have pursued them with as much gusto as Boulder, Colorado. In 2006, Boulder became one of the first local governments in the nation to adopt emission reduction targets. Then in 2019, the city went into a full-blown panic over emissions, declared a “climate emergency,” and exponentially increased its targets. While progressive cities feel good setting targets to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, achieving those targets is another thing entirely.&nb...
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As Drought Deepens, Colorado Still Has No Rules For Data Center Water Use
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

As Drought Deepens, Colorado Still Has No Rules For Data Center Water Use

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In Aurora, data center proposals run through a simple filter. City officials compare total water use against how much of that water won’t come back—lost to evaporation. If either number gets too high, the project doesn’t move forward. When a developer wants to build in Denver, there is no matrix. That gap—two cities, two standards, nothing statewide connecting them—is the center of a question Colorado has avoided answering: who is responsible for knowing how much water AI data centers use, and when does that become too much? The question got harder to ignore this spring. On March 16, Governor Jared Polis activated Phase 2 of the state’s Drought Response Plan—the first activation in nearly six years—after federal ...
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NEPA’s unintended consequences: How a well-meaning law became a barrier to progress
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GregWalcher.com, Approved, Commentary, National

NEPA’s unintended consequences: How a well-meaning law became a barrier to progress

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com In 1970 when President Nixon presented to Congress “Reorganization Plan No.3,” no one foresaw the eventual result – some of history’s greatest environmental successes, and a virtual stranglehold on economic progress. America’s air and water are far cleaner today, automobiles emit virtually nothing, and many formerly polluted lands have been cleaned up. But the cumbersome procedures required for federal permitting have also led to delays, higher costs, and often killed projects and jobs permanently. Those impacts were never part of the plan. Nixon signs NEPA into law, January 1, 1970 EPA was created by executive order, bringing under one roof dozens of programs from multiple departments. Simultaneously, Congress passed a...
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Speak up or step back: Why critics say Coloradans must engage with CPW now
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Speak up or step back: Why critics say Coloradans must engage with CPW now

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Depending on where you get your news, you are probably by now aware that the CPW Commissioners, in a meeting that I’ve heard referred to as a “shit-show” by more than one person, voted to accept a petition by a monied, out of state group. If you missed it or want to hit the high spots again, I put a FencePost article on the meeting. That is the first link below.This vote came over the recommendations against the petition by their own director and other CPW employees.Why? From where I stand the reason’s pretty simple: the CPW Commissioners have been (by design from the governor’s office) “captured” by animal rights and environmental groups.This is not just an impression I have pulled out of thin air. Over and over w...
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Colorado Lawmakers Debate Future Of Utilities Commission And Energy Policy
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Pueblo Today, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Debate Future Of Utilities Commission And Energy Policy

By Pueblo Today Staff | Pueblo Today Decision could impact clean air, water, and energy costs for residents. Colorado lawmakers are considering whether to reauthorize the state's Public Utilities Commission, which regulates energy, water, and other utilities. Advocates argue the commission plays a crucial role in promoting clean energy and protecting vulnerable communities from pollution, but past decisions have also favored the interests of investor-owned utilities over the public. Why it matters The Public Utilities Commission's decisions have a direct impact on air quality, water quality, and energy costs for Colorado residents, especially in communities like Pueblo and Commerce City that already face higher levels of pollution and health issues. Reauthorizin...
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What are biodiversity credits, and how are they being used in Colorado?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

What are biodiversity credits, and how are they being used in Colorado?

Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I watched something on Facebook recently, one of those "I'm going to tell you the truth" kinds of videos. I didn't copy the link. It's not worth referring back to anyway. The gist of the video is simple: the man in the video claims that part of the reason for species reintroduction (he is not from Colorado, nor talking about Colorado) is so that the landowners can make big money selling biodiversity credits. I asked every land conservation trust I could find an email for and, with one exception, could not find one that admitted to selling biodiversity credits. A lot of the ones that emailed me back said that no market for selling them exists as of yet in Colorado. This doesn't mean that the topic has no value; it...
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Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun State needs to ensure Western Slope companies are monitoring harmful gas releases, order says. The Environmental Protection Agency has slapped back six oil and gas air pollution permits to Colorado regulators, saying the state failed to require adequate monitoring of natural gas venting in the Garfield County systems and risked letting too much dirty air into the atmosphere.  The environmental watchdogs who objected to two oil and gas companies’ permits called the rare Trump Administration rejection a victory in their ongoing campaign to force Colorado into more monitoring of gas leaks, intentional venting and flaring. Repeated failures in any of those steps of natural gas gathering release harmful volatile organic compounds a...
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Colorado Energy Fight Intensifies With New Ballot Measures Targeting Oil And Gas
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Energy Fight Intensifies With New Ballot Measures Targeting Oil And Gas

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A group has introduced four ballot measures it says are meant to counter an initiative that aims to enshrine Colorado businesses and consumers’ right to purchase and sell natural gas in the state’s constitution. Filed with the Secretary of State’s Office today, Conservation Colorado’s measures would do the following: Establishing statutory liability for oil and gas companies operating in Colorado found to have damaged the state’s air, water, land or communities Establishing joint and several liability for current and past oil and gas operators and producers if found responsible for damage to the environment or a community Prohibiting oil and gas distributors from requiring customers to pay for pipeline extensions or decom...
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Blizzard of contradictions: Colorado headlines spark climate credibility questions
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American Thinker, Approved, Commentary, State

Blizzard of contradictions: Colorado headlines spark climate credibility questions

By Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker Open the Denver Post and you might experience intellectual whiplash. In one article, readers are warned that Colorado ski resorts face an uncertain future due to climate change, with “less reliable powder days” threatening the industry. Resorts must invest in snowmaking, diversify revenue streams, and brace for a warming planet. Right beside it? A forecast of more than two feet of snow for Colorado’s mountain peaks. Two feet. Screenshot The Denver Post February 16, 2026 // fair use Apparently, the climate crisis is now capable of producing both the imminent demise of snow and an old-fashioned Rocky Mountain blizzard. Sometimes on the same page. This is not satire. It’s modern ...
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Rural Lawmakers Reject Polis Backed Pesticide Restrictions
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Rural Lawmakers Reject Polis Backed Pesticide Restrictions

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A proposal to limit the use of neonicotinoid-coated crop seeds collapsed in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee last week, as rural lawmakers, including two Democrats, joined Republicans to reject what they called an expensive, impractical mandate on farmers. Senate Bill 65 would have required farmers to obtain permission from third-party evaluators before using crop seeds coated with neonicotinoid pesticides, also known as neonics. But the committee’s rural lawmakers, including two Democrats, weren’t persuaded that the program sponsored by Democratic Sens. Katie Wallace of Longmont and Cathy Kipp of Fort Collins was the right step, killing the bill in a 2-5 vote last week. Wallace claimed farmers are p...
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