In this, the third piece in my series on The Great Renewable Land Rush in Yuma County, Colorado (read the first two here and here) I’ll provide some background on the logistical machinations behind what could prove to be the most significant revolution in land use since the homestead act invited thousands of settlers to break sod in a semi-arid region that had never before seen a plow.
environment
State Lawmakers, Polis Should Rein in Colorado Oil and Gas Commission
On February 1, 2022 the federal government announced the first infusion of tens of millions of dollars that will be sent to Colorado to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. Our U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennett (D-CO) celebrated the incoming funds. Not only is it a chance to clean up dangerous wells, but the act of plugging wells will provide jobs and reduce our climate-changing methane emissions. (It’s interesting that they only call natural gas by its true name — methane — when no one is making money from the gas well anymore.)
43% of CO Oil and Gas Companies Exclusively Own Inactive, Leaky Wells
Nearly all of Colorado’s oil and gas companies own nonproductive, unprofitable oil wells, which leak climate-change-causing pollutants, because it’s cheaper than plugging and retiring them, say environmentalists.
CO Oil and Gas Commission Holds Public Meetings Before Historic Well Plugging Vote
This week, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is holding public meetings concerning new, stricter rules on well operators that would ensure the state does not have to pay for plugging abandoned wells if the operators go bankrupt.
Colorado Should Declare a Climate Emergency
Let’s call the most destructive fire in Colorado history what it is: a climate catastrophe.
CO Retirement Fund for State Employees Invests Over $2 Billion in Fossil Fuels
The retirement fund for employees of the state of Colorado has over $2.1 billion invested in fossil fuel companies, according to a new report released by the environmental advocacy group Stand.earth.
Suncor Sundown: Film Spotlights Oil Refinery’s Impact on Denver Area Communities
Over 100 community members joined Colorado environmental activists at a screening Wednesday of a new documentary film about the impacts of pollution from a Commerce City refinery on the surrounding community.
Blowing it: Debating the Wisdom of Making Snow, Seeding Clouds to Ski During Climate Crisis
VAIL, Colo. — Looking up at the grassy, brown lower slopes of Colorado ski resorts these days, streaked in places with patches of artificial snow, it’s natural to wonder, what’s the point?
In Colorado, Locals Question a Survey for Critical Minerals
In September 2020, geologist Jay Temple began living part-time at an RV park just outside Westcliffe, Colorado, a small high-altitude town. Located between two sets of mountains — the craggy Sangre de Cristos and the Wet Mountains — it is a geologist’s heaven.
‘Living in a Community Polluted by Others,’ Enviro Advocacy Group Monitors Air Quality Through Collaboration
Beginning in November, an environmental justice group will distribute air-quality monitors to the residents of Commerce City and to the north Denver neighborhoods Globeville and Elyria-Swansea.