Over the past three years Colorado has strengthened its regulations on oil and gas companies operating in the state, prompting claims from oil and gas industry executives that these environmental policies are strangling their ability to drill. 

Over a quarter-million Coloradans, including 74,000 children are threatened by their proximity to oil and gas production, according to a national analysis of oil and gas operations

Last week a coalition of 33 environmental groups in Colorado wrote a letter asking the state to include analyses of already existing ozone, air pollution, and climate change impacts when evaluating the effects of pollution from oil and gas operations.

A playground and a bike path are nestled between a row of homes in the Thornton neighborhood of North Creek Farms. Roughly 200 feet away is an oil and gas drilling site that is leaking hydrocarbons like methane.

For the second time in 10 days, a major Colorado oil producer told shareholders that it’s unlikely to ramp up production amid skyrocketing global energy prices, promising instead to funnel much of the additional cash flow into investors’ pockets.

A new report has found that the retirement fund for employees of the state of Colorado has over $8.7 million in investments in Russian oil and gas companies. In light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, environmental advocacy groups and fund members in Colorado are calling the fund to divest.