You can always count on Boulder to think big.
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The City of Lafayette has caught the Boulder syndrome, and it's spreading fast.
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Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, had harsh words for U.S. Reps. Betsy Markey and John Salazar, who have been silent about whether they support the “Cap and Trade” proposal, which will be voted on in Congress today.
“It’s time for these two gutless Democrats to take a side for Colorado families and small business by opposing ‘Cap and Tax’ job losses, higher taxes and higher energy costs,” Wadhams said in a release Thursday afternoon.
FTS managing editor Brad Jones and staff writer Kate Melvin look at two stories from the week in Colorado news: Two north Boulder residents are causing a stir by gardening wearing only thongs and pasties. The behavior isn't illegal, but neighbors wish it were. And the Colorado Conservation Voters want to push you off the road by increasing tolls on existing highways.
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What do toll roads and state-owned railroads have to do with conservation? Not much.
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Be a good citizen: turn up your thermostat this summer.
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Pending Gov. Bill Ritter's signature, Larimer and Weld county residents will once again be subject to vehicle emissions testing under Senate Bill 3, passed this spring. Several county commissioners fought against the return of testing regulations and fees, but officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment say it is time for drivers in the northern front range to own up to their share of emissions and ozone production.
Praise Mother Gaia! It's Earth Day, "a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment." It's not a national holiday - yet - and so FTS upper-management wouldn't let us have the day off to celebrate. (We're organizing a letter-writing campaign to Congress to right this glaring oversight. A holiday is a holiday!)
While we consider ourselves animal lovers here at Face The State, we have to take issue with Endangered Species Act - the most powerful tool environmentalists have at their disposal. Created with the best intentions, the law too often unfairly harms private property owners who find their land infiltrated by a rare bug or weed. Once an obscure plant or animal makes it on to that list, there is little chance it will ever be removed.
For weeks now, state Rep. Scott Tipton, a Cortez Republican, has been working to raise awareness about pollution coming out of the Four Corners Power Plant. He’s done the all the heavy lifting to draw attention to the issue, including the research and media outreach.
The Wilderness Society, a non-profit tree hugging society, or "conservation organization" as they prefer to be called, has posted a job announcement for a Northwest Colorado wildlands coordinator. You know what they say: if it walks like a lobbyist and talks like a lobbyist, it's probably a lobbyist.
The job description says the coalition is looking for someone with "experience in public lands policy or management, resource economics; and/or land protection campaign leadership."
Attorney General John Suthers has joined state Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, in a joint-effort to combat harmful pollution to southern Colorado caused by emissions from Four Corners Power Plant.
Touting the merits of his "new energy economy," Gov. Bill Ritter spoke Thursday afternoon at a capitol press conference alongside Bobby Kennedy, Jr.. Kennedy made some bold - and tough to verify - claims about the country's energy future. Is Ritter taking a political gamble aligning himself so closely with establishment political celebrities?
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Thursday, representatives of Colorado's oil and gas industry, joined by hundreds of energy-sector workers, rallied across the street from the state capitol in opposition to new, stricter rules governing oil and gas production. On the opposite side of the capitol, Gov. Bill Ritter touted his "new energy economy." FTS takes a closer look at the controversy over the state's new drilling regulations.
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In a letter sent this week, state Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, pleads with Attorney General John Suthers to intervene regarding concerns over air pollution in southwest Colorado resulting from the Four Corners Power Plant.
House Bill 1255, legislation intended to clarify regulations for oil and gas companies, was laid over until at least next week after nearly two days and close to ten hours of testimony from dozens of witnesses.
In a Tuesday press release, Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, announced that he has named former state Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, as the state's first Climate Change Coordinator. This isn't just one more example of Ritter's love affair with his "New Energy Economy," but also signals his ongoing commitment to ensuring that former legislators find work.
Amid a $604 million budget shortfall, Gov. Bill Ritter is proposing cuts that include slashing $30 million in funding for state water projects.
Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, has proclaimed October as “Energy Awareness Month,” offering Coloradans advice on how to conserve energy around the home. Detractors say such suggestions are short-sighted and accuse Ritter of stalling energy development in Colorado.
In a video interview with the Wall Street Journal this week, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer did not shy away from the "Big Oil Bob" moniker ordained by his opposition. Instead, he advocated off-shore drilling to help achieve energy independence and to help American consumers at the pump.
With all this talk about the “greenest” political convention ever, does reality live up to the hype?
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It’s been hot outside! After a record number of days over 90 degrees, what gives?
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It's turning out to be a very bad week for Andrea Robinson, the "Director of Sustainability & Greening" for the Democratic National Convention.
The eastern Colorado wind turbine tapped for the Democratic National Convention's carbon-offset program has one problem: It doesn't generate any electricity. Convention organizers are now being questioned for their eagerness to market those credits to delegates.
Intrepid world traveler Gov. Bill Ritter is back from his trip to the Arctic Circle. And boy, is he photogenic.
By Andrew Ripemoff
Centuries ago, in a distant land called Colorado, a kind and beloved leader named King Owens ruled the countryside. Life was good in the Kingdom, where off in a small corner of the grounds of the monarchy's vast estate worked a humble man, tending to a lone goose. But this wasn’t an ordinary goose. This was a goose who laid golden eggs - pure gold in fact.
Next time the government tells you it needs a tax increase, think of the $150,000 now being spent on TV ads telling you how to live your life.
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As gas prices reach an all-time high in Colorado — with the average price hitting $4 a gallon for the first time Thursday — local Republicans are charging that Democrats controlling state government are to blame in part due to their continued alienation of the energy industry.
