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Colorado News & Alert Center
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Recent Colorado Forum Posts
Colorado News
- 08/30/08 - Controversy Continues Around Aurora & Horizon's Factory Farms Labeling their Milk as 'USDA Organic'
- 08/29/08 - The Monumental Choice Between Obama or McCain: Smart Empire Versus the Fourth Reich
- 08/29/08 - The Rise of 'The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party'
- 08/27/08 - Dispatch from Denver: Making Climate Change THE Issue
- 08/27/08 - CodePink Faces Tough Odds For Public's Attention
- 08/25/08 - Colo. Energy Companies May Have to Track Chemicals
- 08/25/08 - As Democrats Gather, Liberal Positions Gaining in Popularity
- 08/22/08 - Grassroots Direct Action: San Francisco Voters Nov. 4 Will Tell Their Congress Reps to Defund the War
- 08/21/08 - Progressives and Obama: An Honest Appraisal
- 08/20/08 - Nation's Most Visible Solar Array Dedicated at Denver International Airport
- 08/20/08 - Renewable Power's Growth in Colorado Presages National Debate
- 08/19/08 - The Dems Convention: I Won't Be Politically High in the Mile-High City
- 08/19/08 - Doubts over the Anthrax Case Intensify -- Except in the Corporate Media
- 08/15/08 - Mines Still Threaten Colorado River, Foes Say
- 08/15/08 - Many Restaurants Lying About Menu Items Being 'Organic' or 'Locally Produced'
- 08/14/08 - Roan on the Auction Block
- 08/14/08 - Boulder, Colo. to Join Other Cities in Single Stream Recycling and Composting
- 08/14/08 - California Weighs Sweeping Laws Against Factory Farm Cruelty
- 08/06/08 - Democratic National Convention Goes Green
- 08/04/08 - Gas Industry Secrets and a Nurse's Story
- 08/04/08 - Environmentalists Sue Over Colorado Uranium Program
- 08/03/08 - EPA Approves Coal-Fired Plant Despite Opposition from Navajo Nation
- 07/24/08 - Has Your Town Declared Peace Yet?
- 07/22/08 - Nation's Largest Net-Zero Energy, Residential Community Planned For Colorado
- 07/21/08 - Secrets Surround Gas-Field Chemicals
- 07/18/08 - Dispatches From the Fields: The 'Far' in Farmers Markets
- 07/02/08 - Dozens of Minutemen Confront Day-Laborers Gathered For Work in Aurora, CO
Submit News Stories
Boulder and Lyons: Among the First Transition Towns in the US
Boulder and Lyons are among the first towns in the US to tackle climate change and peak oil by bringing the heads, hearts, and hands of their communities together to rebuild the resilience and self-reliance that will make the transition to life beyond oil possible.
More Information:
Transition Boulder County
Boulder County Going Local
Updated 8/21/08
Save Red Lady- No Molybdenum Mine on Mt Emmons!
Thank Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall for Their Action
U.S. Energy and Kobex are attempting to push through a molybdenum mine on Mt. Emmons. The proposed mine would take ore from Red Lady in Crested Butte and store waste from the mining in the headwaters of Carbon Creek and Ohio Creek. The mine would have negative impacts beyond Crested Butte to Mt. Crested Butte, Almont, Gunnison, Ohio Creek and Kebler Pass. A plan to building two large dams to deal with storing mine waste would put source waters for Carbon Creek and Ohio Creek at risk and destroy a large area of old growth forest. Additionally the mine could have negative impacts on traffic, noise, tourism, property values.
Additionally, the 1872 Mining Law and US Forest Service policy says that agencies must have proof that a valuable mineral exists before it grants mineral rights on unpatented mining claims, but it is not clear that this has been done in the case of this proposed mine. On June 23, 2008, Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall sent a letter to leaders at the Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forest and Colorado Bureau of Land Management (BLM) asking that the two agencies conduct "validity examinations" to see if there is actually an economically recoverable mineral to mine.
Please write Rep. Salazar and Rep. Udall and thank them for taking action in support of Mt. Emmons.
Take Action
More Information:
The High County Citizens' Alliance
Letter Sent by Rep. Salazar and Rep. Udall
www.miningreform.org
Updated 7/10/08
Colorado's 2008 Legislative Roundup
(From Progressive States Network)
This session, the Colorado legislature had three main priorities:
health care, education and fixing the transit system. They succeeded
in making substantial progress in education, slight progress in health
care, and no progress on transit.
Education: The legislature passed several bills to promote better education for kids in Colorado:
- SB 218 puts money from the state's growing mineral-lease revenue into a permanent fund for colleges and universities.
- HB 1335 invests as much as $1 billion in school construction for poor, rural areas.
- SB 212 "Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids" updates the state's curriculum standards to better prepare students for college.
- HB 1388 expands full-day kindergarten for 22,000 children and wiped out the 3,000 child preschool waiting list.
Health Care: While
the governor originally aimed for enrolling 17,000 more low-income
children in the state's health insurance plan, lawmakers were able to
provide health insurance to 50,000 children through SB 160, almost triple the governor's goal. Lawmakers also passed HB 1389
to penalize insurance companies that reject valid claims and authorized
the Insurance Commission to reject unjustified health-care insurance
rates hikes.
Transit: Governor Ritter had sought $500 million for infrastructure upkeep of highways and bridges. Lawmakers introduced a bill, SB 244,
to increase vehicle registration and car rental fees in order to raise
$300 million annually for the Transportation Infrastructure
Preservation Act. The effort was killed in committee.
Other Key Bills passed:
- SB 184 offers low-interest loans to homeowners and businesses to install renewable energy devices.
- HB 1160, a net metering bill, requires power companies to credit customers who produce their own solar and wind power.
- HB 1161 requires water quality to be returned to pre-mining quality after uranium is extracted.
- SB 228 allows for more public access and transparency of a mining company's plans.
- SB 215 maps broadband service areas to increase broadband access to unserved areas of the state.
Missed Opportunities: Besides the failure of efforts to improve transit infrastructure, the legislature failed to put a measure to repeal the TABOR provisions on the ballot this fall. Misleadingly called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the measure has prevented the legislature from making substantial improvements to health care and education and generally led to a significant decline in the state's public services.
The legislature also dropped efforts to raise the severance taxes on oil and gas drilling, which would have raised $200 to $250 million in revenue for the state. The money raised would have been enough to double the state's scholarship fund, implement clean water projects, protect wildlife, invest in clean energy development.
The legislature also failed to deliver on voting process reform and instead passed HB 1155, which just re-certified voting machines that the state had recently de-certified.
Finally, on a positive note, of the 10 bills introduced to negatively deal with immigration, all except a minor technical measure, were defeated.
Take Action. Support Green Jobs!
The Green Jobs Act of 2007 authorized $125 million per year to create an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program as an amendment to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The Green Jobs Act (GJA) is an initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of industries - including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating "green pathways out of poverty."
Congress has not yet appropriated money for the Green Jobs Act. Please contact your Senator today and urge them to fund the Green Jobs Act of 2007!
Read more at Green for All's web site.
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