The northern Front Range’s newest plan to meet federal ozone-reduction mandates comes with a rare upfront admission that it won’t work. The Regional Air Quality Council, a nonprofit board of experts and local officials charged with writing the state’s ozone compliance plan, will decide Friday on the latest proposals for trimming the hazardous ground-level gas. […]
Danny Katz
Posted inEnvironment, News
Denver wants a major recycling expansion. But it needs to start charging fees to get it done.
Denver residents would pay a monthly fee for garbage hauling while getting recycling and compost bins picked up weekly as part of the deal, in a proposed major overhaul of waste handling aimed at lifting local and statewide recycling rates closer to the national average. Residents of single-family homes and apartments up to seven units […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News
Colorado has a dismal recycling rate. Could a fee on manufacturers turn things around?
In Boulder, where every resident automatically receives access to recycling and composting services, more than half of the city’s waste is diverted from landfills. But in many Colorado cities and towns, residents who want to recycle must pay extra, or make a trip to recycling centers. The discrepancy between the relative ease of recycling in […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Colorado’s consumer advocate gets wider climate powers and a new name
The state watchdog Office of Consumer Counsel announced a name change Wednesday and broader powers to intervene against utilities on behalf of the public in areas like climate change, career changes for energy workers and environmental justice for pollution-impacted communities. The renamed Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate is also hiring additional attorneys for the […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Transportation
Colorado violates EPA ozone standards again as business groups cheer gutting of draft commuting limits
On the same day environmental groups called out Colorado officials for missing a key EPA deadline to clean up ozone pollution violations widely attributed to driving, business groups declared victory in weakening the state’s new set of rules to reduce air pollution caused by employee car commutes. The double whammy was not lost on conservationists, […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Environment, News
Colorado wants big companies to attack climate change by getting their employees to ditch car commutes
Colorado businesses in the state’s high-ozone areas that host more than 100 employees would have to limit the number of workers commuting alone in cars to 75% of their workforce starting in 2022 and 60% by 2024, according to greenhouse gas and ozone reduction rules drawn up by state air pollution control staff. Those large […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, Housing, News
The “building electrification” movement is coming for your Colorado home. Here’s what you need to know before giving up gas.
They are indeed coming for your gas stove. And your trusty 40-gallon tank of hot water sitting atop a natural-gas bonfire. And the belching, fuel-burning furnace in the basement that makes a Colorado winter survivable. Home and office building electrification — switching out gas or propane appliances for electric versions powered eventually by 100% renewable […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
The road to greenhouse gas cuts: Are Colorado drivers ready?
When Colorado’s greenhouse gas battle comes to her Wheat Ridge driveway, Jan Rose will be ready. Rose believes heart and soul that if the state wants to hit benchmarks of 90% cuts to polluting emissions by 2050, Coloradans will have to drive less, and if they do drive, use a clean electric car. Recent successful […]