Metro Denver ranks 10th among most ozone-polluted cities in the country, according to the American Lung Association. Fort Collins is ranked No. 19. Colorado has been making progress to clean up its air over the past decade by enacting stricter oil and gas regulations and automobile emissions standards, but the Front Range is still out […]
Environmental Protection Agency
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado, Denver join 25 other cities and states in suing EPA for relaxing clean-car rule
Colorado and Denver joined 22 other states and three other cities on Wednesday to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for relaxing clean car standards that could impact the state’s new zero-emissions vehicle policy. In March, the EPA announced its final rule, which reverses changes made during the Obama administration to create one auto-emission standard […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News
Trump administration’s effort to roll back NEPA environmental law draws ire at Denver hearing
By Jim Anderson, The Associated Press The Trump administration on Tuesday hosted the first of two hearings on its proposal to speed energy and other projects by rolling back a landmark environmental law. Opponents from Western states argued the long-term benefits of keeping the environmental reviews. Among other changes, President Donald Trump wants to limit […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Environmental protection and infrastructure development are not mutually exclusive
Infrastructure. It’s the foundations that make up way we live. From turning on your light switch to merging onto I-70 to get to work, it’s an issue that impacts all Americans. But do our policymakers in Washington make essential infrastructure a priority? Considering the latest grade given by the American Society of Civil Engineers for our nation’s infrastructure […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Stronger methane rules will benefit the West Slope and Front Range alike
As county commissioners representing both sides of the Continental Divide, we know that by working together we can ensure strong protections for our air and climate to the benefit of all Coloradans. This December, the Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) will consider strong new rules to cut methane and air pollution from oil and […]
Posted inEducation, Environment, Growth, Outdoors, Politics and Government, Water
After decades of negotiations, restoration efforts on Colorado’s heavily diverted Fraser River are showing signs of success
For decades, the Fraser River has struggled with low flows, rising stream temperatures, sediment build-up, plummeting fish populations and degrading aquatic habitats due in large part to Front Range water diversions that drain 65% of the river. But after years of heated negotiations — and the formation of a partnership between environmentalists, Grand County officials […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Brazil is burning, and the U.S. is either complicit or willfully naïve
This year, an unprecedented number of fires were set in Brazil’s Amazon, the largest rainforest in the world. The fires were so large and numerous they blackened the skies of the country’s urban centers, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, thousands of miles away. The Amazon fires are the work of loggers and ranchers, goaded […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics and Government, Transportation
Opinion: Why the zero emission vehicle standard matters — and what it means for Colorado
Expanded vehicle choice and more electric vehicles on Colorado roads will help provide air quality, health, and economic benefits across the state. Multiple studies show that Colorado will see significant economic benefits with higher levels of electric vehicle adoption, including driver savings, downward pressure on electric rates which benefits all ratepayers, and emissions reductions. Colorado […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado attorney general taking hard look at Trump administration’s clean-water regulations rollback
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is taking a hard look at the Trump administration’s decision last week to roll back Obama-era clean water regulations as he determines how to respond. The Democrat says that he might challenge the unwinding of the Waters of the United States Rule if he determines that the Environmental Protection Agency […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, Growth, Health, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
In a twist, Colorado asks the EPA to lower the state’s air rating from “moderate” to “serious”
Colorado took the unusual step of inviting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to downgrade the air quality rating of the state’s biggest population center, and not everyone thinks that was a good idea. The EPA will hold a Friday hearing on whether to lower the ozone status of Denver and eight other northern Colorado counties […]