Several months ago, Democratic officials began the process of credentialing bloggers who cover state and local politics, as part of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps. More than 400 blogs applied for the program, and selections were largely based upon the degree to which bloggers have become experts on the political happenings in their states.
You’ll see a list below of the 55 blogs that will comprise the State Blogger Corps. They’ll be seated with their respective delegations at the Convention. Bloggers will have some of the best seats in the house and they’ll be the eyes and ears of local audiences online around the country (congratulations if you're blog IS on the list below - mine aren't. Maybe I'll be able to sneak in, security shouldn't be too tight!)
The DemConvention State Blogger Corps is listed below.
STATE - BLOG NAME - BLOG URL
ALASKA - Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis - http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com
ALABAMA- Doc's Political Parlor - http://politicalparlor.net
ARKANSAS- Under The Dome.com - http://underthedome.com
ARIZONA - Ted Prezelski - Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net
CALIFORNIA - Calitics- http://Calitics.com
COLORADO -SquareState.net - http://squarestate.net
CONNECTICUT -My Left Nutmeg - http://myleftnutmeg.com
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA- DCist.com - http://dcist.com
DELAWARE – TommyWonk - http://tommywonk.blogspot.com/
DEMOCRATS Abroad - Democrats Abroad Argentina - http://www.yanquimike.com.ar
FLORIDA - Florida Progressive Coalition - http://flaprogressives.org
GEORGIA- Tondee's Tavern - http://www.tondeestavern.com
GUAM - No Rest for the Awake - Minagahet Chamorro - http://minagahet.blogspot.com
HAWAII - iLind.net: Ian Lind Online - http://www.ilind.net
IOWA - The Iowa Independent - http://iowaindependent.com
IDAHO - 43rdStateBlues.com - http://www.43rdstateblues.com
ILLINOIS- Prairie State Blue - http://www.PrairieStateBlue.com
INDIANA- Blue Indiana - http://www.blueindiana.net
KANSAS - EverydayCitizen.com - http://everydaycitizen.com
KENTUCKY – BlueGrassRoots - http://www.bluegrassroots.org
LOUISIANA - Daily Kingfish - http://www.dailykingfish.com
MASSACHUSETTS - Blue Mass. Group - http://www.bluemassgroup.com
MARYLAND - The Center for Emerging Media - http://www.centerforemergingmedia.com
MAINE - Turn Maine Blue - http://www.turnmaineblue.com
MICHIGAN - Blogging For Michigan - http://bloggingformichigan.com
MINNESOTA - Minnesota Monitor - http://minnesotamonitor.com
MISSISSIPPI - The Natchez Blog - http://natchezms.blogspot.com
MISSOURI - Fired Up! LLC - http://www.firedupmissouri.com
MONTANA - Left in the West - http://www.leftinthewest.com
NORTH CAROLINA - BlueNC.com - http://bluenc.com
NORTH DAKOTA - NorthDecoder.com - http://www.northdecoder.com
NEBRASKA - New Nebraska Network - http://www.NewNebraska.net
NEW HAMPSHIRE - Blue Hampshire - http://www.bluehampshire.com
NEW JERSEY - PolitickerNJ.com - http://www.politickernj.com
NEW MEXICO - Democracy for New Mexico - http://www.DemocracyForNewMexico.com
NEVADA - Las Vegas Gleaner - http://www.lasvegasgleaner.com
NEW YORK - Room 8 - http://www.r8ny.com
OHIO - Ohio Daily Blog - http://www.ohiodailyblog.com
OKLAHOMA - DemoOkie - http://www.DemoOkie.com
OREGON - BlueOregon (blog) - http://www.blueoregon.com
PENNSYLVANIA - Keystone Politics - http://www.keystonepolitics.com
PUERTO RICO - Jusiper - http://jusiper.blogspot.com
RHODE ISLAND - Rhode Island's Future - http://www.rifuture.org
SOUTH CAROLINA - CracktheBell.com - http://www.crackthebell.com
SOUTH DAKOTA - Badlands Blue - http://www.badlandsblue.com
TENNESSEE - KnoxViews/TennViews - http://www.knoxviews.com
TEXAS - Burnt Orange Report - http://www.BurntOrangeReport.com
UTAH - The Utah Amicus - http://utahamicus.com
VIRGINIA - Raising Kaine - http://www.raisingkaine.com
VIRGIN ISLANDS - Democratic Party of the US Virgin Islands - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/democratvi
VERMONT - Green Mountain Daily - http://greenmountaindaily.com
WASHINGTON - HorsesAss.org - http://www.horsesass.org
WISCONSIN - Uppity Wisconsin - http://www.uppitywis.org
WEST VIRGINIA - West Virginia Blue - http://www.wvablue.com
WYOMING - Hummingbirdminds blog - http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com
Source: DemConvention.com
Photo: dbking via flickr under a creative commons license
May 20, 2008
Dems Name State Blogger Corps for Convention (and no, you're not on the list)
May 19, 2008
Big Week for Vestas
[From my post at CleanTechnica on 5.9.2008] Denmark-based Vestas Wind Systems (VWS:DC) had a big week. First, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer announced that they would be building a tower manufacturing plant in Colorado. Second, Vestas reported a 94 percent jump in earnings in the first quarter of 2008, as compared to the same period last year.
Although they have yet to disclose the location of the new tower manufacturing facility, it would be situated to complement the company's fist North American blade manufacturing plant, which recently opened its doors in Windsor, Colorado.
For the tower plant, the company will need a large parcel of land served by freight rail, a combination that Northern Colorado can provide at several locations, including the Windsor location, where construction proceeds on phase two of the blade plant. According to the Northern Colorado Business Review, more than 1,000 new jobs could result from further expansion of Vestas' manufacturing presence (read the rest of this story at CleanTechnica). 
Sources:
Other posts about the cleantech industry:
- "Can 'Low-Hanging Fruit' be Sexy: Two Energy Efficiency Stocks
- "Solar System Leases Taking Industry by Storm"
- "The Unlimited Potential of American Wind Energy: AWEA"
Photo: Vestas Wind Systems
May 16, 2008
DOE Cancels Shipments to Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Colorado Senator is lone dissenter in 97-1 vote
I'm really thankful that Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) is not running for another term. Earlier this week, the Senate voted 97-1 to halt shipments to the strategic petroleum reserve, a move that precipitated today's announcement by the Department of Energy that they would cancel shipments beginning in July. The reserve is currently 97% full, holding 701 million barrels of crude.
The lone dissenting vote in the Senate was that of the outgoing Republican Senator from Loveland, CO. Way to be a team player, Wayne. I really like people like people like Sen. Allard who are so principled and have such strong conviction for such a noble cause as this [note heavy sarcasm].
"Voting only to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve without doing anything to increase domestic production and lessening our dependence on foreign oil is a disservice to the American people," Allard said.
Denver Post
May 5, 2008
The Synergy Between Wind Energy and Freight Trains
There were a pair of articles in Sunday's Denver Post about the synergy between the wind energy and heavy rail industries (I suppose you could also say there is a synergy between heavy rail and the energy industry, more broadly defined, as residents of the mountain west are all to familiar with the mile-long coal trains and natural gas filled tanks criss-crossing the landscape and creating delays).
When Vestas Wind Systems announced that they would locate their first North American blade plant in Windsor, Colorado, company officials said part of the reason for doing so was because of the site's proximity to the regional rail network. Each blade being produced at the Windsor facility will be about 150 feet, and at full production capacity, Vestas expects to roll out about six of those blades per day, making rail transport quite attractive, to say the least.
Now, Beaumont, Texas-based Dragon Wind has thrown its hat into the ring and announced its plans to open a plant in Lamar, Colorado that will build 262-foot steel wind turbine towers. Officials of Dragon parent Modern Group Ltd. said Colorado's stature in wind power and rail access to Lamar were keys in siting the plant.
Rising Fuel Costs Making Rail-Freight More Attractive
Skyrocketing fuel prices are contributing to noticeable shifts in the country's freight-by-rail traffic. Add to this, locomotive fuel efficiency that has increased 80 percent since 1980 and you end up with a train that can carry a ton of freight for 423 miles on a gallon of fuel. Steve Raabe writes in the Denver Post article:
"Record high energy prices — especially for diesel that fuels locomotives — have hit railroads as hard as any other transportation sector. But rail's ability to handle trains with hundreds of cars gives it an efficiency advantage compared with tractor-trailer freight."I will say this in reply to all of the above: If the time ever comes that I am stopped for ten minutes in downtown Fort Collins to let a freight train pass by with car after car loaded with wind turbine blades from nearby Windsor, rather than car after car of liquified natural gas from
the Powder Basin in Wyoming, or forest products from Idaho and Montana, I won't mind waiting.
Photo: disckychick
Related Posts:
April 30, 2008
Corps of Engineers: Reservoir Would Reduce Poudre River Flow Through Ft Collins by 71% During Peak Runoff
A quick look at the draft EIS did not produce any surprises, said Gary Wockner, spokesman for Glade Reservoir opponents, Save the Poudre Coalition. "There's nothing in there that changes our mind that this project will be very bad for the Poudre River," he added. Highlights from the report include: 
The Northern Integrated Supply Project's proposed Glade Reservoir would significantly reduce flow of the Cache la Poudre River in peak runoff months. According to the long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released on Wednesday, the proposed reservoir would reduce the Poudre River's flow through Fort Collins by 71 percent in May and more than half as runoff peaks in June.
The Ft. Collins Coloradoan reports that opponents of the project are preparing to dig in to the massive document and its concomitant technical reports. The release begins a 90-day comment period during which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will review input from residents and government agencies about the project. Opponents plan to lobby for an extension of the comment period, according to the Coloradoan.
- Building Glade and Galeton (another reservoir) as proposed would cost about $426 million and would be the least-costly alternative.
- Glade would cause the loss of 44 acres of wetlands, the fewest among the alternatives.
- The reservoir would cause the loss of about 2,700 acres of native plant communities, or 20 percent more than other options.
- The reservoir would cause the loss of 50 acres of habitat for the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, which is a designated as a threatened species.
- Most of Glade's water would be taken during times of high flows. Reductions in the river's monthly average flow through Fort Collins would range from 71 percent in May in average years to 26 percent in August in dry years.
- NISP participants currently have access to about 50,000 acre feet of water and are expected to exceed that amount by 2010. With continued population growth, the annual demand for water will reach 90,700 acre feet by 2025.
- Flows on the Poudre and South Platte are likely to be reduced by other proposed water projects, including the expansion of Halligan and Seaman reservoirs, if NISP is built and if it is not.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Draft EIS
Photo: Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
April 29, 2008
Video: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (w/clock)
I recently recorded this short video of a grid-tied vertical-axis wind turbine and accompanied clock at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Although it sounds very windy in the video, I would guess it was gusting to only 12-14 knots. Running time is 50 seconds [please pardon the excited whimpers of my Labrador who knows he's going to play with the tennis ball].
April 28, 2008
Switching From Coal to Woody Biomass
A school district in the mountains of Northwestern Colorado is replacing its old coal-fired boilers with a system that will burn woody biomass - a suddenly plentiful resource - thanks to the region's pine beetle epidemic that is threatening to kill off nearly all of the state's lodgelpole pines in the next 3-5 years.
The South Routt School District will be spending the next few months replacing it's old coal-fired boiler with a biomass boiler that will use wood pellets for fuel instead. A significant portion of the pellets will come from the new Confluence Energy facility that is just about ready to open its doors in Kremmling, Colorado.
The project was financed The Governor’s Energy Office and a state bond program. McKinstry, an energy-oriented consulting and contracting firm based in the Seattle area, also is contributing free services for the boiler, which Reed said will be “cost-neutral” for South Routt schools. The change is part of a $4.1 million project to improve energy efficiency in schools and buildings, and could save the district $10,000 a year.
See Also:
"Should We Pursue Biofuels From Beetle-Killed Wood?" :: CleanTechnica (2/2008)
"Jamtland: A County Fueled by Biomass" (Video) :: ecopolitology (3/2008)
Steamboat Pilot (4/2008)
Photo: Steve Roe
April 22, 2008
Earth Day - Wonk Style
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter continued with his ambitious environmental agenda by issuing three executive orders on Tuesday.
- Executive Order D 004 08 establishes reduction goals for greenhouse gas emissions (20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050, both from 2005 levels); directs the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to develop regulations mandating the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions; and requests the Public Utilities Commission to require each utility under its jurisdiction to submit electric resource plans that include an analysis showing how the utility could achieve a 20 percent reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2020.
- Executive Order D 010 08 establishes an agricultural sequestration offset program.
- Executive Order B 007 08 establishes a Colorado Climate Advisory Panel.
Also today, Gov. Ritter announced the "Insulate Colorado" program to help homeowners insulate their homes and reduce energy consumption. With 44 statewide partners, Insulate Colorado will provide rebates to participating homeowners up to $300 per project.
Gov. Ritter also announced the first 13 founding Colorado reporters to The Climate Registry. The voluntary registry will "Assist in measuring, tracking and verifying emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), the gases that cause climate change. It will also provide the measurement and reporting infrastructure to support voluntary, mandatory, market-based and emissions reduction." Those signers are:
American Energy Assets
Cameron-Cole, LLC
Hogan and Hartson
Kleinfelder, Inc.
Newmont Mining Corporation
Platte River Power Authority
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
Shell Oil Company
State of Colorado
Suncor Energy (USA) Inc.
Symbiotic Engineering, LLC
Tri-State Generation and Transmission
Xcel Energy
April 15, 2008
Colorado Launches Carbon Fund
A new program in Colorado is designed to help residents buy carbon offsets to counter greenhouse gas pollution. The program is also designed to help protect buyers and ensure that they get what they pay for.
The Colorado Carbon Fund, part of the Governor's Energy Office, is designed to help Colorado governments, businesses, and individuals buy offsets, attract money to Colorado-based projects and verify that the money spent on offsets is being used as intended.
"We want to make sure Colorado consumers have a project available so they know where their money is going," said Susan Innis, manager of the carbon fund. "In some cases, you might not know exactly how your money is being spent or what the environmental impacts are." The verification part of the program would include new standards backed up by audits and a certification process.
It is not entirely clear how the government plants on overseeing the carbon offset market in Colorado, but details are forthcoming.
One funding tool for the carbon fund will be the sale of specialty license plates. To qualify for the plates, drivers will need to make a donation to the Colorado Carbon Fund. They will also need to pay $55.36 for the plate. Lawmakers added a nice touch to the bill; Vehicles over 16,000 pounds will not be eligible to a Colorado Carbon Fund license plate.
The Carbon Fund will be up and running later this spring.
Photo courtesy of esparta
April 10, 2008
New Vestas Plant Spurs Growth in Colorado Supply Chain
Woodward Governor, which designs, manufactures and services energy controls for engines, aircraft and industrial turbines and electrical power system equipment, plans to add a new production line in Northern Colorado expanding its wind turbine inverter business. The move comes just weeks after Vestas Wind Energy opened its first North American turbine blade plant in nearby Windsor, CO.
"The wind business has just taken off here," CEO Tom Gendron said. The company made a commitment to its customers to expand its U.S. production, a move Gendron called critical to customers' "future sales success."
Woodward also announced a new Workforce Initiative that connects educators, primary employers and the work force. Front Range Community College will begin offering a two-year degree next fall to train technicians suited for the green-collar industry, including jobs at Woodward.
Woodward Governor’s sales increased 20 percent during the first quarter of 2008, which ended Dec. 31, and it is forecasting an 8 percent to 10 percent increase in sales this year, including $100 million in wind energy sales.
April 9, 2008
Greenwashing Your Electricity
As of writing, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission homepage has a total of eight wind turbines on it; a curious number considering it is eight more than they have on their entire grid. This seems an oddity considering the tremendous wind energy resource within their sprawling service territory. But this is most likely about to change, as Colorado's co-ops are now required to come up with 10% of their energy from renewable sources.
It is unfortunate that Tri-State has resisted developing their excellent wind resource for so long. Now that there is a real danger of another lapse in federal renewable energy tax credits, wind energy developers will not exactly be lining up at Tri-State's Westminster, Colorado headquarters.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission provides power to 44 co-ops spread across 250,000 square miles of Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and New Mexico. Tri-State is itself a co-op (sort of). Maybe a better way of looking at the organization is that it is a co-op of co-ops; Tri-State is owned by the 44 co-ops it serves. And this institutional structure is not exactly conducive to change.
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April 6, 2008
About ecopolitology
ecopolitology [EE-koh-pol-i-TOL-uh-jee] n. The emergent discipline of inquiry concerned with the theory, description, and analysis of the inescapable intersectionality of ecology and politics...or something like that.
Although ecopolitology is a word, it isn't considered one in the English language - at least not yet. If you google ecopolitology you'll find mostly references to this blog, but you will also find a couple of Russian and Eastern European uses of the word to describe the academic study of humans and nature.
To be honest, I thought I had made it up along with a couple of colleagues of mine a few years back in grad school. I was taking an environmental political theory seminar and we were were reading lots of postmodern and post-structural works about the politics of nature, the social construction of nature, the role of science in democracy, etc. I believe we had been reading Bruno Bruno Latour's Politics of Nature: How to Bring the Sciences into Democracy, in which he had talked about the different '-ology' suffixes used in various disciplines of scientific inquiry (i.e. zoology, biology, geology, theology, sociology, etc.).
My colleagues and I wondered why there was no 'politology' in US parlance, just 'political science.' I honestly think that the earliest practitioners of political science, as a field of academic inquiry, were so self-conscious about it's position relative to the other sciences that they had to add the word 'science' to help bring some legitimacy to the fledgling discipline. Can you think of (m)any other disciplines where they have felt compelled to add the word 'science' to the end of it? Personally I like 'politology' and I'm going to stick with it.
Anyways, because I was reading all of these French postmodernists who like to make up words, I decided to slap an 'eco' together with a 'politology' and use the word to broadly describe environmental politics. It wasn't until months later when I decided to start a blog as a means to flesh out ideas for my dissertation research, that I instantly knew that ecopolitology had to be the name of it.
Thanks for visiting and please come back again.
Best,
Timothy B. Hurst
Fort Collins, CO
info [at] ecopolitology [dot] org
March 20, 2008
Did CSU Name Their New 'Clean Energy Supercluster' Biz After an Oilfield Logistics Company?
One of my almae matres, Colorado State University has finally launched the business-end of its long-awaited renewable energy "supercluster." The supercluster will serve as a clean tech incubator, moving research and development of clean energy and energy efficiency from the lab to the marketplace. CSU President Larry Penley joined Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and Colorado Senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar to make the announcement Thursday at the state Capitol.
The university's new business arm of the Clean Energy Supercluster took the painfully ironic name, Cenergy. Not to be confused with the large corporation of the same name, that provides logistical support for onshore and offshore oilfields worldwide. You'd think that someone at the university would have done a Google search on the name 'Cenergy' before getting the new stationery printed!
These are supposed to be researchers we're talking about, right?
Press Release
Colorado State University Clean Energy Supercluster
March 18, 2008
Community Wind Faces Financing & Market Obstacles
The largest wind turbine in the world owned by a school district is about to go online in Wray, CO. Apparently, the parts for the Americas Wind Energy turbine came from all over the world to tiny Wray, population 2100 and falling. The blades came from Spain, the generator from Holland, the tower from South Korea and the copper wire came from Canada. Ironically, even Americas Wind Energy itself is not an American company, it is Canadian.
After originally deciding on the size and type of turbine needed, the community found they couldn’t buy just one turbine in that size range. Because of the bottleneck in American wind turbine production, the large wind farms and energy development companies are dominating the turbine purchasing market, trying to get their projects online before the end of 2008 when the production tax credit (PTC) is currently set to expire. The current market uncertainty is favoring the large turbine orders, whilst moving small orders to the fringes.
It is possible this bottleneck will loosen as Vestas has just opened its first North American turbine blade facility in Windsor, CO. The wind giant has recently taken an order (pdf) for 109 turbines in the US that they said would not affect any of their existing orders. However, E.ON Climate and Renewable Energy, who placed the order, will not be scheduled to have all 109 turbines up and running by the end of 2008. Their project is not projected to be finished until the middle of 2009.
It is my guess that even if the PTC does not pass this year, it will pass at the beginning of next year, when there is a strong chance there will be a Democrat in the White, and maybe even a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It is also quite likely that Congress would extend the PTC retroactively back to the beginning of 2009, as if it never expired. Even if that is the case, there is certain to be some downturn in the renewable energy industry as investors may get a little sheepish without the security of a production tax credit this year.
Fort Morgan Times
Photo: Americas Wind Energy (AWE 52-900)
March 12, 2008
Telluride Shushing Democratic Theory
Tucked away in a box canyon along the San Miguel river, Telluride, Colorado is known for its great skiing, music festivals, oversized second (and third) homes, and quaint Victorian charm. Now, whether the townspeople want it or not, the town may become known for turning its back on transparency. The Town Council in Telluride holds the power of executive session, and it is considering extending that power to other boards that are handling "sensitive issues." Executive sessions are used by all kinds of committees and boards in corporations, associations, and governments to discuss issues of a discreet nature. Executive sessions are certainly not new in government, but that doesn't mean they are good.
From the Telluride Daily Planet:
The Open Space Commission already has the authority to bar the public from its meetings. Now, the council is mulling granting this power to the Planning and Zoning and Historic and Architectural Review commissions. Town Attorney Kevin Geiger said that as the matters these commissions deal with “mature and become more controversial,” the need has occasionally risen for attorney-client privileged communications... ...Past boards and commissions have been granted these powers, on occasion and by specific ordinances, such as one that allowed the Valley Floor Advisory Board to enter into executive session with the town’s legal team."
More...
March 7, 2008
Spanish Renewable Energy Firms Eye US Market
Obscured by all of the buzz about the opening of wind energy giant Vestas' first North American blade plant, a delegation of about 30 renewable energy executives and government officials from
It is no secret that Spanish renewable energy companies like Acciona, Iberdola, and Finavera are aggressively positioning themselves to be major manufacturers in the in the American renewable energy industry. The Spanish delegation is not visiting Colorado on a whim. The state has recently shown with the opening of the new Vestas plant, that it is willing to give cash incentives and employment bonuses to clean energy businesses who want to set up shop in the Centennial State.
Photo Credit: TheFriendlyFiend via flickr
March 3, 2008
Vestas Quietly Opens First North American Blade Plant
Danish wind-energy giant, Vestas, has apparently already opened the doors to its $60 million, 400,000 square foot blade manufacturing facility in Windsor, Colorado. Even though the plant was not officially scheduled to open until this week, The Coloradoan has reported that manufacturing stealthily began as much as four weeks ago. The Windsor factory is the company's first manufacturing facility in North America.
Construction on the plant began in June 2007 with the intent of having a 200,000-square-foot facility with 400 workers. Those workers were to run four production-lines and create 1200 turbine blades per year (enough for 400 turbines). But, as I reported back in November, Vestas announced they would bump the total number of manufacturing jobs up to 650. Since making the announcement, company officials have been relatively tight-lipped about the potential change in production output brought on by the addition of employees.
With 35,000 wind turbines installed, and a market share of 23%, Vestas has 15,000 employees worldwide. In the USA, Vestas has installed more than 4,000 megawatts of wind energy. The company hopes that the centrally-located blade facility in Colorado will ease the bottleneck in US turbine manufacturing and deployment.
Photo Credit: sky#walker via flickr
Fort Collins Coloradoan
February 29, 2008
Western Guvs Still Googly-Eyed for "Clean Coal"
WASHINGTON — Colorado Governor Bill Ritter urged the federal government to step up its pursuit of clean-coal technologies to better diversify the nation’s energy portfolio. “Blending cleaner forms of carbon-based resources with renewable resources like wind and solar will lead to a more secure energy future,” said Gov. Ritter. Ritter have his remarks at the National Governors Association annual winter meeting in Washington. The theme of the annual meeting and is "Securing a Clean Energy Future."
Unfortunately, the Governor suggested that Washington get more aggressive in providing incentives and other public-private opportunities to spur advances in clean-coal, coal-gasification, coal- to-liquid and other related technologies.
Ritter and others in the Western Governors Association have adopted a policy resolution encouraging acceleration in the development and deployment of alternative transportation fuels and vehicle fuel efficiency. The resolution was based upon a new report delivered to the Governors by their Advisory Committee on Transportation Fuels for the Future. Alternative fuels considered included biofuels (ethanol, biomethane/biogas, and biobutanol), bio- and renewable-diesel, electricity, coal-to-liquids, natural gas/propane and hydrogen.
Honestly, I wish my Governor was not pleading for advancements in clean coal and especially coal-to liquids. Ritter has had a very progressive energy policy thus far, and he has made renewables and the New Energy Economy his number one priority. But the political part of me gets it that part of the coalition that got him elected included mine workers and other union laborers. In other words, coal is big business in Colorado, and anyone working in energy out here knows it. The question is, how do we stabilize our growing energy needs and dependence on coal and then begin to scale it back?
Environmental groups have been very supportive of Ritter thus far, but his position on the elusive 'clean coal' may come back to haunt him.
Western Governors Association
Governor Bill Ritter Press Release
Cherry Creek News - Feb 23, 2008
February 26, 2008
Snow Day
In a departure from my usual content, I decided to post some pictures from my day of skiing Monday at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado. I've been skiing at 'A-Basin' for about 13 years and it has got to be one of the coolest places on earth to ski. Known for its expert terrain, hordes of ebullient dogs, high winds, frigid temps, charcoal grills and microbrews, sweet and pungent aromas, and lots of smiling locals, the Basin has no condos, no fur coats and no clubs. And now, it's also known for a new lift on the ski area's backside - known as Montezuma Bowl - which increases the ski-able terrain by 80%. Certainly there are ecological implications to this expansion - but that critique will have to wait. I will mention, however, that the management at Arapahoe Basin has made environmental stewardship a priority, and they have taken many progressive steps towards lightening the area's ecological footprint.
February 7, 2008
Pine Beetles Cross the Divide
[This post was originally published at sustainablog on January 22, 2008. It is the first of two parts addressing the pine beetle epidemic in Colorado and what the mountain communities are doing about it. Part two can be found by clicking on this link]
Colorado has 1.7 million acres of lodgepole pine forests. Though, if you have any desire to see any of those trees alive, I’d suggest you move rather quickly. State and federal officials recently announced that the mountain pine beetle epidemic grew by a half a million acres in 2007, bringing the total infestation in the state to about 1.5 million acres. Foresters indicated that the epidemic would virtually eliminate every acre of lodgepole pines in the next three to five years.
Up until quite recently, the pine beetle epidemic in Colorado was limited to a five county area along the Continental Divide. However, recent forest surveys indicate that the beetle has crossed the Divide and is moving eastward. The Forest Service’s annual surveys that are produced by ’stitching’ together aerial photographs have enabled the forest service to illuminate the rapid acceleration of the beetles’ northeasterly march. Once restricted to high country hamlets like Breckenridge, Fraser and Steamboat Springs, the hungry beetles are quickly moving into the foothills and front range near Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins. According to Kyle Patterson at Rocky Mountain National Park, the pine beetles have reached “epic proportions.”
Although the beetle is a full-time resident of the temperate coniferous forests of the Rocky Mountains, their numbers have grown exponentially in the last ten years, fed by a ‘perfect storm’ of contributing factors, including a steady pattern of rising temperatures.
Extreme cold temperatures can reduce beetle populations. But, ever since the most recent outbreak began in the mid-1990s, the extremes have not been extreme enough. For freezing temperatures to affect a large number of larvae during the middle of winter, temperatures of at least 30 degrees below zero must be sustained for at least five days.
Locals have come to accept that, for the most part, the beetle cannot be stopped, only adapted to. The good news is that folks in the mountain towns of Colorado are not willing to simply let the beetles win. Facing daily changes to their familiar green landscapes, and dealing with the potential of catastrophic wildfire, large-scale erosion leading to watershed quality problems, and loss of tourism dollars, communities in Colorado are forming innovative, multilevel collaborative partnerships to come up with new ideas and plans of action for an epidemic that knows no political boundaries.
The biggest obstacle for community organizations is not political will, it is the significant resources required for the large-scale thinning of at-risk areas. Currently, the average price of thinning one acre of forests in Summit County, CO is about $2000. Limited funding obviously means that not every acre can be treated. The reason for the high cost of forest thinning is that there is no market for the beetle-kill wood. According to Gary Severson of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments:
“There’s simply not enough public money to thin the forests. The only way to do this is to find some way to add value to this material. With small-diameter lodgepole pine, there aren’t a lot of options.”
But, at least there are some options, and some pretty good ones at that. I will address some of the very innovative solutions to this sticky problem in part two.
Colorado State Univ. Cooperative Extension
Photo Credits: Canadian Forest Service.
