A group of local and retired politicians who favor quick passage of climate-change legislation is launching a public dialogue in Colorado and other states this week, warning that climate change may threaten national security, The Denver Post reports.
Former U.S. Sens. John Warner and Gary Hart, joined by Gov. Bill Ritter’s climate-change coordinator, Alice Madden, are to lead a public forum today at 10 a.m. in the University of Colorado Denver’s Tivoli multicultural student lounge.

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The state recently issued new rules about road development on the most pristine of public lands, but some environmental groups are concerned the changes may actually result in less protection for roadless national forests than in any other state. Rocky Mountain PBS asks why is Colorado following its own rules, and what’s the latest on federal protections?

Joining host Cynthia Hessin:
- Mike King, Colorado Department of Natural Resources
- Jim Sims, Western Business Roundtable
- Amy Mall, National Resources Defense Council
- Andrea Robinsong, Western Colorado Congress

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A small group of Colorado environmentalists — including mountaineer Aron Ralston, who became famous in 2003 for freeing himself by using a dull pocketknife to sever his arm after it became trapped under a fallen boulder during a backcountry hike — called for more protection of Colorado land during an event in Denver Tuesday morning, The Colorado Statesman reports.

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Colorado Democrats and environmental groups are rallying behind tough climate control legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate.
Following House passage this summer of controversial cap-and-trade legislation aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions, Democrats in the Senate Wednesday introduced similar legislation that goes beyond the so-called Waxman-Markey bill.
“Passage of a clean energy bill is so important,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who joined fellow Democrats, including Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts, and Barbara Boxer of California, at a news conference on Capitol Hill announcing the more than 800 pages of draft legislation. “To put it bluntly, we are not going to create the jobs we need for the future if we allow China, Europe and other countries to outpace us in the race for energy security.”
The Boxer-Kerry legislation would hike emission cuts to 20 percent below 2005 levels from the 17 percent target in the House. It aims at reducing smokestack emissions of carbon dioxide 20 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels.
The bill would also answer calls by environmental groups to give the Environmental Protection Agency more control over emissions. The bill would grant the EPA the authority to set emissions standards when issuing permits for existing power plants — a stark difference from the House bill that would place boundaries on the EPA’s authority to regulate emissions.
Like the Waxman-Markey proposal, the Senate plan also calls for a cap and trade system for replacing fossil fuels with alternative energies to power factories and produce electricity.
Under cap and trade, ever-declining carbon dioxide emission limits would be imposed and companies would be allowed to sell to each other, through a regulated market, the pollution permits controlling those emissions.
Critics of such a system — mostly Republicans and industry groups — argue that increased costs would be passed on to Americans, especially to low-income families.
The Lakewood-based Western Business Roundtable recently said such legislation would levy “crushing new costs” on citizens in the midst of an economic downturn.
“The Waxman-Markey bill in Congress, as well as other highly complicated regional efforts to impose cap-and-trade schemes on the economy, are on political life support now primarily because citizens have awakened to the crushing costs, job losses and market uncertainty these bills would inevitably cause,” said Jim Sims, chief executive of the conservative Western Business Roundtable.
Some environmental groups, however, are calling for even more stringent legislation, including a national renewable energy portfolio standard of 25 percent by 2025.
But Dana Hoffman, energy associate at Environment Colorado, said the Boxer-Kerry bill is a step in the right direction, and added that Colorado can offer inspiration to the rest of the nation for making the switch to renewables and cutting back on toxic greenhouse gas emissions.
“(The Boxer-Kerry) announcement shows that the (Obama) administration is looking to states like Colorado as shining examples of the power of a clean energy future,” said Hoffman.
“The bill introduced in the Senate (Wednesday) is an important next step in putting this country on sound a foundation of clean energy that will increase our national security and improve our economy while protecting our environment,” Hoffman continued.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet did not attend the news conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday, but in a statement told the Denver Daily News that he is supporting the bill.
“It’s time for a new way forward,” he said. “It’s time we harness the potential of our entrepreneurial spirit and our abundant clean energy resources to create a more sustainable path for the future. We can and must lead the world to a new energy economy.”

Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters

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Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter says western states must work together on water issues if the region is to continue to grow, the Associated Press reports.

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Colorado’s senators and Rep. John Salazar sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu this week urging him to remove a Mesa County storage site from consideration as the home for 17,000 tons of mercury, The Denver Post writes.

20090926_Mercury

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By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Environmental groups are using a national study as fodder for pushing federal legislation that would enact a cap and trade system for greenhouse gas emissions.
Citing a report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Environment Colorado Wednesday said strict legislation to combat global warming would create jobs and consumer savings.
But skeptics tell the Denver Daily News that the American Clean Energy and Security Act would have little impact on the environment.
The debate will surely continue well through the fall when the Senate is expected to consider the House-approved legislation.
The measure would not only establish a cap and trade system for emissions, but also set tough standards for efficiency, such as enacting renewable energy standards. The so-called Waxman-Markey bill approved in the House would require a renewable portfolio standard of 6 percent in 2012, 9.5 percent in 2014, 13 percent in 2016, 16.5 percent in 2018 and 20 percent in 2021-2039.
“The Senate needs to pass an energy bill that puts Americans back to work repowering our economy,” said Keith Hay, energy advocate for Environment Colorado. “By passing an energy bill soon, the Senate has the opportunity to put cash in people’s pockets while they put people back to work.”

Report: Jobs would be created
The report states that in Colorado the legislation would create 7,100 new jobs by 2020 in the new energy sector. It would also save Coloradans an average of $158 per household in 2020 thanks to improving energy efficiency.
But skeptics say until other nations start taking up the cause, the American Clean Energy and Security Act would have little impact on global warming.
“It would drive up the cost of every conceivable kind of energy we have — whether it’s to heat your home or run your car — it would destroy jobs, and it would do so all for something that is not going to have any kind of real impact on the environment, not when countries like China and India don’t do anything to restrain emissions,” Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Republican Party of Colorado, told the Denver Daily News in a recent interview.
Opponents are concerned about the impact the legislation might have on traditional energy companies, which would trickle down to employees and the economy.
Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration, however, is positive tougher legislation would have a positive impact on Colorado’s economy and environment.
“Efforts to make our buildings and homes more energy efficient are creating green jobs in Colorado,” said Tom Plant, director of the Governor’s Energy Office. “Increased investment in efficiency would put more Coloradans to work building an energy smart state while saving them money on energy costs.”

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With the recession forcing cutbacks at every level of government, will environmental protections in Colorado be affected? This month the state issued new rules about road development on public lands. But some environmental groups are concerned the changes may actually result in less protection for roadless national forests than in any other state. What’s the outlook for public land in Colorado?

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