Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Iraq Oliver Willis is linking to video from Baghdad. He writes, "John McCain, whose campaign for the presidency is badly faltering, appeared on CNN in order to spin once again for the Iraq war and the 'surge' strategy. Amazingly, McCain reaffirmed his previous claim that Iraq is safe, alleging that Americans can just walk around with no problem. Thankfully CNN correspondent Michael Ware is actually in Baghdad and makes clear that McCain's rhetoric bares no relationship whatsoever to reality." "2008 pres" 7:41:25 AM

Science and politics beSpacific: "'Redacting the Science of Climate Change [pdf] the findings of a year-long investigation into political interference at federal climate science agencies. The report demonstrates how policies and practices have increasingly restricted the flow of scientific information emerging from publicly-funded climate change research. This has negatively affected the media's ability to report objectively on scientific issues, public officials' capacity to respond with appropriate policies, and full public understanding of environmental concerns.'" "2008 pres" 7:35:34 AM

Allard Capital Conference From the North Denver News, "U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) is accepting applications to the 10th Annual Allard Capital Conference to be held June 6-8 in Washington, D.C. This year's conference will be sponsored by the University of Colorado and Fort Lewis College. Interested residents should submit an application by Friday, April 6... The Allard Capital Conference is open to 120 Colorado residents, who have previously ranged in age from 18 to 85 and have come from all walks of life. Applicants who are accepted will be notified in late April and will pay a $250.00 registration fee, which includes conference materials and several meals during the conference. Applications and more information can be found online at http://allard.senate.gov/acc. 7:31:47 AM

Gay rights Andrew Sullivan: "Even the conservative intellectuals who oppose marriage rights for all have now disowned the theories of Stanley Kurtz. David Blankenhorn is the latest to do so. Money quote: 'Neither Kurtz nor anyone else can scientifically prove that allowing gay marriage causes the institution of marriage to get weaker.' Still, Blankenhorn soldiers on, trying to argue that there is a self-reinforcing correlation between support for marriage equality and opposition to traditional marriage." "2008 pres" 7:23:55 AM

? for president? The American Scene: "The GOP has three major problems going into 2008: The war in Iraq, the exhaustion of the Reaganite "tax cuts and small government" domestic agenda, and the fact that the party's culture-war agenda, long a winner for the party, looks increasingly hard-edged and bigoted to many moderate voters. Therefore, what the party needs for the general election is a candidate who can plausibly distance himself from both the failures in Iraq abroad and Grover Norquist at home, and who can find a way to reach out to cultural moderates without abandoning the party's principles on issues like abortion. It needs a heterodox conservative, in other words, and it has a bunch of them in the primary campaign - but the leading contenders have heterodox records on precisely the wrong issues... "The major contenders, in other words, have a worst-of-both-worlds problem. Their ideological untrustworthiness will give them fits in the primary season without winning them many swing voters come the general election. (John McCain, should he get the nomination, isn't going to pick up blue-collar voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania because he broke with his party to champion campaign-finance restrictions. Rudy Giuliani isn't going to win over any of the Montanans who went for Jon Tester or the Virginians who went for Jim Webb because he split the national GOP on gun control or welfare reform.) And because they're considered ideologically untrustworthy, they're vulnerable to a dark horse challenge not from the kind of creative reform conservative that the party desperately needs, but from a candidate whose principle qualification is a solid record of party-line votes, and not much else. Someone like, say, Fred Thompson. "The result, if such a party-line conservative challenge to McCains and Giuilianis should succeed, will be a nominee who won't embarrass the party in November, but whose ceiling of support - unless the Democratic nominee is exceptionally bad - is probably around forty-eight percent of the vote. Which is to say, a loser." Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the link. Nick Gillespie (via Reason): "[Wash Times col Don] Lambro's col cites poll data showing Rudy Giuliani kicking GOP ass, and Clinton's too (by 6 percentage points). My random thoughts, a 1,000 years out from the election: If it comes down to Rudy vs. Hillary, the smart money is on her. She's shown she can go the campaign distance in a way that he has not." Captain's Quarters: "Tony Blankley, the editor of the Washington Times, warns Republicans to get their act together now if they expect to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2008 for the White House. The Bush administration has begun playing into her one strength -- competence -- and the Republicans cannot rely on Barack Obama or John Edwards to stop her march to the Oval Office." Political Wire: "Though most polls show Sen. Hillary Clinton as the clear frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, a new Harris Poll finds that 50% of American adults say they would not vote for her if she was the Democratic candidate, while only 36% say they would, with 11% unsure. More striking is that many Democrats are not behind her either, as 21% say they would not vote for her. Political Wire: "In Iowa, a new Zogby telephone poll shows a very close race for the Democratic presidential nomination. John Edwards leads with 27% support, with Sen. Hillary Clinton close behind at 25% support and Sen. Barack Obama at 23%. Fifteen percent said they were unsure whom they would support." "2008 pres" 7:22:08 AM

New conservation easement along the Mancos River The Nature Conservancy has added another conservation easement along the Mancos River, according to the Cortez Journal. From the article, "After living on her Mancos farm for 42 years, Marilyn Colyer is happy the land she has grown to love will stay the way it is today - forever. The property, which is bisected by the Mancos River, will remain a home for deer, turkeys, hawks, frogs and the countless number of other wildlife that make their homes in the property's 105 acres of canyons, pastures and riparian habitat... "In addition to Colyer's Hooten Holler Ranch, 167 acres along the Mancos River will stay undeveloped following a recent conservation easement by the Montezuma Land Conservancy. The conservancy added the Lazy FW Ranch, which sits in the lower Mancos Valley. The ranch, owned by Dick White and Pat Johnson, brings the amount of acreage protected from development along the Mancos River to 1,500... "The easement was made possible by grants from Great Outdoors Colorado, the USDA Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Montelores Habitat Partnership Program and donations from the community." "colorado water" 7:03:14 AM

Energy policy: Renewable energy Governor Ritter signed HB 07-1281 [pdf] and SB 07-100 [pdf] yesterday, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "Under a still and cloudy sky, Gov. Bill Ritter on Tuesday signed legislation he said would make Colorado a national leader in wind and solar power. 'Colorado is the sixth-sunniest state - believe it or not - and the 11th-windiest state - believe it or not,' the governor said as he signed into law the cornerstone pieces of his renewable energy agenda. He signed the two bills at a gathering of more than 100 lawmakers, environmentalists and energy industry officials at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's National Wind Technology Center south of Boulder... "House Bill 1281 requires large, investor-owned utilities to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2010. Smaller cooperative utilities would have to produce 10 percent of their power from alternative sources by then." "Senate Bill 100 requires utilities to upgrade their transmission lines to carry new energy sources while allowing them to recover the upgrade costs during construction." "2008 pres" 6:47:39 AM

Stem cell research Here's an article about the possibility of the U.S. Senate lifting the ban on stem cell research from today's Denver Post. From the article, "Legislation to lift limits on federal embryonic stem-cell research is headed back to the Senate floor, and possibly back to President Bush. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday said senators will debate stem-cell legislation in early April. They'll consider a bill similar to the one sponsored by Denver Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, which passed the House in January. Senate backers say they have enough votes for passage. That would send the bill to Bush for the second time. The president has promised to veto it again, as he did last summer after it passed Congress... "Republicans do not appear to be blocking a vote on the legislation. Republican Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is working with Reid on an agreement that would allow a vote on the bill, a McConnell aide said. The bill from DeGette would toss out Bush's restriction limiting federal research on embryonic stem-cell lines to those created before August 2001. DeGette's bill would allow research using embryos created for in vitro fertilization, slated to be discarded and donated without compensation." "2008 pres" 6:41:55 AM

Global warming: The Earth is a beautifully complex system Here's a look at the science of measuring the ice stored on Greenland from HappyNews.com. They write, "Greenland is cold and hot. It's a deep freezer storing 10 percent of Earth's ice and a subject of fevered debate. If something should melt all that ice, global sea level could rise as much as 7 meters (23 feet). Greenland and Antarctica - Earth's two biggest icehouses - are important indicators of climate change and a high priority for research, as highlighted by the newly inaugurated International Polar Year. Just a few years ago, the world's climate scientists predicted that Greenland wouldn't have much impact at all on sea level in the coming decades. But recent measurements show that Greenland's ice cap is melting much faster than expected. These new data come from the NASA/German Aerospace Center's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace). Launched in March 2002, the twin Grace satellites circle the globe using gravity to map changes in Earth's mass 500 kilometers (310 miles) below. They are providing a unique way to monitor and understand Earth's great ice sheets and glaciers. "Grace measurements have revealed that in just four years, from 2002 to 2006, Greenland lost between 150 and 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year. One cubic kilometer is equal to about 264 billion gallons of water. That's enough melting ice to account for an increase in global sea level of as much as 0.5 millimeters (0.019 inches) per year, according to Isabella Velicogna and John Wahr of the University of Colorado, Boulder. They published their results in the scientific journal Nature last fall. Since global sea level has risen an average of three millimeters (0.1 inch) per year since 1993, Greenland's rapidly increasing contribution can't be overlooked. 'Before Grace, the change of Greenland's ice sheet was inferred by a combination of more regional radar and altimeter studies pieced together over many years, but Grace can measure changes in the weight of the ice directly and cover the entire ice sheet of Greenland every month,' says Michael Watkins, Grace project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. However, as anyone who has ever been concerned about his or her weight knows, a number on a scale is just the beginning. In the five years that Grace has been flying, scientists have found ways to make the most of this new set of observations." More Coyote Gulch coverage of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment here. "2008 pres" 6:29:21 AM

Colorado River Basin roundtable report The Colorado River Roundtable heard from Eric Kuhn Monday. He told the group that they should start planning for less water, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article, "A call on the Colorado River could be decades away, but with less water forecast to flow in the river in the coming years, cities and towns on the Western Slope should plan for water shortages anyway -- especially if they have junior water rights. That was the message Colorado River Water Conservation District General Manager Eric Kuhn gave the Colorado River Roundtable on Monday as the river district prepares to kick off a study of how much water regional energy development will need, and the Legislature considers a potential water availability study on the Western Slope. "Kuhn said water shortages caused by regional climate change could affect every water user in the Colorado River Basin, and they should plan for a future with less water to go around. And, he said, nobody knows for sure how much water is left to be developed in the Colorado River because of declining stream flows. That affects big water projects such as the proposed Blue Mesa Reservoir Pumpback, he said. All Western Slope river basins, he said, must come together to plan for their water future because they're all connected to the Colorado River... "There's also the effect of energy development on the Colorado River Basin to consider, an issue some roundtable members found frustrating Monday because Royal Dutch Shell and other companies researching oil shale here have not divulged how much water in situ oil shale extraction will consume. 'There's a misconception that it's (oil shale development) all going to be new water, it's really not,' Kuhn said. 'Oil companies have existing valid water rights.' Some of those companies have water rights dating from the 1950s or 1960s, Kuhn said. During a water shortage, water consumptive oil shale extraction could deny Gunnison Basin or San Juan Basin or other water users their water rights if they date from 1970s or 1980s, he said." "colorado water" 6:21:14 AM

No watering restrictions forseen for Pueblo and Colorado Springs in 2007 Colorado Springs and Pueblo residents probably won't face watering restrictions this year, according to KKTV. From the article, "So far this year officials in Pueblo and El Paso County say there are no water restrictions in sight, but that doesn't mean people should stop trying to conserve water. Colorado Springs Utilities will be offering rebates to customers that make certain upgrades to their sprinkler systems. According to Scott Winters of Springs Utilities rain sensors and sprinklers controls are great ways to save water and money. If you make some of the suggested upgrades, Springs Utilities may offer rebates on your bill. In Pueblo, the Board of Water Works will be sending out flyers in their April water bills with suggestions on how to conserve water." "colorado water" 6:12:16 AM

Green Mountain pumpback? From today's Summit Daily News "reg", "A recently completed $200,000 study shows that pumping water from Green Mountain Reservoir back upstream to Dillon Reservoir is technically feasible and could yield as much as 50,000 acre feet of water, at a cost of about $10,000 to $12,000 per acre foot. 'We're talking about a project on the order of several hundred million dollars,' said Dan Birch, and planner with Colorado River Water Conservation District (CRWCD). Birch said the cost per acre-foot (about 326,000 gallons) of the so-called pumpback is comparable to other water development scenarios, including new or expanded reservoirs. A Green Mountain pumpback would mean tapping into Green Mountain Reservoir's water supply and pumping part of the Blue River's flow back upstream through pipes, then sending it down the Blue once again... "Potential impacts include downstream depletions and water quality concerns like additional phosphorus loading in Dillon Reservoir, not to mention the potential energy needed to pump the water back uphill, according to Birch. The project could help stabilize the level of Dillon Reservoir, a plus for Summit County marinas, which have become an important part of the area's summer economy. And there may also be some benefits to stream flows in Grand County, hit particularly hard by diversions to the Front Range. But there would be decreased flows in the Blue River below Green Mountain Reservoir and in the Colorado River from Kremmling all the way down through Eagle County, said Trout Unlimited vice president Ken Neubecker, expressing his concern about further de-watering that section of the river, which does not have any instream flows set to protect trout... "For the Colorado environmental community, the pumpback is basically just another large trans-mountain diversion, enabling the Front Range to take more West Slope water for future growth in the south Denver suburbs, said Dan Luecke, a water consultant for several conservation groups. Under the Green Mountain pumpback scenario, the proposed Wolcott Reservoir would replace some of the current functions of Green Mountain Reservoir. Luecke said the most fundamental question needs to answered first - is there really any 'new' water that can be developed in the Colorado River Basin?... "Neubecker said it's important to remember that a pumpback doesn't really create any new supplies of water. It simply shifts the existing supply around in new ways. 'The study for this came about as part of a project to provide wet-year water for the Front Range and dry-year water for the West Slope,' Birch said, explaining that a Green Mountain pumpback would only work with buy-in from stakeholders on both sides of the Divide. The wet-year water for the Front Range would be part of a conjunctive use plan, calling for combined use of surface and ground water systems to make the best use of the limited resource. As well, the pumbpack ties into construction of a proposed new reservoir near Wolcott. Without the additional downstream storage, the pumpback wouldn't work, Birch said. The next step is to take a look at ways to mitigate the potential impacts identified by the study, including the phosphorus loading issue, as well as dissolved solids in the Blue River. 'We also need to look at the yield. Where does it go,' Birch said. 'There are opportunities for benefits for the West Slope,' he said, adding that there has to be support from West Slope stakeholders to move ahead. One of the benefits could be increased flows in the Blue River below Dillon Reservoir, where the mandated minimum instream flow is barely adequate at times to sustain the Gold Medal trout fishery. A pumpback from Green Mountain Reservoir could also improve the yield from Clinton Reservoir, a key storage bucket in the Ten Mile Creek drainage that provides important snowmaking water for local resorts." "colorado water" 6:06:49 AM

Fry-Ark space for Aurora? Kara Lamb, who works for the Bureau of Reclamation, Great Plains Office, sends this via email: "Here's the scoop: Aurora has had Arkansas River Basin water rights since the early 1980s that they acquired through the State of Colorado's normal water rights laws and processes. What they have had difficulty doing is accessing that water since they took ownership of it. Their long term contract with us makes it possible for them to run THEIR water through OUR project facilities during times when our project is not full of project water. By storing their water in our facilities, they can facilitate some water exchanges that enable them to better access their water. "If, while they have their water in our facilities, there is a huge storm, or some other water event, and our reservoirs start to fill up with Fry-Ark Project water, Aurora's water is the very first to spill and they would lose whatever water they had stored in our project. "These types of storage contracts are called 'if and when' or 'excess capacity' contracts and they are available to any water entity who requests, pending a NEPA review and contract negotiation. Both the NEPA review and contract negotiation are public processes. "However, because Aurora is an out-of-basin entity, they have to pay a larger fee for the excess capacity contracts than in-basin entities do. That is a benefit to participants in the Fry-Ark project because the proceeds from Aurora's contract, in part, go to the original repayment contract amount Fry-Ark water users (represented by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy district) still owe on the Project, helping them pay it off faster. "So, that's the story on the contract." She also reiterated that authority to enter into the contract with Aurora, "...comes from the Reclamation Act of 1902 and all acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, including the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project Act of 1962 and Section 14 of the Reclamation Projects Act of 1939." In another email Ms. Lamb asked that we let people know that the Final FONSI-EA w/Appendices-Proposed Aurora Excess Capacity Contract including Responses to Comments is still in draft form. Ms. Lamb writes, "Because it is a draft, it is open to public comment. We are accepting comments until June 4, 2007. Comments should be in writing and sent to the attention of Terry Gomoll at the following: Bureau of Reclamation, 11056 W. County Rd. 18E, Loveland, CO 80537, fx: (970) 663-3212, e-mail: tgomoll@gp.usbr.gov. Coyote Gulch is pretty sure that Reclamation would rather hear from U.S. Congressman Mark Udall through official lines rather than the pages of the Pueblo Chieftain. However, from today's Chiefain, "A Colorado congressmen is upset with a decision to issue a contract to Aurora to store and exchange water in Lake Pueblo without a full environmental impact statement. U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., Tuesday criticized a decision by the Bureau of Reclamation to issue a 40-year contract to Aurora that would allow the city of 300,000 east of Denver to move Arkansas Valley water to the South Platte basin. The water would come from water rights Aurora purchased on the Rocky Ford Ditch and Colorado Canal, as well as from future leases. Aurora would use an excess capacity account in Lake Pueblo to physically exchange water and make paper trades of water to Turquoise and Twin Lakes, where it pumps water out of the basin through the Otero Pumping Station and Homestake Pipeline... "'It seemed to me the Bureau could build on the environmental assessment and do a full EIS,' Udall said. 'After reading the whole FONSI section, it may not have been the Bureau's intent to thumb its nose at the Lower Arkansas Valley, but it certainly appears that way.' The report looks only at Aurora's suggested action and a 'no-action' alternative, eliminating seven other alternatives that were suggested following a scoping process in 2003 when the contract was proposed. The report also does not look at the cumulative impact from three major projects - the Southern Delivery System, Preferred Storage Options Plan and Arkansas Valley Conduit - calling them 'not reasonably foreseeable'... "Udall said he is not familiar with all the details of Reclamation's assessment, but given the time frame and nature of the contract and controversy surrounding it, more study is needed. As a member of the House natural resources committee, he said he will continue to push for a full environmental impact statement. He plans to contact officials at Reclamation to encourage them to expand the study." Meanwhile here's another article about the EA from today's Pueblo Chieftain. They write, "Outdated information was included in the final draft of an environmental assessment of a Bureau of Reclamation storage and exchange 40-year contract with Aurora. Under a section listing reasonably foreseeable actions for cumulative effects, Reclamation relied on the former 'no action' alternative under Colorado Springs' Southern Delivery System environmental impact statement. 'Things can change and this is an example of that,' said Kara Lamb, spokeswoman for Reclamation's Eastern Colorado office in Loveland. 'You do the best you can with the information you have at the time and put it out.' "There is no mention of the new alternative in Reclamation's environmental assessment of the Aurora contract, however. In a 'finding of no significant impact,' Reclamation also obtained a commitment from Aurora that it would abide by the 2004 IGA. However, if Colorado Springs is not a part of the IGA, the minimum flow regime through Pueblo would be changed. It could also alter assumptions made about future participation in a recovery of yield program set up under the IGA... "A five-year cumulative impact study of all excess capacity contracts in 2006 found there was little impact on water quality with increased storage of up to 80,000 acre-feet in Pueblo Reservoir. Aurora is asking for a 10,000 acre-foot account that would typically fill in the spring and early summer and be released to make exchanges to points further up the river throughout the rest of the year. The city also wants a 10,000 acre-foot 'paper trade' that would move its water from Lake Pueblo to Turquoise or Twin Lakes in exchange for Fryingpan-Arkansas water. The possibility of less water in the reach of the Arkansas River from Pueblo Dam to the Fountain Creek confluence could reduce Aurora's ability to exchange as well as a different effect on water quality through Pueblo. Water quality issues are adequately covered using U.S. Geological Survey information in the report, Lamb said. Under the contract any request for exchanges within the boundaries of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District would supersede Aurora's ability to make paper trades, Lamb said." "colorado water" 5:38:45 AM

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