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Monday, June 18, 2007
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War on terror
Elevated Voices: "Colorado is one of 16 states that have passed laws refusing compliance with the Fed's Real I.D. Act. Ed Sealover, writing in the Colorado Springs Gazette, wonders how far our legislators are willing to take the opposition."
"2008 pres"
6:38:00 PM 
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Warp Tour
From The North Denver News, "Coming to Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver on July 8, the four local bands selected to play live at this summer's Warped Tour on the Ernie Ball Stage are: Vices I Admire of Fort Collins, CO; No Fair Fights of Golden, CO; A Smile From the Trenches of Grand Junction, CO; and Saving Verona of Denver, CO."
6:27:02 PM
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Global warming: The Earth is a beautifully complex system
Live Science: "British low-cost airline easyJet has unveiled a design for a radically different-looking short-haul airliner that it says would be highly environmentally friendly and could be built by 2015. EasyJet said its design -- which it dubbed the 'easyJet ecoJet' -- would be 25 percent quieter and would emit 50 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) and 75 percent less nitrous oxide (NOx) than today's newest short-haul airliners."
Steven D. Levitt (via Freakonomics Blog): "For a long time I have felt the price of gasoline in the United States was way too low. Pretty much all economists believe this. Greg Mankiw blogged back in October about the many reasons why we should raise gas taxes. The reason we need high gas taxes is that there are all sorts of costs associated with my driving that I don't pay -- someone else pays them."
Thanks to NewMexiKen for the link.
"2008 pres"
6:05:54 PM
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? for President?
Talking Points Memo: "Mitt Romney tries yet again to explain his shifting positions on abortion. Very, very slowly...
Captain's Quarters: "The new Gallup poll for the presidential campaigns shows the front-runners, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, still leading their respective races. The action takes place below as the contenders jockey for position -- and Obama has dropped off the pace just a little."
Political Wire: "New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson 'has found a second home in Nevada. The two-hour flight is not a short hop from the New Mexico governor's mansion in Santa Fe, but Richardson hopes Nevada will become a critical aspect of his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination,' the Washington Post reports."
"2008 pres"
6:00:44 PM
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FIBArk recap
Here's a recap of the FIBArk competition over the weekend, from the the Pueblo Chieftain.
"colorado water"
6:58:09 AM
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Middle Eastern Policy
Captain's Quarters: "Mahmoud Abbas swore in a new cabinet today and outlawed Hamas militias, two moves that will widen the gulf between the West Bank and Gaza. His counterpart, former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, insists that Hamas still controls the government, but at this point they have found themselves isolated on the Gaza Strip without any lines of communication back to the Palestinian Authority's power base."
"2008 pres"
6:52:10 AM
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Internet neutrality
beSpacific: "A diverse coalition of Mainers applauded the enactment today of the first net neutrality resolve in the nation. The resolution, LD 1675, recognizes the importance of 'full, fair and non-discriminatory access to the Internet' and instructs the Public Advocate to study what can be done to protect the rights of Maine internet users. 'Maine is the first state in the nation to stand up for its citizens' rights to a nondiscriminatory internet,' said Senator Ethan Strimling, the original sponsor of LD 1675. 'The rest of the nation should follow suit and study what can be done to protect net neutrality.'"
"2008 pres"
6:47:19 AM
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Protection for historic San Luis Valley water rights?
Here's a report on the effects of groundwater pumping on older surface rights holders in the San Luis Valley, from the Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
A group of surface water users in the Conejos River drainage, who claim their senior water rights have been damaged by groundwater pumping, has turned to the state engineer's office for help. The San Antonio, Los Pinos and Conejos River Acequia Preservation Association represents a number of water users from acequias, or ditches, with priority dates stretching back to the 1850s and 1860s. "Right now we're just asking for the priority system to be recognized and operated as mandated in the state engineer's duties," said Kelly Sowards, a Manassa rancher who serves as chairman of the preservation association. For nearly four decades, the state engineer and local water-use agencies have tried to juggle the growing use of groundwater wells for irrigation, the demands of the Rio Grande Compact and the water rights of senior owners. Members of the preservation association, who formed their group in October, feel they've gotten the short end of the stick from that juggling process.
The association has hired Arvada-based attorney Tim Buchanan, who represented some surface rights owners in the events that led to the closure of wells along the South Platte River last year. Buchanan penned a letter in May to the now-retired state Engineer Hal Simpson. The letter asked that he take action to regulate the wells according to the priority doctrine. It also called for the engineer's office to shut down pumping at any wells that did not have augmentation or substitute water supply plans that would allow them to divert water out of priority.
Simpson's response stated that the owners of the senior rights had not been clearly identified in Buchanan's letter, making it unclear who the injured parties were. Moreover, Simpson pointed to groundwater management subdistricts - authorized by the state this year - that would have management plans whose objectives would include the prevention of injury to senior surface water rights. For the past 22 years, the surface rights owners on the Conejos have held off on taking action in the hopes that the Closed Basin Project, which came on line in mid-1990s, would ease the burden surface users had to satisfy the compact. The project delivers groundwater from the northern part of the San Luis Valley, into the Rio Grande. A 1985 agreement between the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and the Conejos Water Conservancy District laid out the terms for dividing the project's yield. It called for 60 percent of the Closed Basin's yield to be credited to the Rio Grande's allotment in satisfying the compact. The other 40 percent would be credited toward the Conejos' contribution. The pact, which came to be known the 60-40 agreement, also had a clause that required the Conejos district to waive all claims of injury against surface wells inside the Rio Grande district at the time of the agreement. The 60-40 agreement hinges on the project's ability to produce at least 250,000 acre feet in any 10-year period. From 1997 to 2006, the project has produced roughly 223,000 acre feet.
Thanks to SLV Dweller for the link.
"colorado water"
6:36:53 AM
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? for President?
Politcial Wire: "South Carolina 'appears poised to shake up the 2008 presidential race, with Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Fred Thompson the frontrunners' in a new state survey by Mason-Dixon. In the Democratic race, Obama led in the poll with 'strong support from the African American community' and 34% of likely voters, followed by Sen. Hillary Clinton at 25% and John Edwards at 12%. Most earlier South Carolina polls have mostly shown Clinton with a lead over Obama and Edwards much closer. On the Republican side, Thompson leads with 25%, trailed by Rudy Giuliani at 21%, Mitt Romney at 11%, Sen. John McCain at 7% and Mike Huckabee at 5%."
"2008 pres"
6:22:07 AM
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Energy policy: Biofuel
New West: "Way back in Nov. 2006 I wrote about the possibility that the financial side of the renewable-energy business - venture funding, private-equity investments, and so on - was showing bubble-icious signs. The founders of Denver-based BioFuel Energy found out yesterday how warily Wall St. views cleantech startups: after cutting its offering price twice in the run-up to its IPO, Biofuel opened at $10.50 and closed at ... $10.51."
From The Cherry Creek News, "On Wednesday, June 20, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) 'Quest for Solutions' lecture series will present 'Biofuels: Panacea...or Pandora's Box.' RMI co-founder and world-renowned energy expert Amory Lovins will participate in the panel discussion, which will be moderated by Senior Consultant Lena Hansen of RMI's Energy and Resources team. Also speaking on the panel are Thomas Foust of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) biofuels program, and Mark Wong, President and CEO of Renewable Agricultural Energy (RAE), which is scheduled to add 500 million gallons of corn-ethanol production in the next few years."
"2008 pres"
6:18:19 AM
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Immigration
From today's Rocky Mountain News, "Police agencies in Colorado turned over the names of at least 15,000 suspected illegal immigrants to federal authorities during the second half of last year. Their offenses ranged from minor infractions to first-degree felonies but each referral was in compliance with a new state law designed to get tough on illegal immigration. Law enforcement officials, however, debate whether the new law is having its intended effect."
Meanwhile the Rocky Mountain News reports that state lawmakers are frustrated by the followup by federal agencies. From the article:
Some state lawmakers are outraged to learn that federal officials failed to deport suspected illegal immigrants who have broken laws and whose names were reported to immigration authorities by police. Both Democrats and Republicans expressed dismay over what they called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's "abject failure" to enforce federal immigration laws. "These people have broken our laws and are here illegally. They shouldn't be in this country," said Rep. Mike Garcia, D-Aurora. Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, echoed that sentiment. "The state passed a dozen bills to help facilitate sanctions against people here illegally," he said. "If the federal government refuses to take action, there's nothing we can do."
"2008 pres"
6:07:32 AM
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Colorado River Basin Roundtables Caucus
Four west slope roundtables [not detailed in the article, likely Colorado, Gunnison, White/Yampa, San Juan/Dolores] are meeting today in Montrose as the Colorado River Basins Roundtables caucus. The Interbasin Compact Committee will also meet tomorrow in Montrose, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article:
The four-roundtable meeting is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the Montrose Pavilion. The Interbasin Compact Committee is to meet from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. the following day at the Holiday Inn Express, 1391 S. Townsend Ave. The 27-member committee includes representatives from all nine roundtables and addresses basin issues in a statewide forum. The meetings are open to the public.
"colorado water"
5:58:26 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/14/09; 9:19:26 PM.
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