Tuesday, March 18, 2008

? for President? Political Wire: "A new Public Policy Polling survey in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton expanding her lead to 26 points, 56% to 30%, after a very bad news week for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign." Josh Mashall: "Rasmussen's daily tracking poll of the Dem race shows a sizeable tightening of the race -- from an 8 point Obama lead to a 1 point lead in a single day. It could be noise or the first sign of damage from the Wright imbroglio." "2008 pres" 7:24:23 PM

Protect Your Waters Say hello to ProtectYourWaters.org. From the website, "Welcome to a site for recreational users who want to help stop aquatic nuisance species. As Americans, we love to spend time on the water. Protecting these resources is an important part of our overall enjoyment. A concern we must all address is the spreading of harmful plants, animals and other organisms. These aquatic nuisance species can hitch a ride on our clothing, boats, and items used in the water. When we go to another lake or stream, the nuisance species can be released. And, if the conditions are right, these introduced species can become established and create drastic results. Thanks to The Water Information Program for the link. "colorado water" 7:16:10 PM

? for U.S. Senate? Politics West: "Insurgent Democratic candidate Mark Benner left the race for Colorado's open U.S. Senate seat over the weekend with more of a whimper than a bang. Democratic chair Pat Waak informed Benner, an art teacher from Anton, that he won only a handful of delegates during the party's recent county assemblies and failed to make the threshold necessary to get on the ballot for the August primary." Daily Kos: "Rasmussen. 3/17, Likely voters, MoE 4.5%, Udall (D) 46, Schaeffer (R) 43. "denver 2008" 7:10:29 PM

Energy policy: Oil shale Denver Business Journal: "The two biggest natural resource industries in Colorado could be setting up for a battle over the state's future. The Front Range Water Council -- made up of the utilities that supply water the people who live on the Front Range -- has asked the Bureau of Land Management to extend its deadline for comments on a draft plan for developing oil shale on Colorado's Western Slope... The current deadline is March 20, but the letter from the council -- signed by Dave Little, the chief planner for Denver Water, the state's largest water utility -- asks for an extension to May 19. An extension at this point, less than two days before the original deadline, is unlikely, said BLM spokeswoman Heather Feeney." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "2008 pres" 7:08:44 PM

Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union The big news of the day of course is U.S. Senator Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia. We thought it was an important speech for the U.S. He shows a willingness to discuss the tough subjects in the open without the posturing that we're so used to, without the careful parsing of speech to make sure that no important supporter is offended and eschewing the willingness of our modern leaders to try to play the poll numbers. Not this time, indeed, Mr. Obama. Here's a reaction from Andrew Sullivan. He writes, "But I do want to say that this searing, nuanced, gut-wrenching, loyal, and deeply, deeply Christian speech is the most honest speech on race in America in my adult lifetime. It is a speech we have all been waiting for for a generation. Its ability to embrace both the legitimate fears and resentments of whites and the understandable anger and dashed hopes of many blacks was, in my view, unique in recent American history. And it was a reflection of faith - deep, hopeful, transcending faith in the promises of the Gospels. And it was about America - its unique promise, its historic purpose, and our duty to take up the burden to perfect this union - today, in our time, in our way." John McWhorter (via New Republic): "It must be understood what a maverick statement this is from a 40-something black politician. In the black community one does not sass one's elders. One is expected to show a particular deference, understandably, to the generation who fought on the barricades of the Civil Rights movement. That is, to people of Jeremiah Wright's vintage. For a light-skinned half-white Ivy League-educated black man to repudiate, in clear language and repeatedly, the take on race of people like Julian Bond and Nikki Giovanni is not only honest but truly bold." Left in the West: "So Obama - doing the right thing - faced his critics head-on with his his speech, "A More Perfect Union." And it was a doozy, even by Obama's already lofty standards." Here's a roundup of reactions to the speech from The Daily Kos. Oliver Willis: "One of my personal maxims has been that politicians will disappoint you. The ones you like will have personal failings, while the ones you detest will fail time and time again. With Senator Obama, for the first time in my life, I have watched a political leader who I don't worry if he'll be up to the task. It's like you had Michael Jordan in his prime or Joe Montana with 2 minutes to go. It's that feeling where you say to yourself: Ok, breathe, he's got it. Chill, Barack's got it." Here's the video. Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the link. Another roundup from Andrew Sullivan. Hillary Clinton (via TPM Election Central): "I did not have a chance to see or to read yet Sen. Obama's speech. But I'm very glad that he gave it. It's an important topic. Issues of race and gender in America have been complicated throughout our history, and they are complicated in this primary campaign. "There have been detours and pitfalls along the way. But we should remember that this is an historic moment for the Democratic Party, and for our country. We will be nominating the first African-American or woman for the Presidency of the United States, and that is something that all Americans can and should celebrate." "2008 pres" 6:09:07 PM

Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system Glaciers are melting rapidly worldwide, shrinking water supplies, while scientists are losing an important record of past local weather conditions. Here's a report from The Environment News Service. From the article: European glaciers are among the hardest hit, but most of the world's glaciers are melting at a record pace as global warming accelerates, the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, announced today. Data from close to 30 reference glaciers in nine mountain ranges indicate that between the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 the average rate of melting and thinning more than doubled. Since 1980 there has been a total reduction in thickness of ice of just over 11.5 meters, or almost 38 feet. The findings come from the UNEP-supported World Glacier Monitoring Service based at the University of Zurich. It has been tracking the condition of glaciers for over a century. Continuous data series of annual mass balance, expressed as thickness change, are available for 30 reference glaciers since 1980. "The latest figures are part of what appears to be an accelerating trend with no apparent end in sight," said World Glacier Monitoring Service Director Professor Wilfried Haeberli. The Service calculates thickening and thinning of glaciers in terms of "water equivalent." The estimates for the year 2006 indicate that further shrinking took place equal to around 1.4 meters of water equivalent compared to losses of half a meter in 2005. On average, one meter water equivalent corresponds to 1.1 meters in ice thickness, indicating a further shrinking in 2006 of 1.5 actual meters. "This continues the trend in accelerated ice loss during the past two and a half decades and brings the total loss since 1980 to more than 10.5 meters of water equivalent," said Dr. Haberli. Some of the most dramatic shrinking has taken place in Europe, with Norway's Breidalblikkbrea glacier thinning by close to 3.1 meters during 2006 compared with a thinning of 0.3 meters in the year 2005. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, "Millions if not billions of people depend directly or indirectly on these natural water storage facilities for drinking water, agriculture, industry and power generation during key parts of the year...There are many canaries emerging in the climate change coal mine," he said. "The glaciers are perhaps among those making the most noise and it is absolutely essential that everyone sits up and takes notice." "cc" 7:27:57 AM

Blizzard of 2003 5 years ago today Denver was witnessing the start of a 29.5" pounding from a wet spring snow. Click on the thumb to see the cool snowboard jump at the Gulch kids house near Sloans Lake. 7:19:45 AM

Lionel Rivera: We're not here to take your water The Southern Delivery System was discussed at the Pueblo City Council meeting this week, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: Pueblo City Council members want to make sure flooding and water quality issues are addressed by the federal agency evaluating plans for a Colorado Springs water pipeline. Most of the Colorado Springs City Council, as well as representatives from Fountain, Security and Pueblo West, showed up at Monday's work session to listen to Jaci Gould of the Bureau of Reclamation describe the draft environmental impact statement public comment process for the Southern Delivery System. Reclamation is accepting comments on the project through April 29 and will issue the final EIS later this year. A record of decision will be issued early next year and public contract negotiations are expected to begin, Gould said... Technical documents on the proposal run to 2,300 pages - "the height of a small child" - so Council was given the 50-page summary of the 500-page EIS Monday. Gould provided the Web site address for all materials. There will be six public meetings in April, which are open houses with technical experts on hand to answer questions, Gould said. Pueblo's open house will be 6-9 p.m. April 2 at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center. Council members had initial concerns about the process. Barb Vidmar and Mike Occhiato wanted to know why more emphasis was not put on Fountain Creek flood control as one of the top 10 issues developed from scoping meetings of public concerns that began in 2003. Many believe flooding on Fountain Creek will become worse with more growth in Colorado Springs, Fountain and Security as more land is paved and more wastewater return flows are released into the creek. "There will be no incentive to work on Fountain Creek once SDS is built," Occhiato said. Gould said Reclamation will have the power to withhold contracts even after the project is under way as a means of enforcing mitigation in the EIS. The EIS is closely tied to the contracts that eventually would be issued, she said. El Paso County Commissioners Sallie Clark and Dennis Hisey, who have worked with the Fountain Creek Vision Task Force, said they shared Pueblo's concerns about flooding issues and vowed to continue working on them. Councilwoman Vera Ortegon said water quality on Fountain Creek should be a top concern. "When you developed the criteria, did you consider on the water at the confluence of Fountain Creek?" Ortegon asked Gould. Gould said the details of the report would be discussed at the open houses in April. Councilman Ray Aguilera said the critical issue with SDS is the growth it will provide to Colorado Springs, while Pueblo continues to search for economic answers. "It's been a struggle to watch the wild growth in Colorado Springs, while we struggle to find $10-an-hour jobs," Aguilera said. "We don't just exist to support the growth in Colorado Springs." Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera said Pueblo should be entitled to develop its water to support more jobs and growth. "We're willing to help you in any way we can," Rivera said. "We're not here to take your water." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 7:01:47 AM

Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel update Here's an update on the potential problems, and the desire for a proper long-term fix, for the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel situation, from The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article: Efforts to relieve pressure on the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel are on target, and the Environmental Protection Agency has pledged to find funds for the $1.5 million budget. Bids for a project to drill into the tunnel are being accepted. Potential obstacles, including a large snowpack that was growing, were discussed in a conference call Monday among state, federal and county officials. "What we want in Lake County is a really good job and a pipeline that will work for the long term," said County Commissioner Ken Olsen. "We want to do it once, right, and not waste money."[...] Officials from the EPA said plans are to have a well drilled and pipeline in the ground by mid-May, but given weather conditions, that may not be practical. There is probably enough money to get the project completed this year, said Bill Murray, EPA's Region 8 Superfund site director. The EPA is not anticipating any delays because of land ownership along the route of the pipeline, or because of jurisdictional conflicts with the Bureau of Reclamation. Reclamation owns and operates the Leadville Tunnel, which was built during World War II and the Korean War to drain mines for the war effort. It has collapsed and is blocking 500 million to 1.5 billion gallons of water in a mine pool. There is disagreement about the scope of the problem, and the commissioners will have the opportunity to review conflicting data. EPA Region 8 Administrator Robbie Robert wrote a letter in November to Reclamation claiming blockage in the tunnel was a risk to human life and contamination of the Arkansas River. However, EPA scientist Mike Wireman's 2006 study shows the water in the tunnel builds up each fall and takes years to accumulate. Murray agreed to get copies of the study to commissioners to evaluate. The EPA oversees the Yak Tunnel Superfund site on California Gulch and became alarmed last fall when new springs developed, seeping water with high levels of zinc and cadmium into the gulch below the tunnel... The EPA also updated commissioners on pumping at the Gaw Shaft in California Gulch, seen a way to relieve some of the pressure on groundwater tables in the area. Weekly testing is being made on the water to make sure it is not contaminated and triggers have been adopted - more than 5 parts per billion cadmium or a pH of less than 6.0 which indicates acidity - that could stop pumping. Testing results will be posted on a Web site later this week, Murray said. The commissioners also asked the state to continue working on its concerns about the Canterbury Tunnel, a source of fresh water that may be flowing into the Leadville Tunnel through fissures, and developing a plan to flume water away from old mine entrances in Evans Gulch. More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here. "colorado water" 6:52:03 AM

Colorado in store for flooding this spring? Here's a look at potential flooding this spring along the Roaring Fork River from The Aspen Times. From the article: The "probable" peak flow of the Roaring Fork River is expected to be significantly higher than average but still below flood stage, the National Weather Service has determined. The "most probable" peak for the Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs is 8,500 cubic feet per second (cfs), according to the weather service's Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. The average peak is 6,150 cfs. If the forecast proves accurate, this year's peak will be about 38 percent higher than average. Even so, that would be far below what's considered the flooding stage. The flood flow has been determined to be about 11,800 cfs. The forecast center said there is a 25 percent chance the flow will exceed the flood flow. There is a 10 percent chance of the flow topping 15,000 cfs... The one thing people can count on, [Rick Lofaro, executive director of the Roaring Fork Conservancy] said, is that the runoff will be higher than the Roaring Fork Valley has experienced in at least the last decade. The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) forecasts the volume of water that streams will move during the runoff season rather than the peak runoff. The NRCS forecasts that the Roaring Fork's volume will be 41 percent higher this year at Glenwood Springs. The possibility of higher than average flows is strong for rivers and streams throughout the West, said Tom Pagano, a water supply forecaster for the NRCS's National Water and Climate Center. Streamflows are expected to be high because snowpacks are so high. In the Roaring Fork Valley, the snowpack was 49 percent above average as of Monday afternoon. That guarantees a higher runoff volume, regardless of what the weather does for the remainder of winter and spring... Lofaro said high runoff will benefit the rivers and streams by flushing sediments downstream and dispersing them. Sediments harm the habitat for the water insects that trout in the Gold Medal waters of the Roaring Fork and Fryingpan Rivers depend on. A flushing flow frees up space between the rocks to create better habitat for those insects, Lofaro said. There hasn't been a truly beneficial flushing flow for about a decade, he said. So Lofaro and other conservationists hope this year's runoff is high enough to benefit the ecosystem without causing problems for humans. The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center said the Roaring Fork River's normal peak period is between June 3 and 18. More news regarding the potential for floods this spring from TheDenverChannel.com. From the article: The state's snowpack is at 126 percent of normal. Reservoirs are brimming at 98 percent of average. The concern now is of the summertime, once that snow melts, and if it could cause rivers and streams to spill over their banks. "We have more risk," said Nolan Doesken, state climatologist. The Colorado Flood Task Force met Monday in Lakewood along with the Joint Water Availability Task Force. So far, drought doesn't seem to be the biggest problem. Although experts did warn it is possible to have both drought (on the extreme eastern plains of the state) while other sections will deal with flooding fears. The group met for the 14th time, drawing unprecedented interest from more than two dozen attendees, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey, Aurora water and the Colorado Water Conservation Board. "We all realize that none of us knows as much about this as we wish we did, even after watching it for years, you discover that there's always surprises," Doesken said. There is great concern among weather watchers and politicians that snow melt will bring flooding downhill. Doesken told the group the snow will begin melting in the next 45 to 75 days. Once it starts, it's usually gone in two months, but predicting when it will peak is the hard part. "What really will matter to the Denver area and the front range of Colorado is what happens from now on. The snowpack in our area has not been extraordinary. Our area is most affected by spring storms and particularly the potential for really heavy rains later on," Doesken said. One concern is that a cold March and April could delay the start of the snowmelt, leaving the possibility that heavy rains later in the spring could add to the runoff and cause serious problems. Local officials in the Rio Grande river basin have already ordered sandbags to prepare for the expectation of spill-over. "It's good. Planning ahead is always better than being caught off guard," Doesken said. Experts said Colorado will see a 100 year flood somewhere this summer -- as we do every year. "I don't think it's a scenario right now that's a doom and gloom report," Browning said. The majority of our floods have been the result of heavy rains, not snowmelt, according to Doesken... A National Weather Service spokesperson said Canon City has a 50 to 85 percent chance of seeing flooding along the Arkansas River this summer. Avondale, near Pueblo, and La Junta also have normal or slightly higher chances of trouble. Ft. Collins, in contrast, does not share snowmelt flooding concerns, at this point. "colorado water" 6:43:53 AM

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