Monday, June 9, 2008

Fist bump Coyote Gulch is amazed that our 3 year old nephew knows what a fist bump is all about but Fox News doesn't. "2008 pres" 6:14:34 PM

Colorado in play for a change? Colorado Independent: "A new McCain TV ad is starting up on Friday with buys in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin, West Virginia [~] and Colorado. Get used to these political ads." "2008 pres" 6:12:47 PM

Energy policy: Oil and gas Ed Quillen (via The GOAT: "...the local brew-pub makes its beer in town, but the barley malt and hops come from somewhere else. "In other words, the feeling of smugness doesn't last long when I realize that just about everything I consume is trucked in from far away and is affected by rising fuel prices. You can walk, but you can't hide." "2008 pres" 6:02:01 PM

Corruption TalkLeft: "Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on June 20th about the leak of Valerie Plame's identity." "2008 pres" 5:54:40 PM

Black Canyon minimum flows Here's the press release about the Black Canyon minimum flows settlement announced last Friday, from Western Resource Advocates [pdf]. More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 5:53:11 PM

Ruedi: Coordinated Reservoirs Operations Program (CROPS) From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb): After a conference call this morning, it was determined that the Coordinated Reservoir operations release for the endangered fish is no longer needed. Beginning today at 6 p.m., we will start cutting back releases by 50 cfs. We will continue with the reduction tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., and again at 6 p.m., cutting back 50 cfs each time. This schedule will continue through Friday the 13th and we should be back to about 360 cfs in the Fryingpan River below Ruedi Reservoir by Saturday. Here is the breakdown of release changes: Today: 860 to 810 Tomorrow: 810 to 710 Wednesday: 710 to 610 Thursday: 610 to 510 Friday: 510 to 410 Saturday morning, 6:00 a.m.: 410-360 cfs "colorado water" 5:52:40 PM

Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system grist: "When the normally conservative International Energy Agency (IEA) agrees with both the middle of the road IPCC and more ... progressive voices like mine, it should be time for the world to get very serious, very fast on the clean energy transition. But when the media blows the story, the public and policymakers may miss the key messages of the stunning new IEA report, Energy Technology Perspectives, 2008. You may not have paid much attention to this new report once you saw the media's favorite headline for it: "$45 trillion needed to combat warming." That would be too bad, because the real news from the global energy agency is: Failing to act very quickly to transform the planet's energy system puts us on a path to catastrophic outcomes; The investment required is "an average of some 1.1% of global GDP each year from now until 2050. This expenditure reflects a re-direction of economic activity and employment, and not necessarily a reduction of GDP," in fact, this investment partly pays for itself in reduced energy costs alone (not even counting the pollution reduction benefits); The world is on the brink of a renewables (and efficiency) revolution." Meanwhile, from The Denver Business Journal: "Both the Democratic and Republican national conventions will be powered by wind and solar energy, utility company Xcel Energy Inc. announced Monday...Xcel said its Windsource program will provide enough power to offset the estimated 3,000 megawatt-hours that the conventions will use. The Windsource power will come primarily from Xcel's Ponnequin Wind Facility near the Colorado-Wyoming border and from a wind farm in southwestern Minnesota. A solar installation at the DNC venue, the Pepsi Center, will generate 10 kilowatts." Matt Frost (via The American Scene): "I remain unconvinced that it's possible to mitigate climate change with any tools at our disposal, and I don't think we'll bring the next generation of energy sources to market by making fossil fuels more expensive in relative terms. Such an approach is especially fragile in an inflationary and increasingly zero-sum world economy, so I tend to agree with Indur Goklany and Tom Schelling that the best way to solve the problem of climate change is by applying the brainpower that only a wealthier developing world can deliver. The political consensus, however, is for getting a head start on direct mitigation, and emissions trading might be the least-bad way to do so." Andrew Sullivan for the link. "cc" 5:50:09 PM

? for President? Here's a look at conservative support for Barack Obama from Bruce Bartlett via The New Republic. From the article: The New Yorker is hardly the optimal vehicle for reaching the conservative intelligentsia. But, last year, Barack Obama cooperated with a profile for that magazine where he seemed to be speaking directly to the right. Because he paid obeisance to the virtues of stability and continuity, his interlocutor, Larissa MacFarquhar, came away with the impression that the Illinois senator was an adherent of Edmund Burke: "In his view of history, in his respect for tradition, in his skepticism that the world can be changed any way but very, very slowly, Obama is deeply conservative." As The New Yorker's assessment shot across blogs, many conservatives listened eagerly. A broad swath of the movement has been in open revolt against George W. Bush--and the Republican Party establishment--for some time. They don't much care for the Iraq war or the federal government's vast expansion over the last seven-and-a-half years. And, in the eyes of these discontents, the nomination of John McCain only confirmed the continuation of the worst of the Bush-era deviations from first principles. But it was hardly inevitable that this revolt would translate into enthusiasm for the Democratic standard-bearer. After all, you could see similar signs of unhappiness four years ago, and none of that translated into mass defections to the John Kerry camp. And, despite Ann Coulter's vow to campaign for Hillary Clinton over John McCain, the old bête noir of the right would have never attracted many conservatives. That's what makes the rise of the Obamacons such an interesting development. Conservatives of almost all ideological flavors (even, gasp, some supply-siders) have been drawn to Obama--out of a genuine affection and a belief that he may actually better embody movement ideals than McCain. Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the link. "2008 pres" 5:49:34 PM

Landslide on the Lower Blue River From email from Reclamation (Kara Lamb): "I was out of pocket over the weekend and didn't find out about the landslide on the Lower Blue River until this morning. The landslide happened on Saturday, about 6 or 7 miles downstream of our dam and powerplant. The local authorities asked us to close off access to the Lower Blue from our property, which we did. We also reduced flows by about 1000 cfs, dropping to just over 200 cfs, while crews worked on clearing debris. We are starting ramping back up yesterday--we were at 500+ cfs last night. I expect we'll see the cfs rate bump up again today. "colorado water" 5:49:06 PM

Runoff and precipitation news Here's some runoff news about Routt County, from The Steamboat Pilot & Today. From the article: "North Routt, including the Elk River and Cottonwood and Greenville creeks, has been under a National Weather Service flood advisory since 1 p.m. Wednesday. The advisory, which is enacted when river and stream flows are elevated and ponding of water is occurring or imminent, is due to remain in effect until 1 p.m. [Friday]...At a U.S. Geological Survey measuring station near Milner, the Elk River measured Thursday at nearly 139 percent of its historical discharge record for May 8. Shortly after 3 p.m., the river was churning at 4,510 cubic feet per second, breaking the 3,250 cfs record set in 1916, according to the USGS Web site." Here's a report on rainfall down in Cortez, from The Cortez Journal. From the article: [Jim Andrus] noted that the 0.30 of an inch recorded this week is 70 percent of average (0.43 of an inch) through June. The last measurable precipitation received in Cortez was 0.13 of an inch, which came May 24, he said. Overall for May, the city was about 40 percent below the 30-year average, according to Andrus. He said 0.60 of an inch fell locally, while the normal amount for May comes in at 1.01 inches. In April, there was also a shortfall of moisture, Andrus said. For the month, only 0.52 of an inch, or 58 percent, was recorded in and around Cortez. The average amount of moisture for April is 0.90 of an inch. Andrus said the precipitation amount for March was the lowest one-month total so far for 2008. Only 0.10 of an inch accumulated citywide, which is 7 percent of average, 1.37 inches. However, for the year to date, Andrus said Cortez is above average at 111 percent. So far, 6.30 inches of moisture has been recorded locally, while the normal amount through June comes in at 5.67 inches. "colorado water" 5:47:25 PM

Fort Morgan to treat Wiggins' water? From The Fort Morgan Times: "Wiggins has been exploring options for a new municipal water source for some time, because of dropping levels in town wells and deteriorating water quality. Town officials are in the process of determining whether a plan to buy a farm and water rights north of the town is feasible. But Wiggins Town Administrator Bill Rogers told the Fort Morgan Water Advisory Board on Thursday that town officials are also interested in possibly having Fort Morgan treat water at its treatment plant east of Wiggins and return it to the town." More from the article: Wiggins proposes to buy C-BT water and pay Fort Morgan to treat it and pipe it back to the town, Rogers said. Fort Morgan owns most of the pipeline that brings the C-BT water from the west, and has always insisted that it own any water that goes through its piepline and treatment plant. Rogers seemed to imply that Wiggins officials were waiting to hear from Fort Morgan about a cooperative arrangement, but city Utilities Director Gary Dreessen said he had never even been approached about this scenario by anyone from Wiggins... Wiggins would like to join with Fort Morgan, buying C-BT water and having the city plant treat it, but the town does not want to incur a debt estimated at between $3 million and $5 million to buy the water without retaining ownership of it. "We're asking the city to change its policy to allow this," Rogers said. Dreessen said he was against allowing others not involved in its pipeline to use the line, but the members of the water advisory board said it would be wise to have the city make money by allowing Wiggins' water to use excess capacity in the line. The discussion began to delve into the technical issues involved before water board member Brent Nation brought that to a halt. Nation said those issues were things that needed to be addressed in a dialogue between the appropriate officials from each municipality. He made a motion to recommend that the Fort Morgan City Council direct staff to open that dialogue, and the motion passed unanimously. Water board members noted that Morgan County and the Quality Water district should also be involved in the discussions... The board discussed a draft proposal to raise Fort Morgan's water rates and tap fees. The latest proposal calls for an increase of $5.16 per month, from $27.34 to $32.50, for an average 3/4-inch water service line. That is less than an increase proposed last year but tabled by the Fort Morgan City Council and never revived. That proposal called for an increase of $6.36 per month in the base water rate. The draft proposal also calls for raising residential tap fees from $5,744 to $6,200, which includes $4,000 for purchase of additional water supply, $1,700 for the tap and $500 for meter installation. Water advisory board members felt those fees should be increased more, noting that Morgan County Quality Water tap fees are in the neighborhood of $15,000 and fees are much higher than that in some areas of the Front Range. Water board chairman Jack Odor said the city should be trying to build reserves for future payments for the Northern Integrated Water Supply Project, as MCQWD is doing, and tap fees are the best way to do that because it means growth is paying for the new water... Fort Morgan City Councilman James Powers said the city also need a bigger raw water reservoir west of town than it currently has, and he would like the city to "move post-haste" to raise water rates and build reserves for that purpose as well as NISP. Board members and other city officials agreed that water rates should be reviewed at least annually and adjusted as needed to keep pace with the city's growing expenses for water. 6:33:51 AM

Grand County update Here's a recap of a recent public meeting with the Grand County commissioners, from The Sky-Hi Daily News. From the article: Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Lake Granby have been deemed "high priority" in the state for taking action to prevent infiltration of non-native zebra mussels -- and that may mean implementing a boat inspection program when funding becomes available, according to Colorado Division of Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager Lyle Sidener. Sidener made a presentation about zebra mussels during a public information meeting Saturday in Grand Lake, hosted by the town and Grand County commissioners. "Just about everything that depends on water can be affected by these. Agriculture, fisheries, power production, recreation -- and all of those are right here in Grand County, obviously," Sidener said, adding that the economic impacts of mussels if introduced to the area would be "devastating." It's estimated $138 billion is spent each year trying to control the spread of the one-inch Eurasian mollusk... Grand County Manager Lurline Underbrink Curran explained county taxpayers' interest in water matters, such as the Denver and Windy Gap firming projects poised to transport more water out of the county, the Wild and Scenic Designation of the Colorado River from Kremmling to Dotsero, the Lower Blue Management Plan, the Vail Ditch and the county-driven Stream Management Plan now entering its third and final phase. The county will have spent $1 million on the Stream management Plan by the end of this year. "So your tax dollars are going to protect the water resources and the things that bring us to Grand County, keep us in Grand County and the things we're proud of," Underbrink Curran said. Grand County is in negotiations with both Denver Water and Northern regarding West Slope river health. "Grand County has always believed that with the cooperation of Denver, Northern and the Bureau of Reclamation and all the spigots and pipes that could be connected or could be utilized in conjunction with each other, that we could do a better job at keeping water in the streams at the time that it's necessary," Underbrink Curran said... The audience was told what many already knew from a Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Grand Lake algae scare last year: Some algae produces toxins. Last year toxic-algae levels measured by the Grand County Water Information Network were considered beyond safe-drinking standards set by the World Health Organization. This year, the lakes will undergo weekly sample tests, Grand County Water Quality Specialist Katherine Morris said. "This year we hope blooms won't be as bad as in 2007 because we're two years out from the Shadow Mountain Reservoir drawdown," she said during a slide show. The county will be testing weekly during bloom season in five water bodies, and an emergency response plan is being developed for drinking water and recreational use. Moreover, according to Morris, samples will be analyzed this year for the chemicals carbaryl and permythrin, pesticides used to fight off mountain-pine beetles. The testing will be done in Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain, Granby and Windy Gap reservoirs, as well as the mouth of the North Fork of the Colorado River. Also regarding lakes, Northern Water Deputy Manager of Operations Brad Wind said the 56-day drawdown of Shadow Mountain Reservoir cost $137,000 in energy to pump water back into Lake Granby two years ago. The drawdown took place on 500 acres to kill off pervasive weeds in the shallow lake. Due to snow cover, some plants survived, but from one assessment, weeds have been reduced, Wind reported... As Grand County and other organizations fight for an official water-quality standard for Grand Lake at a state-level hearing today, Jaci Gould of the Bureau of Reclamation said Saturday that a pipeline loosely proposed by West Slope lake advocates to divert water to the East Slope, circumventing Grand Lake altogether, is not something the Bureau is considering due to the challenge of acquiring "appropriations from Congress and the authority to do the analyses." More Coyote Gulch coverage here. "colorado water" 6:24:28 AM

Western U.S.: Pretty darn distinct Here's a look at Colorado and the western U.S. and how things are shaping up for the presidential election, from The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article: The recent Democratic surge in Colorado and other Western states has left presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama wondering whether the region will swing their way come November. Colorado and several of its neighbors are part of what could be a fundamental realignment of the formerly reliably Republican Rocky Mountain West. With Democrats ascendant in states across the region -- from Montana to Arizona -- Obama's campaign team already has made painting the West blue part of his campaign strategy. "We want to send a message now that we are going to go after them, and I expect to win them," Obama told a New Mexico crowd on Memorial Day. McCain, too, has made the West a priority, citing his experience on western issues during a recent Associated Press interview: "I believe as a Western senator I understand the issues, the challenges of the future for these ... states, whether it be land, water, Native American issues, preservation, environmental issues." Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico seem the most likely candidates to realign this year. All three of the states voted for President George W. Bush in 2004 by margins of 5 percentage points or fewer. All three of the states also elected Democratic state and federal leaders in recent elections, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, despite their histories as red states. Colorado has trended Democratic starting, most noticeably, in 2004, when Democratic state Rep. John Salazar captured former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis' seat, and Attorney General Ken Salazar took the state's open Senate seat. The trend continued in 2006 with former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter succeeding outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Owens and former state Rep. Ed Perlmutter taking outgoing Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez's seat. Other states in the region have seen similar trends, including the rise of Democratic governors in Wyoming, Montana and Arizona, although their roles as swing states are less sure... Obama's enthusiasm, particularly in Colorado, could be blunted by several factors, including a ballot measure concerning the polarizing issue of abortion. Expect Amendment 48, which would define life as starting at conception, to bring out conservatives in droves, possibly spoiling the electorate's recent Democratic tendencies. Also, a scandal on either side of Colorado's open Senate race between Republican Bob Schaffer and Democrat Mark Udall could sully the party's brand. The same could happen in state or federal races in Nevada and New Mexico. "2008 pres" 6:10:08 AM

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