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Saturday, October 18, 2008
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From email from Gigi Richard (Mesa State):
The Natural Resources of the West: Energy seminar series continues...
Colorado's Oil Shale: Its origin, resource importance, and potential exploitation
Dr. Rex Cole, Professor of Geology, Mesa State College
Monday 20 October, 4-5:30 p.m., Saccomanno Lecture Hall (SL 110), Mesa State College, Grand Junction, CO
Seminars are FREE and open to the public. No registration necessary. A schedule of all of the seminars in the series can be found at:
http://home.mesastate.edu/~grichard/WSS/WSSF08index.html
For more information please contact:
Prof. Gigi Richard, 248-1689, grichard@mesastate.edu
Prof. Tamera Minnick, 248-1663, tminnick@mesastate.edu
Category: Climate Change News
9:11:04 AM 
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From email from the League of Conservation Voters: "Colorado's delegation was split between those who favored continued dependence on oil and other dirty fuels and those who favored renewable energy and energy efficiency. Senator Salazar earned a perfect score of 100 percent in 2008, consistently standing up to Big Oil and voting for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Representative Udall was not far behind, earning a 92 percent, followed by Representatives Salazar and Perlmutter, both earning respectable scores of 85 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, Senator Allard earned an 18 percent, while Representative Musgrave earned a 15 percent. Representatives Lamborn and Tancredo both received abysmal scores of 0 percent.
"The average Colorado Senate score was 59 percent, the average Colorado House
score was 51 percent."
Here's their list:
Sen. Allard - 18
Sen. Salazar - 100
Rep. DeGette - 77
Rep. Udall - 92
Rep. Salazar - 85
Rep. Musgrave - 15
Rep. Lamborn - 0
Rep. Tancredo - 0
Rep. Perlmutter - 85
Category: Colorado Water
9:06:06 AM
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Bob Ewegen comes out against Amendment 52 in yesterday's Denver Post. He writes:
...the water conservation community's ability to do its job is threatened by Amendment 52, a power grab by the highway lobby intended to hijack taxpayer dollars from water and environmental needs to earmarked highway projects. You can't make this stuff up. In a year when congressional earmarks are a national scandal, special interests in our own state are not only trying to siphon money away from water needs into politically favored freeways, they also want to place that earmark in constitutional concrete!
Amendment 52 might best be described as "Machiavelli meets the Bridge to Nowhere." Machiavelli is political spinmeister Rick Reiter, panjandrum of the massive oil and gas industry campaign to defeat Gov. Bill Ritter's Amendment 58, which would raise severance taxes paid by that industry. According to state Sen. Chris Romer, Reiter openly boasted about providing funds to help put 52 on the ballot because the oil and gas lobby hoped to sow doubt, fear and confusion by having two conflicting severance tax measures on the ballot. Additionally, 52 tries to hijack any new money raised by the rival 58 to highway projects as well. Gov. Ritter wants that money to go to college scholarships, local government, wildlife habitat and alternative energy...
After 52 reached the ballot, the highway contractors funneled money into the drive, hoping to reap sales of asphalt at the expense of water projects. So far, the water rustlers have aroused a storm of opposition. The state's newspapers have denounced 52 en masse, especially on the Western Slope and Arkansas Valley, which would be hard hit by the water raid. The Farm Bureau and Farmers Union are fighting to save the state's water. Club 20, the voice of the Western Slope, is determined to save every drop of its precious patrimony. Environmental groups have joined ranks with the water buffaloes to fight against drying up Colorado's farms and ranches and the open space and wildlife habitat they provide. Ducks Unlimited, Audubon Colorado, the Colorado Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited and other green groups have entered the fray. Yet, the outcome remains in doubt. There are so many issues on this year's ballot that the water and environmental communities fear Amendment 52 could slip through. That would be tragic, because 52 does more than raid our water. It would cripple vital programs such as watershed protection, tamarisk control, the Species Conversation Trust Fund, Low Income Energy Assistance Program, community reforestation grants to ease bark beetle impacts, and the aquatic nuisance program that attempts to curb water mussels and other invasive species.
For full information on the mischief Amendment 52 would wreak, visit ResponsibleColorado.com.
Category: Colorado Water
7:46:52 AM
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© Copyright 2008 John Orr.
Last update: 11/4/08; 7:07:39 AM.
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