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Discussing energy solutions
Environment Colorado hosted a town hall meeting at the Ross-Cherry Creek Branch Library on Jan. 21, to discuss the environmental, economic and national security issues involved with America’s overdependence on oil.
Rep. Diane DeGette was the featured speaker, along with Environment Colorado Director Matt Baker, and Steve Andrews, co-founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas-USA.
Denver residents came to discuss solutions, including increased fuel efficiency.
“We cannot drill our way toward energy independence,” said Baker. “Ruining our natural treasures such as the Arctic Refuge is a needless sacrifice when we could raise mile per gallon standards and ease the high cost of gas.”
A report by National Academy of Sciences shows automakers could produce a fleet of cars and light trucks that meets a fuel economy standard of 40 miles per gallon within 10-15 years using existing cost-effective technology.
Promoting smart growth
To address the growing problem of sprawl in Colorado, Environment Colorado worked with the Denver Regional Council of Governments to establish a new committee on Semi-Urban Land Use that began work earlier in the year.
The committee decided to develop a boundary for large-lot development in addition to the already-existing boundary for urban growth. Land Use Advocate Will Coyne, an integral member of the committee, noted, “This is an important next step in managing regional growth. Large-lot sprawl is a looming problem.”
Large-lot development, where one house is built on a large 2-40 acre lot, is eating up Colorado’s open space at alarming rates. Over 2 million acres of land had been converted to semi-urban and large-lot development by 2000; close to 3 million acres of rural land is projected to be developed by 2030.
Environment Colorado is researching a report documenting the semi-urban growth in select counties. The report will also investigate the factors that contribute to large-lot development, and model scenarios for future growth.
Soot pollution makes air unsafe for 96 million
More than one third of all Americans live in areas with unsafe levels of fine particle pollution, or soot pollution, according to a Jan. 19 report, “Plagued By Pollution.”
Environment’s Colorado’s researchers analyzed nation-wide data on 2004 emissions of soot, which can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and even premature death. Recent scientific studies show that adverse effects occur at levels below the current national health-based air quality standards.
Even at the current standards for clean air, 96 million Americans breathe air polluted with soot at levels that could cause harm. Environment Colorado and its allies are urging the Bush administration’s environmental officials to adopt a tougher standard for soot pollution.
Arctic protected . . . for now
On Dec. 21, the United States Senate voted to drop a provision calling for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Arctic supporters celebrated the eighth straight year of stopping drilling plans.
The Senate voted in late December to remove drilling language from the defense spending bill. Immediately afterwards Sen. Domenici of New Mexico declared, “We’re going to do ANWR next year, and we won’t get it messed up like we did this year.” Environment Colorado and our allies will be ready. |
