Environment News | New West Network

Water, Wind and Climate Change

Colorado House Majority Leader Alice Madden put up a slide of Lake Mead with the rhetorical question: Half empty or half full?

Madden’s immediate subject at the University of Colorado’s Natural Resource Law Center’s Annual Summer Conference was water, but the question echoed around a wide variety of subjects: energy, climate, renewable resources.  [more]

Guest review: Idaho Green Expo

With the Saturday Market and the First Annual Green Expo all being held on Saturday May 17, it was hard to find a parking spot downtown, let alone maneuver through the crowds. The warm and sunny weather beckoned Boiseans to come out and play, and they did – by the thousands.

Boise is beginning to look like a real Metropolis, with people from all over the world at the Expo and many languages being spoken.

Despite the heat, the crowds and the general commotion, people were happy. The atmosphere was festive and chatty, all with one shared interest to learn more about choosing a more environmentally responsible way to live.   [more]

"Where Green is Another Shade of Red, White and Blue"

Organizers of the first annual Idaho Green Expo are putting on quite a show this weekend, with a downtown Boise festival promoting green thinking, living, technology and materials.

But it’s no stodgy enviro-lecture. The Boise Center on the Grove is the setting for this weekend’s event, with over 150 exhibitors showcasing their green products and services. There will be seminars, demonstrations, speakers, art displays, things for kids to do, live music, and sales of local and organic food.

And with the nice weather predicted, it’s a great place to take the family on the first warm outing of spring.

Saturday, May 17th : 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday, May 18th : 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Boise Centre on the Grove –
FREE admission
Valet bicycle parking

Boulder Becomes 'Smart Grid City'

If all goes as planned Boulder will become the world’s first “fully integrated Smart Grid City,” says regional utility Xcel Energy. Envisioned as the first true innovation in electricity distribution in close to a century, the Smart Grid movement is essentially developing ways to bring digital Internet-based technology to power lines, giving utilities and business and residential customers greater control and efficiency in the flow of electricity.

Ultimately, once the Smart Grid takes over a significant chunk of the existing power distribution infrastructure, utilities and governments will be able to use the power of the Web to better manipulate how electricity is generated and delivered.

In other energy news: Democrats ready populist energy legislation; Colorado eyes fine print on electricity bills; and O&G executives foresee oil-price downturn by the end of the year.  [more]

MSU Wheeler Center Annual Spring Conference

What does the future of agriculture and energy in Montana appear to be, particularly in the variable climate challenges we face?

This is the spotlight of the discussion at the Burton K. Wheeler Center’s statewide conference next week, “Climate Change in Montana: Impacts and Opportunities for Energy and Agriculture.”

On May 12-13, an immense conversation between the agriculture and energy sectors, environmental, educational and state agencies, legislators, officials and climate scientists will focus on Montana’s energy and agriculture sectors’ innovations and opportunities, climate challenges and its impacts, and future prices and outlook.  [more]

By spending time with the land, you know

Most people are aware of regional differences in climate. The Southeast is hot and humid. The Southwest is hot and dry. But in the Intermountain West, mountains affect air currents and moisture distribution to create many microclimates within just one valley. Visitors don’t recognize those microclimates. Most residents find out about them by trial and error.

At the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, I met a couple in their mid 30’s that were visiting from Las Vegas. They said they were tired of the rat race and were looking for a place with a little acreage, to garden and maybe raise some livestock. The first question they asked me was “How much snow do you get here?”

“It depends on what part of the Gallatin Valley you are in,” I replied. They looked at me blankly.

“The climate isn’t the same across the whole valley,” I explained.   [more]

Against the Laws

The convergence of record high gas prices ($3.60 a gallon average across the U.S.), a presidential campaign, obscenely high earnings reports from Big Oil, and the prospect of $4 gas during the summer driving season has led to some rampant silliness, including the proposed “gas-tax holiday” being backed by candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Congress plans to get into the act, pledging to bring forth legislation to offer low-income Americans relief from high prices at the pump – legislation that President Bush will almost certainly veto.

The price surge is also leading to an alarming question: has the oil industry jumped the rails of basic economic laws?

According to economics, soaring prices would, in normal times, lead to increased output of oil, reduced demand and a subsequent reduction (or at least a flattening) in prices. But prices haven’t followed suit.

In other energy news: Colorado Wildlife Commission weighs in on oil and gas production; Xcel plans to shutter coal plants opposed by consumer-protection agency; and Colorado will study the economic effects of new oil and gas regulations on the industry.  [more]

Protecting The Groundwater

The Colorado legislature pushed forward yesterday a bill that aims to protect groundwater and other natural resources from possible uramium mining in Colorado. HB1161, sponsored by state representatives from the Fort Collins area, would "require uranium miners to prove they could return groundwater to either pre-mining conditions or levels in line with existing state standards," reports Jason Kosena of the Daily Coloradoan.

While this bill, which is expected to clear the full Senate, is viewed as a victory for environmental activists, it could clear the way for the long-awaited rebirth of Colorado's dormant uranium industry.

In other energy news: new oil reserves in North Dakota will boost domestic production; Ken Salazar intros legislation to end the Roan Plateau drilling controversy; and natural gas prices shoot up in the region.   [more]