Transportation
from the new west blog: energy policy
An Inconvenient Argument: 55 mph
If you want to cause a hostage situation at a truck stop, try telling the drivers on a break that a mandatory 55 miles per hour speed limit is on the table in Congress.
It’s not – yet – but Sen. John Warner of Virginia thinks it should be. Warner has asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to investigate if current car technology would mean better gas efficiency with a lowered speed limit.
The last time a national speed limit was imposed by Congress was in 1974 during an oil crisis which had Americans lining up for what seemed to be a gas shortage. The limit was repealed in 1995. Warner pointed out there are studies showing that two percent of American highway fuel consumption a day was saved, and the speed limit saved thousands of lives.
Warner quoted the Department of Energy’s website data, which says, in part, that if a car is going faster than 60 mph, every five mph over that costs the driver an extra 30 cents a gallon for gas.
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The 'Megapolitan' West
Huntsman, Ritter Demand Feds’ Attention
It was surprising to see Govs. Bill Ritter and Jon Huntsman show up yesterday in downtown Denver. Usually it takes a natural disaster or a major fundraising opportunity to get two Western governors, of two separate parties, together in the same room. But Colorado's Ritter and Huntsman, of Utah, showed up at a press briefing at the offices of a big Denver law firm yesterday to mark the debut of … a new policy report.
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"the new new west"
Report Analyzes Booming Megapolitan West
A new report by the Brookings Institution assesses the dramatic population growth and economic and demographic shifts redefining the southern Intermountain West.
As all eyes turn to the West for the Democratic National Convention, now exists "a teachable moment for the region itself and us to convey the new realities on the ground," said Mark Muro, fellow and policy director at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. "The region is perpetually misunderstood and constantly caricatured, and we think this is an opportunity to address the real nature of its challenges."
The 80-page report, entitled Mountain Megas: America’s Newest Metropolitan Places and a Federal Partnership to Help Them Prosper, surveys trends and federal policy challenges in the Intermountain West.
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When can a community afford to say no?
Teton County Subdivision Moratorium Leaves Question: Where to Go?
A moratorium on all new 20-acres or more development applications in Teton County, Wyoming until Dec. 31, 2008 has left a litigious air in the majestic Jackson Hole Valley.
Teton Meadows Ranch filed a lawsuit last week to reverse the moratorium, which was approved by commissioners one day prior to the development’s scheduled hearing.
The moratorium has essentially killed their 500-unit, 288-acre development in South Park, 4miles south of Jackson, which contained the condition to rezone the rural 50-home zoning allotment — a density 10 times more than is currently allowed. Many residents began “emergency” conversation with the commission in March when two additional projects, both in the South Park area, submitted plans for rezoning to allow 614-units, a total of over 1,000 new residences projected in the area.
Jackson faces a tough challenge of how and where to grow. Overflow from Teton County, Wyoming over Teton Pass into Teton County, Idaho has become rampant.
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Boulder Becomes 'Smart Grid City'
The Grid Gets a Brain
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.
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NewWest.Net Conferences
Designing the New West
The Designing the New West: Architecture and Landscape in the Mountain West Conference is wrapping up here in Bozeman at the historic Gallatin Gateway Inn. Put on by NewWest.Net and sponsored by the Sonoran Institute, the conference brought together designers from all over the country to explore innovative design ideas, identify best practices, and better understand how to bridge the gap between good architectural theory and sometimes-messy building practices in the fastest growing region in the nation.
A mix of presentations and engaging panel discussions tackled pressing Western issues like sustainable development, land design and the special challenges of urban, rural and resort design, historic preservation and affordable housing.
Click on the photo or here for a slideshow of the days' events. Click "more" for a recap of the conference.
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Protecting The Groundwater
Uranium Mines A Step CloserThe 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.
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energy
Despite Demand, Oil and Gas Value DropsWith the price of a barrel of oil zooming past $106 and likely to continue rising, you would think that the value of the oil and gas coming out of the Rocky Mountain West would be setting records. That's not happening, mainly due to a lack of transport options to get the fiuel to big markets in the Midwest and East.
Colorado produced $6.63 billion worth of oil and natural gas in 2007, dropping 24 percent from '06, according to the Colorado Geological Survey.
Meanwhile, the opening of new pipelines from the producing fields of the Mountain West should relieve the pressure on prices.
In other energy news: state legislators over energy-efficiency bill; wind power producer relocates to Northern Colorado; coal demand soars, outstripping supplies.
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Changing The Rules
Strange Bedfellows in O&G FightThe "simmering battle" between Colorado state regulators and the oil and gas industry took a couple of strange turns this week as the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission got closer to publishing new draft rules for energy production Colorado – which industry officials have criticized in advance for giving too much authority to the Division of Wildlife.
"Tempers flared and text messages flew Wednesday as lawmakers tried to figure out if the state oil and gas commission was about to get the authority to override landowners' wishes," The Rocky Mountain News reports.
In other energy news: solar thermal plants take off in the deserts of the Southwest; Canadian regulators question the environmental effects of a huge oil-sands project; oil prices reach "unimaginable" levels.
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Symbolic Vote
Tax Breaks Cut for Big OilThe bill to eliminate $18 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas producers passed by the U.S. House this week is largely symbolic, since the measure faces opposition in the Senate and a likely president veto. But as symbolic gestures go, it's a fairly powerful one.
Passed by 236-182, with 17 Republicans voting in favors, would use the savings from rollback of tax break for big oil companies to finance incentives for renewable energy, including wind and solar power. Several existing tax credits for renewable-energy investments will expire at the end of this year, unless Congress extends them.
It's time to "stop the madness of subsidizing oil companies," said Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington.
In other energy news: University renewable-energy center plans big solar installation near DIA; Colorado House votes to require utilities to spend more on energy efficiency; new Oil and Gas Commission members narrowly pre-confirmed.
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