Candidate Climate Forum, Action Alert, PUC Update, Spotlight Organization, and More! |
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"The most harmful lie being spread about climate change today is not that it is fake. It’s that nothing you can do can help save the world."
- Emily Atkin in her blog Heated
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Upcoming Event: Boulder City Council Candidate Climate Forums
Join CEA, Empower Our Future, and the Boulder City Council candidates for two forums on climate and energy! If you have a question you'd like us to ask, submit it HERE.
What: Climate and Energy Forums with Boulder City Council Candidates
When: Thursday, October 7 and Monday, October 11
6-7:30pm
Where: Virtual, Register HERE
All official candidates plan to attend one of the two dates:
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October 7:
Matt Benjamin
Lauren Folkerts
David Takahashi
Dan Williams
Steven Rosenblum
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October 11:
Nicole Speer
Mark Wallach
Michael Christy
Tara Winer
Jacques Decalo
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Action Alert: Build Back Better
We're still putting the pressure on our congressional leaders to pass the Build Back Better reconciliation bill. If you haven't already written your congresspeople, you can still do so or sign the petition HERE.
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CORE Electric Cooperative Sues Xcel for Mismanagement of Pueblo Unit 3
CORE Electric Cooperative - formerly Intermountain Rural Electric Association - has a 25% ownership stake in Pueblo Unit 3 (Comanche 3). Due to the plant being shut down for repairs for all of 2020 and part of 2021, CORE has had to pay for part of the repairs plus an extra $20 million for replacement electricity, nearly twice what it expected. Read more about the debacle HERE.
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USCAN Calls for Postponement of COP26
Vaccine inequity threatens to derail meaningful climate talks. COP26 begins on October 31 and the window for full vaccination is rapidly closing. It is critical that all participants are able to contribute fully and this cannot happen unless wealthy countries like the US ensure that vaccines are provided to all attendees. Read more HERE.
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We Need To Talk About Methane: Part Three
Part three in our methane series comes on the heels of Congress quietly reinstating Obama-era methane rules this summer. It discusses how Colorado has been a leader in methane rules, how the EPA adopted many of them, and where we are now. Read the full article on our website HERE.
HERE is a recent video of Colorado still leading the charge with high-tech airborne monitoring.
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Colorado’s Consumer Advocate Gets a New Name, Wider Climate Powers
The Colorado state agency Office of Consumer Counsel expands and rebrands as Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, with new legal rights to intervene on decarbonization and environmental justice efforts. For more details, see The Colorado Sun's article HERE.
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Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board Recommends Renaming Peak
Thanks to all of you who wrote to the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board to request the renaming of S*w Mountain to Mestaa’ėhehe (mess-taw-eh-HAY) Mountain! They have made the recommendation unanimously and sent it to Governor Polis. See HERE for more details on this exciting progress!
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Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ida
1. Microgrids, microgrids, microgrids
The Alliance for Affordable Energy called for pursuing distributed microgrids. Entergy, the region's investor-owned utility (IOU), fought for and got approval instead for a gas plant, which was shut down after all eight transmission lines into New Orleans were knocked out. The solution to vulnerable transmission is not more transmission.
2. IOUs can't do anything they want; they have to be approved
In this case it was by the New Orleans City Council. It's through our elected and appointed officials that we have to get IOUs to do the right thing. If they won't, we need to elect people who will.
3. One of the best ways to respond to this disaster is to help prevent the next one
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PUC Update
- Black Hills' Transportation Electrification Plan was recommended for approval, with new whole-house time-of-use rates, EV charging rebates, and more.
- Xcel and Black Hills proposed new Energy Assistance Program charges, to raise money for Colorado Energy Outreach to provide bill discounts and low-income energy efficiency upgrades
- The PUC modified its Xcel rate case decision, encouraging new rate exploration for the next phase.
A more complete summary of PUC activities can be found HERE.
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What We Are Reading
Indigenous Resistance Against Carbon
Victories in infrastructure fights alone represent the carbon equivalent of 12 percent of annual U.S. and Canadian pollution. Ongoing struggles equal another 12 percent of these nations’ annual pollution, or 808 million metric tons CO2e. If these struggles prove successful, this would mean Indigenous resistance will have stopped greenhouse gas pollution equivalent to nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of annual total U.S. and Canadian emissions. More HERE.
Proposal to Convert Craig Coal Plants to Green Hydrogen Research Station
The plants already have access to the water that would be required to produce the hydrogen. For more on this opportunity, see HERE.
Big Pivots "Gleanings"
- Bye Aerospace, based in Denver, has hundreds of orders for all-electric training aircraft.
- Rocky Mountain Power, Wyoming's largest utility, reaffirms its intent to exit coal by 2039 against legislative pressure to continue.
Want more? Read these stories and others HERE for the Rocky Mountain Region and HERE for Colorado specifically.
Los Angeles County Votes to Phase Out Oil and Gas Drilling in Unincorporated Areas
If L.A. County can do it, so can we! Read more HERE.
Rochester, NY to Launch 100% Renewable Energy CCA in 2022
If Rochester can do it, so can we! More information HERE.
Big Oil Coined 'Carbon Footprints' to Blame Us for Their Greed
Climate-conscious individual choices are good – but not nearly enough to save the planet. More than personal virtue, we need collective action. Read The Guardian article HERE.
It's Urgently Necessary
This month's inspiration: Ahead of COP26, Greta Thunberg and other young activists around the world are tired of the talk with little to no follow-through. Get inspired HERE!
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Spotlight on Organizations We Like
350 Colorado (350CO) is one of our close partner organizations: former board member Devon Reynolds served on 350CO's board and former board member Duncan Gilchrist is 350CO's Climate Policy Advisor.
A branch of the national 350.org, 350CO is focused on building grassroots movements to advance climate policy in Colorado in a just and equitable manner. They have several campaigns, such as stopping fracking, holding Suncor accountable, and divesting from fossil fuels. If any of those issues gets you, dare I say, heated, check out their website to see how you can plug in.
350CO also has a number of local groups along the Front Range and in greater Colorado, so there's a good chance there's a group near you that you can get involved with where you can take local action regarding the issues they're working on.
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Thank you for tuning in and taking action!
- The Clean Energy Action Team
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