Colorado
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Colorado’s inmates-as-farmworkers plan says plenty about our food culture
Last summer, the Colorado General Assembly passed some of the nation’s most rigorous anti-immigrant policy laws. Debate was fierce — but only because some GOP lawmakers fumed that the Democratic-engineered crackdown wasn’t draconian enough. How times have changed. Essentially, the state’s political elite — backed editorially by The Denver Post — took aim at its […]
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Enviros hope to make gains with gubernatorial races in key states
With Election Day just over two weeks away, Muckraker brings you part two of our roundup of gubernatorial races with important green angles. Last week, in part one, we chronicled the hottest campaigns along the Eastern seaboard. This week, we’re briefing you on a few of the must-watch races in the Midwest and Pacific regions. […]
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How the legendary ski town is going green
Vail, Colo., is a town that’s defined by winter, when tourists from around the world descend on the area’s snow-covered slopes to ski, ride, and soak up the laid-back yet glitzy mountain lifestyle. But as the threat of global warming has begun to creep closer to the Colorado high country, Vail has been forced to […]
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State mulls fate of meadow mouse as development vultures lurk in the background
I'm not all that concerned about the protection of this particular mouse, nor do I want to enter into the ongoing debate about animal rights, but this piece of news from Colorado concerns me for its wider implications.
A committee in the state House will meet next week to determine whether the Preble's meadow jumping mouse should continue to be protected by the Endangered Species Act. At hand is the question of whether the species is distinct enough to warrant special protections.
The real topic, though, is the 31,000 acres of land in Colorado and Wyoming currently designated as critical habitat for the rodents. Removing the mouse from the endangered species list would open that chunk of land to development in a state besieged by rapid expansion into wetlands.
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Early warning system set up to detect global warming
This sounds cool:
MOUNT ALBION - University of Colorado biologists began installing an alarm system atop this craggy summit Friday, near the Continental Divide west of Boulder.
Like the alarm systems in your car or home, this one is designed to detect intruders.
But in this case, the invaders are tundra plants moving up from lower elevations in response to global warming. The alarm system is a cluster of mountaintop vegetation plots that will be monitored periodically for decades to come.(Via Digg)
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As snowy peaks get warmer, ski industry tries to stave off extinction
With the Olympics starting this week, all eyes are on the slopes of Turin. But skiing and snowboarding could disappear from our collective culture in about 50 years, if global-warming forecasts ring true. In a lot of popular ski areas, there simply won’t be any snow. It’s all downhill from here. Photo: stock.xchng. It’s already […]
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Colorado’s proposed water projects could sink the environment
This March, the Denver Broncos football team agreed to spend $40 million on a seven-year contract with its new quarterback, Jake Plummer. Since winning two Super Bowls at the end of the 1990s, the Broncos have struggled just to make the playoffs. At his introductory press conference, Plummer predicted, “Winning a Super Bowl is what […]
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When Nature Emails
Ah, wilderness — the chirping of birds, the burbling of creeks, the melodic chime announcing that new mail has just arrived in your inbox. Yep, that’s right — or it will be if the Colorado Department of Natural Resources has its way. In an effort to boost revenue in the middle of a massive budget […]
