Colorado Currents|Online, Summer 2009

Three important environmental bills have successfully passed through the Colorado legislature that will help protect Colorado’s landscapes, create jobs, and jumpstart transit funding.

Colorado Faster

The "Colorado Faster" bill was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Ritter. This bill will provide much-needed new funding for Colorado’s transportation infrastructure that will include $5 million per year to be allocated to the State Transit and Rail Fund for grants to local governments for local transit projects. Colorado Faster will also help save or create 10,000 jobs in the transportation industry.

Oil And Gas

The new oil and gas drilling protections developed by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission were passed by the House and Senate. The new protections are the culmination of nearly two years of work and provide strong protections for streams and rivers, for local landowners, and will help keep the public informed about the impacts of drilling on public and private property.

Renewable Energy

On Earth Day, Governor Ritter signed the Renewable Energy Finance Act, which will increase options for residential and commercial renewable energy projects. The Act brings homeowners new options for financing solar electric systems, more choices on how they are compensated for the energy those systems produce, and encourages utilities to make solar rebate programs more accessible to customers of all income levels. The Renewable Energy Finance Act will increase Colorado’s role as a national leader in the Clean Energy Economy and help stimulate the private sector to create Green Jobs that are good for the economy and environment.

In this issue of Colorado Currents|Online:

Protecting Northern Colorado from Uranium Mining
From February-April, Clean Water Action's community outreach staff educated members in Ft. Collins about what they could do to help protect northern Colorado from uranium mining. The proposed nearby uranium mines by the Canadian company, Powertech, are still moving forward and are expected to apply for permits in the summer of 2009.

Cherry Creek Reservoir Success!
In early March, Clean Water Action led the fight to protect Cherry Creek Reservoir from polluters. Clean Water Action put together a strong coalition of environmental groups, local residents, and businesses to encourage the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission to reject proposals by local polluters that would negatively impact the water quality in the Reservoir.

Clean Water Restoration Act and Hard Rock Mining Act opportunities for our federal legislators!
Clean Water Action is leading the charge to encourage Colorado's Congressional delegation to co-sponsor and support two important federal bills this year in Congress:

Environmental Success in the Colorado Legislature!
Three important environmental bills have successfully passed through the Colorado legislature that will help protect Colorado's landscapes, create jobs, and jumpstart transit funding.

For California Woman, Protecting A River Can Cost You A Job
Heather Wylie traded her job for a river. And, given the choice, she'd do it again.

During the summer of 2008, Wylie joined a handful of protestors for a canoe and kayak trip down the LA River, earning the wrath of her employers and the attention of a nation. Why? At the time, Wylie was a biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The agency had just declared the LA River as not navigable--a designation that put the watershed at risk and would have set a.dangerous precedent. Wylie and her compatriots were making their voyage to prove the Army Corps wrong. If their fleet could make the journey, they reasoned, then the LA River must be in-fact navigable, a critical first step in retaining Clean Water Act safeguards for the LA River system.

What You Won't See In Those 'Clean Coal' Ads: Dirty Air, A Wall of Sludge, Poisoned Rivers
Surely you've seen the ads. They are scattered around the internet and splashed across our newspapers and magazines. Their commercials interrupt our favorite television shows and invade our local radio station's airspace. Yes, the ads are everywhere. But that doesn't make them true.

No PR campaign, no matter how well executed, can make coal clean. It's simply not possible.

Advocates for "clean" coal argue that technology exists-almost-that will allow coal-fired power plants to capture their carbon emissions and store the climate-changing gas deep under ground. Technically, this is true. Realistically, this would be extremely expensive, and wouldn't even begin to address most of the impacts felt by water. From mines to power plants, the process of wresting energy from coal is dirty and unhealthy for our waters, our communities and ourselves.

How Safe is Your Bath Tub?
Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children.