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Environment/Energy

Energy blog digs up bad news for Nunn uranium mine foes

A very long and very wonky post at The Oil Drum explores the possibility of a uranium shortage, coming as soon as 2015, that could cause serious problems for nuclear power plants and for those fighting new uranium mining efforts in Nunn, a tiny northern Colorado community north of Greeley.

Federal stimulus won’t give Colorado’s transit projects much of a boost

Local rail and public transit enthusiasts are in for a cold slap of reality after the historic signing of the $787 billion economic recovery plan. During Tuesday's visit to Denver with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden said the federal stimulus bill will be a big boost to mass transit in the United States, with funding impacts for commuter rail projects from Colorado to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.

UPDATED: Ken Salazar on Rachel Maddow Show tonight

A teaser ad on MSNBC reports that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will appear with liberal political talker Rachel Maddow to discuss his vision for improving the corruption-plagued federal agency. The show airs at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. MST. But will Salazar appear with or without his signature hat? UPDATE: See the video segment below plus a bonus track featuring our Washington Independent colleague Daphne Eviatar on Alberto Gonzales and the proposed congressional Truth Commission.

Energy astroturf group pans climate initiative, quits terrorism sneers

Jim Sims and his merry band of Golden-based oil and gas industry lobbyists are at it again, firing off a report Tuesday that attacks the Western Climate Initiative as potentially crippling to the nation’s electrical grid, not too mention the economy.

Carter once hyped solar energy in Denver — at a swingin’ singles bar

On the heels of President Barack Obama's visit Tuesday to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to tour the building's rooftop solar array -- and, by the way, sign the $787 billion stimulus bill -- Westword's Michael Roberts recalls the last time a U.S. president celebrated solar power in Denver. Solar installations, not to mention presidential visits, have come a long way since President Jimmy Carter dodged drunken revelers in 1978 at Rick's Cafe, a celebrated singles bar in Cherry Creek that used the sun's rays to heat its dishwasher.

Stimulus boost will help renewable energy come of age

Never has the partisan nature of the renewable energy debate been more on display than it was Tuesday during the historic Denver signing of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package.

Rasmussen, the only poll that matters to Republicans

Last week, as they’ve done every week for nearly two years, New Jersey-based Rasmussen Reports cycled a question about Congress into its nightly political tracking poll. Over two nights, around 1000 voters (they must be voters, or say they are, to be included in the poll) were asked by an automated, voice-activated pollster whether they they would support a Democratic candidate or a Republican candidate for Congress, were the election held today.

Robins in winter a harbinger of global warming, Audubon Society study says

The first robin of spring usually warms the heart after a long winter in Colorado, but a study released last week by the National Audubon Society says the red-breasted harbingers have stopped leaving the state in the winter and herald warming of a different kind.

Dying pine trees could fuel green-energy revolution in Vail

It's hard to imagine nearly 2 million acres of dead and dying lodgepole pine trees being anything more than a terrible eyesore and potential fuel for a catastrophic wildfire. But Vail Town Councilman Mark Gordon says those trees could provide nearly 100 percent of the ski resort town's hot water and electricity needs, and he envisions a biomass gasification power plant becoming a model for the rest of the state.

RFK Jr. at DU: Up about the future, down about the stimulus

Addressing sustainable business practice, the environment and public policy, Robert Kennedy Jr. yesterday spoke for two hours before an overflow audience at the University of Denver's Gates Concert Hall.
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