Reduce, Reuse, Recover, and Recycle

November 11, 2022

Plastic is a relatively new product, though it is used everywhere and in almost everything. It started with Bakelite, invented by Leo Baekeland in 1907 and used for electric insulators like distributor caps and light switches, and in molded products like cigarette holders and the original black telephones. By about 1950 improvements in the chemical […]

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Regulating Cumulative Impacts is Protectionism

November 2, 2022

There is much ado about congressional leaders double crossing Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), promising a vote on his environmental permitting reform bill in exchange for his vote for the massive climate bill. No sooner was that bill passed than Democrats on the House side announced their refusal to schedule a vote on Manchin’s. In many […]

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Protecting Water From What – For What?

October 28, 2022

In all election years, candidates promise to protect Colorado water and supporters disagree on which candidate would do that best. This newspaper, in its editorial endorsements, mentioned water issues in five state and local campaigns, even basing its Attorney General endorsement primarily on the issue of protecting Colorado water. The latter endorsement has stirred up […]

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Who Benefits from U.S. Energy Policy?

October 15, 2022

Spoiler Alert – not you. Economist Stephen Moore has published a chart listing quarterly profits of America’s four largest technology firms. The numbers are unfathomable for mere mortals like us. Tesla earned $2.3 billion – that’s not total income, just profits (total income was over $30 billion). Profits were $6.7 billion for Meta (Facebook and […]

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Now They Want Different Rules?

October 14, 2022

Last summer a federal judge in California vacated a series of Trump-era rules on enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. It was a disappointment to many of us who had worked for years on several relatively modest reforms designed to make the cumbersome bureaucratic process more efficient. A couple weeks ago the 9th Circuit Court […]

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California’s Unlimited Water Supply

October 5, 2022

None of my columns have ever generated as many emails and phone calls as the recent series about the Colorado River, draining Lake Powell, and California’s abuse of its entitled share. When the Bureau of Reclamation decided to give that state a complete pass, instead cutting supplies yet again for Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico, many […]

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This Subsidy May Not Cost Much

September 28, 2022

When California passed legislation banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, and 17 states legally follow California standards, many observers questioned the practicality of the lofty goal. There are not enough electric cars made in the world to replace California’s 30 million cars, nor the batteries, charging stations, or disposal facilities. That gets to […]

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Green Energy Faces the Same Hurdles

September 20, 2022

The “agreement” supposedly reached between Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and his party leaders to pass a major permitting reform bill has fallen apart, as discussed last week. But it also highlighted one of the most consequential debates in modern politics. Several media pundits were always skeptical about that agreement (which Democratic leaders used to convince […]

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The Education of Joseph Manchin

September 16, 2022

The author of one of America’s most famous autobiographies, The Education of Henry Adams, wrote that “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin must be wondering where his influence stops, as his harsh education in politics continues. Manchin is often viewed as the most important […]

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Gasoline Has Nothing To Do With Fire

September 7, 2022

A couple weeks ago a letter to the editor appeared in this paper and six others around the state, asserting that “Removing trees from Colorado forests will not prevent wildfires from burning.” Really? As if removing all the wood from a campfire would not help put it out? The letter was written by a guy […]

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