ALAMOSA- Cleave Simpson, a local alfalfa farmer and general manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, is fighting for the future of farming in the San Luis valley. Agriculture is under threat as water sources dwindle and valley leaders anticipate thousands of acres of irrigated crop land will dry up. “Our community, our culture…
SUMMITVILLE MINE- Located 25 miles north of Del Norte, the old Summitville gold mine now functions as a water treatment facility. Many in charge at the facility hope to open up the land to recreational use. Situated at 11,500 feet, Summitville Mine had a foreboding presence on a recent snowy day. The river running through…
COLORADO SPRINGS — America runs on electricity. It powers our phones, turns the gears in our machines, and keeps our homes cool in sweltering heat. The United States consumes around 18 percent of the world’s energy supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Only 17 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources.…
SUMMITVILLE — The Summitville cleanup site, between towering San Juan Mountain peaks in southwest Colorado, has cost taxpayers almost $300 million thus far. It will continue to cost an additional $2 million every year, according to site manager Mark Rudolph of the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment. He oversees an industrial water-cleaning…
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE — On a Monday morning, stuffed inside a conference room, Fred Bunch took a moment to lean back and bugle like an elk. Then he chuckled. In 1968, Bunch hopped on an old cruiser in Alamosa, Colorado and pedaled through the San Louis Valley until he arrived at…
COLORADO SPRINGS – Nearly the center of the country sits Colorado Springs, a city grappling with the same energy debate the whole country faces. For some Americans, coal symbolizes the country’s position as a global industry powerhouse. For others, coal represents decades of irresponsible energy consumption and pollution that has poisoned the environment. Colorado Springs…
GREAT SAND DUNES – With encroaching light pollution, agricultural water diversion, and climate change, managers at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the iconic park located in the San Luis Valley outside of Hooper, Colorado, have increasing reasons to monitor the land outside the park’s borders. “If we’re in the natural business,” says…
COLORADO SPRINGS – An October 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that in order to minimize drastic changes in Earth’s climate, electricity production from coal must make up less than 2 percent of total electricity generation by the year 2050. Yet utilities around the country rely on coal to produce…
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK – At Great Sand Dunes National Park, sand steadily rises to tower over visitors as they stare up at hikers who choose to trek to the dunes’ peaks, way above their heads. Walking among the dunes, one realizes their insignificance relative to the grandeur of nature. Visitors are attracted to…
COLORADO SPRINGS – As the implications of climate change grow more dire, scientific reports are encouraging a faster shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy in order to reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Some municipal utility officials are beginning to address harm their power plants may be causing to the environment. Colorado Springs Utilities…
