COLORADO SPRINGS–Sitting in the heart of the coal-fired Ray Nixon power plant, a giant blue General Electric generator, spinning at 3,600 revolutions per minute, churns out 225 megawatts of electricity for residents of a growing city. This was state-of-the-art electrical generation when the plant opened. Three decades later, the generator stands out as a relic…
DENVER–Tucked into a maze of federal brick buildings west of Denver, the National Ice Core Laboratory stores some of the most important data in the world. Air bubbles trapped in the ice samples give scientists a glimpse of Earth’s climate stretching back 450,000 years. This ice is crucial, scientists say, for analyzing and addressing climate…
COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs Utility owns the Clear Springs Ranch on the semi-arid prairie southeast of the city, and operates two power plants — one coal and one natural gas. Nearby, utility contractors have installed 140,000 solar panels. These facilities, along with the coal-fired Drake power plant in the middle of downtown, generate electricity…
ERIE — Sitting on a park bench in Erie, a town north of metro Denver along Colorado’s heavily populated Front Range, town councilman Christiaan van Woudenberg looks out at a 40-foot high beige sound wall surrounding a massive oil and gas production facility. The noise from drilling cuts through the air, foul fumes that drift…
DENVER – Scientists studying ancient air trapped in ice cores in the federal government’s minus-40 freezer say there’s no doubt human air pollution is causing global climate change. But U.S. politicians, especially at the federal level, are failing to lead the shift away from fossil fuels that scientists say is necessary to avoid environmental catastrophe.…
COLORADO SPRINGS – Monster hurricanes associated with climate change once again have hammered the southeastern coast of the United States. New federal research finds water is also likely to cause havoc in landlocked states such as Colorado. “More run-off, more rain, more snow,” says U.S. Geologic Survey research hydrologist William Battaglin. “As temperatures go up,…
ERIE- Weld County resident Amanda Harper is fighting for her home — increasingly under assault by an expanding fossil fuel industry — and is counting on Colorado voters. On a recent afternoon, she stood tall on a road in front of her yellow brick house, surrounded by acres of misty farmland pockmarked by oil and…
DENVER – A freezer that operates at -11° Farenheit is an extreme setting for a workspace. For Richard Nunn, this freezer is his office. However, he doesn’t mind because he believes he has one of the most important jobs in the world. Nunn organizes and slices ice cores stored at the National Science Foundation Ice…
DENVER – Call him the Ice Librarian. He wears a brown beanie over a long ponytail. He has a curly goatee and glasses. Richard Nunn. His library is not books. He is the keeper of the nation’s ice cores, up to 420,000 years old, pulled from deep under Greenland, Alaska, and Antarctica. The library is…
COLORADO SPRINGS–Colorado College students noticed a change in their morning routine at the start of the school year. Bon Appetit, CC’s contracted caterers, announced that they will no longer be serving straws at their cafés. Bon Appetit stated that this reform will be in keeping with their promise of “Food service for a sustainable future”. …
