Author – The Durango Herald

Defense spending bill may provide path to land conservation

As Congress nears the finish line this year, the fate of conservation legislation dealing with a million acres in Colorado is left hanging. The House of Representatives has now t...

DATE: Aug 14, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Electric co-ops closer to securing Tri-State exit fees

Last week, La Plata Electric Association inched closer to gaining the basic information it has long desired to evaluate whether it makes sense to stay with Tri-State Generation and Transmiss...

DATE: Jul 17, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Carbon capture technology is an elusive dream

Our region took a major step toward a cleaner energy future recently when New Mexico regulators gave Public Service Co. of New Mexico approval to retire the coal-fired San Juan Generating St...

DATE: Jun 21, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Chaco drilling plans advance despite pandemic

While much of the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s full speed ahead at the Department of Interior approving oil and gas development projects. One of the most c...

DATE: May 16, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

As coal-fire power plants close, our skies are clearing

One of the noticeable, and remarkable, changes in recent years has been the dramatic improvement in visibility and air pollution in the Four Corners. Longer-term residents routin...

DATE: Apr 19, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

La Plata Electric Association helps drive statewide policy change

The transformation in Colorado’s energy landscape over the past year is nothing short of breathtaking. A good part of that transformation owes to the leadership of La Plata Elect...

DATE: Mar 23, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Legislation ensures lasting conservation

Last week, the Bureau of Land Management finalized plans to open millions of acres of southern Utah to energy development, oil and gas drilling, coal mining and a variety of other extraction...

DATE: Feb 12, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Road, bridges threaten Dolores River Canyon

Conservationists pursue protective designations like wilderness or wild and scenic rivers to help ensure the undeveloped character of cherished places is guaranteed into the future. ...

DATE: Jan 17, 2020 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Land exchange threatens roadless area, wild rivers

Land exchanges are back in the news with a recently unveiled exchange proposed at the base of Wolf Creek Pass. A private ranch wants to acquire adjacent national forest roadless ...

DATE: Dec 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Colorado plans to create new methane rules

In 2014, our region gained notoriety as the nation’s methane hot spot. Researchers at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noticed via satellite measureme...

DATE: Nov 17, 2019 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

San Juan Mountains legislation faces vote in U.S. House

This week marks the 10th anniversary of long-simmering efforts to obtain added wilderness protections for the high ranges of the San Juan Mountains. Back in 2009, then Rep. John ...

DATE: Oct 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

America’s environmental safety net unravels

The summer brought a whirlwind of change to America’s bedrock environmental laws, or at least the rules that implement those laws. The Trump administration has made no secret of i...

DATE: Sep 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green