Tag Archives: environment

Energy Environment of the Western Slope

Colorado

I-70 through Colorado’s Western Slope in winter.

When you drive along I-70 between Vail Pass and Grand Junction through Colorado’s Western Slope it’s easy to get lost in the beauty of the mountain west. In fact, you should get lost in the beauty. If you look a little closer at the landscape, you’ll see all the signs of Colorado’s energy environment – the oil and gas industry, renewable resources, and even history related to the Manhattan Project. I make this drive a few times each year and have seen the growth and change.

Driving east-to-west, you first pass Vail ski resort. Although all you’ll see are the hotels and ski runs, Vail has been a significant player in wind power and sustainability within the resort industry.

You could drive through Glenwood Canyon dozens of times before noticing the Shoshone hydroelectric generating station. It’s been generating power for western Colorado since 1909!

solar panels

Storage tank operated by solar panels.

I’ve seen the small town of Rifle go from a rest stop along the highway to a hub for the booming natural gas industry since the boom of 2007-2009. Exit I-70 for some gas or food and you’ll be in traffic behind trucks from Haliburton, Schlumberger, and every other oil and gas company working the west. The impact on the landscape is now hard to miss. One of the more interesting impacts today is all the storage tanks, which are ironically powered by solar panels.

The newest addition to this areas energy resources is the biomass power plant in Gypsum, which just opened December 16, 2013. As I made this drive last week, the steam coming out of the plant was impossible to miss, since it blocked out the sun for a moment. This plant will be burning trees from pine bettle-kill and from forest burn areas to produce steam to produce electricity. This will help clear badly burned and damaged forest areas.

Gypsom Biomass

Steam coming from biomass powerplant in Gypsum, CO.

The discussion of biomass as a renewable energy source and environmentally-friendly is not as cut and dry as solar or wind as renewable energy. Biomass is considered carbon neutral, meaning it doesn’t produce any additional carbon dioxide. Although trees are renewable, it’s debatable regarding how renewable versus the amount of energy they produce. Then there is the air pollution. Burning wood produces a lot of particulate matter, which isn’t as toxic as burning fossil fuels, but it is a regulated pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Just think about the last time you sat around a camp fire or your fire place. It’s an interesting, new power source for the west, whose debate will continue.

As you drive west into Grand Junction, there’s no easy-to-see signs of the Department of Energy’s involvement in the Manhattan Project, but it’s there. There is still a DOE facility in Grand Junction, which once processed the uranium from nearby mines. Grand Junction has seen the ups (jobs and growth) and downs (cancers and illness from improper disposal).

Hydroelectric, biomass, natural gas, and nuclear power. That’s an impressive list of resources to take in without leaving the comfort of your cars. It’s an energy environment resource driving tour.

Contaminated Water

Contaminated pond near the DOE facility in Grand Junction, CO.

 

TNEP Profile: Rick Cables, Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts

Breckenridge Ski Resort, a Vail Resorts property.

Vail Resorts is not just Vail ski resort. The company owns and operates 10 ski resorts in 5 different states. I’ve skied at 5 of those 10 resorts, plus many others that Vail Resorts doesn’t own. I think about the environmental professionals who manage the environmental impacts of these unique properties – wildlife and forest management, water use, waste management, the impact of climate change, and balancing recreation on US Forest Service land. My curiosity brought me to Vail Resorts headquarters in Broomfield, CO to speak with Rick Cables, Vail Resorts VP of Natural Resources and Conservation.

If you spent any time hiking, camping, or recreating in the National Forests of Alaska or Colorado, or in the Colorado State parks system, or have skied in any of Vail Resorts properties, then Rick Cables’ work has impacted your life. After a career with the US Forest Service and working for the State of Colorado, Rick now works with Vail Resorts managing their environmental programs.  

TNEP: When I reached out to Vail Resorts to speak with someone working in the environmental program, I didn’t know who to expect. It looks like you made some headlines when you came to Vail Resorts. Continue reading →

Pesticide and Herbicide Use and Abuse

photo 1 Risk = Hazard x Exposure

As an environmental professional who works in the hazardous materials field, I understand the power of a good toxin: both good and bad. As a homeowner with a yard that has an abundance of bugs and weeds, I try to find a balance between pesticide and herbicide use…and abuse.

Glyphosate is first on my mind. If you’re not sure what it is, let me tell you it’s more common name – Roundup. It’s one of, if not the most used herbicide for both industrialized agriculture and homeowners.

After spending hours during the spring and early summer hand pulling weeds, I broke down and sprayed the ground vines in my front and side mulch beds and it worked. I did not spray the backyard or the garden plot. That is where my family and dogs spend all of our time outside. We don’t hang out in the front yard.

I’m trying to find the balance between the toxin, my family and dog’s health, the out of control weeds, and the amount of time I have to spend hand pulling weeds. This is where I will apply the equation, Risk = Hazard x Exposure. I’m using a toxin, so I have both the hazard and exposure. My risk therefore can’t = 0. Now I have to manage the risk. I minimize the risk by limiting my exposure, which means only spraying the areas that I don’t spending much time around.

One issue with this is that weeds are not a primary hazard. It’s not like a wasp nest, mosquitoes, or carpenter ants that could harm my health or my home. Weeds are a merely a nuisance. So is it worth it to use the herbicide only for aesthetics?

photo 2Back to the toxin. Glyphosate is considered non-carcinogenic and can be transmitted to humans orally or through absorption. So wear gloves, wash your hands when you’re finished applying it, don’t walk through the applied area for hours after, and take off your shoes before you enter your house. It is considered low toxicity, does not bioaccumulate, and breaks down over days to weeks. It can build up in the storm water if over-applied or applied right before a storm. I fear it is over-applied quite often, particularly in commercial areas.

I’ll keep using glyphosate sparingly to control the weeds and I’ll always remain conscious of its toxicity. The small changes you make at home will benefit your immediate health and well-being. Until there are big policy and/or industrial changes, glyphosate will still end up in our storm water and other places we don’t want.

Limit your exposure to pesticides and herbicides to the minimum amount necessary to control the hazard from the pests and nuisance plants. The exposure to the pest can be worse than the exposure to the toxin. This article from the Environmental Working Group explains how the exposure to DEET is not as bad as being exposed to mosquito borne diseases, such as malaria, west nile virus, or zika.

photo 3

The weeds before a glyphosate treatment.

photo 4

The worst of the weeds after two treatments.