A wide variety of events and celebrations take place in the Valley and many of them share something in common: flowers. Whether it’s a wedding in Redstone or a dinner in Aspen, lots of those flowers come from a local flower shop, Sunfresh Flowers, run by Laura Lucero. Lucero grew up in Fort Collins but […]
Environment
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Defending Shoshone water right, Medicaid concerns
Glenwood Springs resident Judy Haynes returned to talk to the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday about Medicaid and the threat to local hospitals. Haynes was one of several members of Mountain Action Indivisible, a local citizens group, who approached the BOCC in late May about supporting the retention of Medicaid in light of the threat […]
Posted inEnvironment
CPW Commission clarifies role at special meeting
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission, replete with two new members Dr. John Emerick and Frances Silva Blayney, continued the discussion at a special meeting on Monday, July 7, about the Copper Creek grey wolf pack. The discussion wasn’t much different than a discussion at the regular June meeting. The usual wolf update wasn’t […]
Posted inEnvironment
Colorado’s geothermal aspirations persist
A thermal energy network (TEN) is a geothermal heating and cooling system that uses shallow wells and pumps to circulate water between buildings and the earth. Using the earth’s consistent temperature as a heat sink, water is pumped from underground into buildings for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. After absorbing or […]
Posted inNews
Carbondale Beautification Club gets to it
The Carbondale Beautification Club (CBC) has begun to conduct a myriad of restoration, landscaping and cleanup projects at businesses, public areas and even homes in Carbondale. Its inaugural restoration project just took place at KDNK Community Access Radio, where club leader Jeff Basler and fellow volunteers cleaned and beautified the space in front of the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Penny Hot Springs improvement plans slowly flow forward
On June 3, proposed improvements to access, parking and drainage at Penny Hot Springs were approved by the Pitkin County Planning and Zoning Commission. Access work at the non-commercial springs off Highway 133 has been under discussion for about six years. In 2022, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails (OST) opened a public survey to […]
Posted inNews
Coal Basin methane capture project awaits USFS approval
Though the coal mines in Redstone have sat unused for several decades, their impact on carbon emissions is far from over. Methane continues to steadily leak from the mines, and for the past four years, Aspen-based nonprofit Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) and Delta Brick & Climate Company have been preparing the solution. The […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate draft of “Big Beautiful Bill” poses challenges for sustainability
On May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed budget reconciliation package H.R. 1 — also known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” (BBB). Many of its provisions aim to cut down on federal spending by targeting climate-related tax credits, which are likely to put a dent not only in the operations of renewable […]
Posted inEducation
Community rallies to revive RFHS greenhouse and garden
Editor’s note: I, Raleigh Burleigh, was a student at Roaring Fork High School and in its inaugural agriculture-biology class in 2011. The experience gave me a connection with several local elders in sustainability, as well as a greater appreciation for the wisdom of plants. In the year 2010, Roaring Fork High School (RFHS) — with […]
Posted inNews
Nuclear power in Western Colorado revisited
In November 2022, The Sopris Sun published an article on the possibility of one or more nuclear generating plants being built in Western Colorado. It was prompted by an initiative from the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado earlier that year that favored establishing nuclear power in the region; this was in response to the planned […]