October 15, 2008
Business meeting
Luncheon
"Fishbowl" discussion
WCC members gathered at the Montrose Pavilion on Saturday, October 4 to celebrate our 28th Annual Meeting. Highlights of the meeting included an open “fishbowl” discussion, musical entertainment from Gotta Be Girls of Montrose, and a keynote address from author David Sirota.
July 1, 2008
Western Colorado Congress of Mesa County is exploring a potential campaign to help bring local foods to area kids. We’re teaming up with a diverse set of allies to bring a local foods forum to Grand Junction to discuss opportunities to connect Mesa County School District 51 with local food producers. The Forum is tentatively scheduled for July 31st at the GJ City Hall auditorium.
June 19, 2008
Garfield County residents met Tuesday, June 17, in the new Rifle campus of the Colorado Mountain College to hear about the risks of living in the gaspatch.
Even though recent headlines stated, “No Health Crisis in GarCo,” researcher Teresa Coons of the Grand Junction-based Saccomanno Research Institute noted there may be certain trends that warrant additional attention. Other presenters repeatedly pointed to elevated background levels of benzene, a known carcinogen. Benzene and other volatilized organic compounds (VOCs) escape into the atmosphere at all stages of natural gas development, said Dr. Russ Walker, professor of Environmental Sciences at Mesa State College.
According to the speakers, more data was needed to reach definitive conclusions about the health risks of living in Garfield County. “Maybe we didn’t collect enough data,” said Jim Rada, Garfield County Environmental Health Specialist. The researchers suggested more data collection and sample sites, different sampling techniques, and sampling at well pads during all stages of the drilling process.
Members of the audience, which included concerned citizens and energy company representatives, asked Dr. Russ Walker if he would live in a house that had a drilling rig installed nearby. He responded by saying that it depends, but he’d “seriously consider moving” if the operators did not use “green completion” techniques.
Dr. Teresa Coons, researcher for the Saccomanno Institute, and Mayor Pro-Tem of Grand Junction, recently explained her findings during an interview with Colorado Public Radio.
The report didn’t cost tax payers anything. The study was funded by the fees collected from EnCana for their responsibility with the Divide Creek seep.
June 18, 2008
Vote for Western Colorado Congress!
In an unusual case of allowing corporate giving to be guided by community input, the Denver store of outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia is asking area residents to select a local environmental organization to receive a $4,000 grant. Consumers can cast their ballots in the Patagonia store from June 10 through July 19 in a “Voice Your Choice” campaign that marks the newest initiative in Patagonia’s well-known support of environmental causes.
Western Colorado Congress is one of five organizations on the ballot. Our worthy competition includes Colorado Environmental Coalition, Colorado Wild, Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project, and the Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership.
Consumers can cast one vote per store per visit. No purchase is necessary. The winner will be announced at a special Grants Reception in the store in early August.
Voice Your Choice is an extension o Patagonia’s corporate Environmental Grants Program, which has generated more than $31 million in grants since 1985 through a policy of giving 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations worldwide.
Patagonia has a long-standing commitment to environmental causes that extends far beyond its grants program. The company uses 100% organic cotton for all Patagonia-branded apparel to avoid causing environmental damage from toxic chemicals used in growing conventional cotton. It also has used fleece made from post-consumer recycled plastic soda bottles since 1993; recycles competitors’ garments as well as its own through a program that accepts worn-out fleece, organic cotton t-shirts and Capilene products for recycling into new fibers; is creating a national park in Chile; and encourages sustainability through a variety of other initiatives.
June 11, 2008
At their semi-annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, staff and board members of the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) toasted the launching of the Homegrown Prosperity – Renewable Energy Biodiesel Bus Tour. Seven WCC staff members and two WCC Board members participated in the event.
The 12-week bus tour, which will include seven states in the Rocky Mountain West, aims to foster homegrown prosperity by developing alternatives to fossil fuel-based energy, including biofuels, renewable electricity, energy efficiency, and local foods production and capacity. In addition, the tour hopes to highlight the urgent need to address climate change and our current dependence on fossil fuels.
The Biodiesel Bus will make its first official stop in Colorado on August 1 when it visits the Garfield County Fair. From there, the bus travels to the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival in Olathe on August 2, the Ridgway Farmers Market on August 3, and several events in Grand Junction on August 7-8. Stay tuned for more details!
June 11, 2008
Western Colorado Congress would like to welcome Shannon Robinson as our new intern. Shannon comes to WCC from Mesa State College where she’s studying Business Administration and Marketing. She’s been active on campus as Student Body President, WeCAN member, and a participant in several other student organizations. Shannon brings a wealth of experience and energy to the Grand Junction team. Shannon will focus on WCC’s civic engagement work, event planning and help to revitalize WCC’s student organization, WeCAN.
In her spare time, Shannon enjoys transforming frogs into Princes. She also enjoys spending time with her three kids. Help us welcome Shannon to Western Colorado Congress!
June 3, 2008
Written Tuesday, May 20, 2008, by Monica Wiitanen.
First thing Monday (yesterday!) morning, we went to the Wayburn Wilderness House for our orientation. Tips on lobbying, packets of information to hand out, maps, and a schedule of our meetings during the three days on Capitol Hill were provided to us. With guidance from Steve Smith (The Wilderness Society) and Marcia Argust (Campaign for America’s Wilderness), plans were made to ensure that all the important points would be covered at each meeting.
By Tuesday afternoon, we’d med with staff of 7 Senators and 3 Representatives, Congresswoman DeGette, as well as with staff of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. After introductions, at each of these meetings we talked about the proposed Dominguez Canyon Wilderness within the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. We talked about why Dominguez is such a special place and deserves protection, showed the photographs we’d brought along, and asked if there were any quesitons.
Responses included interest, enthusiasm (certainly for the photos!), and some reservation–no apparent opposition.
We’ve heard that the bill is likely to be introduced by Senator Salazar on Thursday, and that there’s hope of it being added to a bundle of other public lands bills and moving right along in the process, and also that it’s late in the session and probably won’t get very far until the next session.
Optimists, pessimists, realists? Just getting the bill introduced will seem like a big step toward ensuring the enduring protection we have been working toward.
The hotel we’ve been staying in is close to Capitol Hill, so we’ve been able to walk to the Senate and House offices. Some streets radiate out from the Capitol and Union Station and others are laid out in a grid, so there are all manner of angles at intersections which can lead to confusion. Once inside security at a Senate or House office building, there are tunnels to get from one building to another and stairs and elevators, some modern and serviceable, others ornate and/or beautiful, for vertical movement.
Elevators service three categories: freight only, Senators only, and everybody else. You can guess who uses the ornate elevators. In the basements are to be found, among other things, cafeterias and dining rooms, which serve huge numbers of people at every meal, every day. All the food looks good, that which I ate tasted good—it was impressive. I imagined truck after truck pulling up to the loading docks to deliver vast quantities of produce and meats for the cooks and kitchen help to transform into the food that fuels our government.
One of the cafeterias touts that it sources food from within 150 miles (when possible, I’m sure—I doubt the pineapple and melons were grown within that distance).
Tomorrow we have a few more meetings scheduled and then we head to the airport and home.
May 26, 2008
See also Salazars introduce Dominguez-Escalante NCA!
Getting up Monday morning at 4:15 A.M. to catch an early train from
Philadelphia to D.C., I wasn’t so sure this whole lobbying trip was such a
great idea. But upon arriving at the Campaign for America’s Wilderness
office on Capitol Hill, I was quickly impressed by the organization and
professionalism that had been invested in planning our trip.
We spent two and one-half days walking the halls and tunnels (and in
blessed moments, the outside pathways) that form the labyrinth where our
Senators and Representatives have their dominion. By the second day, I had
determined that yellow was the most inviting color for a Congressperson’s
reception area; I had also fallen in love with the very large cut-out cow
that resides in the office of one of the senators from Vermont. And I had
been almost universally impressed with the openness, knowledgeability, and
even patience of the many Hill Staffers with whom we met.
It was surprisingly easy to develop (and when appropriate, to modify)
our spiel. It was an honor and pleasure to work with Monica and Tony, and
later with Bill, all of them are WCC Board members. It was enlightening to
listen to, and take guidance from, Steve Smith from The Wilderness Society
and Marcia Argust from the Campaign for America’s Wilderness. They taught
us how the pros engage with our representatives; and they educated us on
specifics of the Dominguez-Escalante legislation. And it was truly a marvel
to see Andy in a pin-striped suit exercising phenomenal self-control while
we “citizen lobbyists” led the charge.
Outside of our “work” day, Steve and Marcia treated us to a couple of
wonderful meals. On a personal note, I had an opportunity on our last
evening to meet up with 9 co-workers from my Ralph Nader days. With one
exception, I hadn’t seen any of them in 37 years. It was exciting to learn
that they are all still engaged in doing important, non-profit work. In
fact, it was somewhat disconcerting to be the only retiree, sandwiching in
my labors of love on behalf of WCC and other organizations between hikes and
travels and pottery-making!
So it is with much appreciation that I thank WCC and the sponsors of
this trip for giving me an opportunity to champion a cause in which I
believe so passionately. In the process, they afforded me the chance to go
back to D.C. and to learn more about the legislative experience and the
people who care enough to do good things in this world. I hope our efforts
continue to bear fruit.
May 26, 2008
In the past hour, Senator and Congressman Salazar have introduced the Dominguez Escalate National Conservation Area legislation. This bill will protect over 210,000 acres within a National Conservation Area with over 75,000 acres of Wilderness protection for the Dominguez Canyons.
Earlier this week, WCC sent four members to Washington DC to urge lawmakers to introduce strong protections for this area. We’d like to think that we made a difference by representing our members in the halls of congress. Look for updates from Joan, Tony and Monica in the next few days – we can all be proud of them for representing us in our nation’s capitol.
We’ll have more information and a detailed map of the proposal up on this site in the next few days. Congratulations to everyone at WCC for all your hard work to make this legislation a reality!
May 21, 2008
Please consider writing a letter-to-the-editor in response to the article in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, “Drilling good for wildlife? Commissioners Meis, Rowland believe drilling helps the herds“. While the Sentinel published its own, spot-on editorial (Out of the mouths of commissioners) on Meis’ comments, we need to reinforce the fact that reclamation is not happening in the gas patch.
You can send a letter to the Sentinel at letters@gjds.com. Be sure to include your name, city and phone number, and keep your comments to 350 words.
