Western Colorado Congress

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.