Wind turbines generate electricity without producing green house gasses. photo © pogo

Global warming is a critical concern for Colorado, the West, and the planet.  Greenhouse gas pollution is creating an atmospheric blanket that is holding in the sun's energy and driving up global temperatures. Exactly how fast and far temperatures will rise is uncertain, but climate scientists are confident that current trends could well lead to an increase for Colorado of 10-12° F by the end of the century. Under that scenario, shocking though it sounds, Aspen of 2100 would have the climate of today's Amarillo.

Colorado is especially vulnerable to rising temperatures.  The projected range of impacts is aptly summed up as "hotter and drier": a level of heating that goes beyond the average global temperature increase coupled with sharply diminished water resources.  Although global warming is often considered a future event, the first signs of a hotter and drier West are already evident.  And with the state's population expected to double by 2050, the consequences of a hotter and drier Colorado are not pleasant to envision: 

• Changes in the natural balance of trees, plants, and animals
• Annual water deficits with impacts on agricultural, commercial and residential use
• Higher levels of ozone pollution
• Shortened and degraded ski seasons

Climate Action 

The science of climate change is well-established.  Scientists and informed citizens understand that climate change is happening and accelerating.  What's still up for debate is how to respond.  Some people say we should wait, perhaps for two or three decades, and put our faith in a technological breakthrough.  But we can't bet on tomorrow – nor can we wait for it.  We just don't have time.  To avoid catastrophic heating, we must act now by deploying the full range of today's technological, economic, and regulatory solutions. 

Federal legislation: using the market to curb global warming pollution

At its core, the federal strategy is to put a price on global warming pollution. Right now, polluters can spew unlimited amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into our atmosphere at no charge.  By imposing real costs on global warming polluters, Congress aims to create market incentives to alter the dangerous path we're on.     

The favored market approach, known as "cap and trade," would enable polluters to buy and sell pollution allowances as they adapt to increasingly strict pollution curbs. Industries that move quickly to phase out  pollution would stand to make large profits by selling unneeded allowances.  Industries moving more slowly would have to buy allowances and face steepening costs of operating. The American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), adopted by the the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009, incorporated a cap-and-trade approach. 

State initiatives: Colorado at the forefront of climate solutions

As Congress debates global warming bills, states continue to set the pace on climate action.  The key legislative vehicle is the renewable energy standard, a requirement of utilities to produce a fixed percentage of electricity by a targeted date from renewable sources such as wind or the sun.  Colorado has been especially agressive in pushing its standard. 

• In 2004, Colorado voters approved a standard for large, investor-owned utilities of 10% by 2015.
• In 2007, the General Assembly raised the requirement to 20% by 2020 and created a new 10% requirement for smaller rural electric cooperatives.
• In 2010, the General Assembly further raised the requirement for larger utitilities to 30% by 2020.