Help put ClimateSmart loan program back on track.  It is essential for Boulder’s Climate Action Plan.

The easiest way is to submit comments is to  e-mail Alfred M. Pollard, General Counsel: RegComments@fhfa.gov.  You must include “RIN 2590-AA53″ in the subject line of the message.  All comments must be received by March 26th, 2012.

This is from Blue Line:

In the summer of 2010, Boulder’s innovative Climate Smart Loan Program screeched to a halt, because the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) decided that the property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing mechanism amounted to a lien on any property enrolled in the program (read FHFA’s statements, and Boulder County’s response, both as PDFs).  Because of this, they said they were unwilling to purchase and securitize PACE encumbered mortgages.

Read more http://www.boulderblueline.org/2012/02/01/help-put-boulders-climate-smart-loan-program-back-on-track/

Now is the time to get informed and speak up about GMO’s on open space. Boulder County Parks & Open Space (POSAC) will vote on whether to recommend approval of the policy to the Board of County Commissioners.

Monday, November 14

PLAN-Boulder Forum: Should Genetically Engineered Crops Be Banned from Boulder Open Space?
7:00-9:00 p.m. Sherpa’s Restaurant, 825 Walnut St., Boulder, CO
Panelists will be Professor Daniel Bush, Chairman of the Biology Department at CSU, and others to be announced.

November 15

5:30 p.m. at Longmont Conference Center

Staff will present the policy to a joint session of the Food and Agriculture Policy Council (FAPC) and the Parks and Open Space Advisory Commission (POSAC). Public comments will be accepted.

November 16

5:30 p.m. at Longmont Conference Center

FAPC will vote on whether to recommend approval of the policy to the Board of County Commissioners. Public comments will not be accepted.

November 17

5:30 p.m. County Courthouse: Commissioners’ Hearing Room
POSAC will vote on whether to recommend approval of the policy to the Board of County Commissioners. Public comments will not be accepted.

Before you mark your ballot, learn why Boulder’s leaders support 2B & 2C.

To learn more and see more videos, visit www.giveboulderthepower.org

To learn more and see more videos, visit www.giveboulderthepower.org

“Boulder’s Energy Future is for You to Decide” states CU’s Energy Club open invitation to a forum where industry experts will discuss “Boulder’s possible municipalization initiative” on  Tuesday October 25, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom.  Undecided about this issue?  Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from experts.

Tuesday June 28, 2011: Feedback Forum

Tuesday July 19, 2011: City Council First Reading of Ballot Initiatives

Tuesday August 2, 2011: City Council Second Reading of Ballot Initiatives

Tuesday August 9, 2011: City Council Third Reading Ballot Initiatives

The Clean Air Act is under heavy attack from big polluters in Congress — and even President Obama doesn’t seem willing to stand up for it anymore.

Yesterday the AP reported that behind the scenes the President’s negotiators are insisting some Republican proposals to gut the Clean Air Act must be included in a bill to fund the government through September 30th.

If these reports are true, this would be a betrayal of the millions of voters and volunteers who supported the President in 2008 because of his positions on climate change and clean energy.

The health and welfare of every community in this country and around the world will be jeopardized if Obama lets big polluters gut the Clean Air Act. It’s time to demand that President Obama defend the Clean Air Act from all attacks in Congress — call the White House today:

White House comment line: 202-456-1111

(Report your call)

Here’s what we suggest you say when you call:

My name is __________ and I’m from CITY, STATE. I am outraged about reports that the President may sell out the Clean Air Act and public health protections to big polluters as part of a deal with Congress. The Clean Air is the best tool we have to protect our families from climate pollution and promote clean energy. President Obama needs to stand up to big polluters and their allies in Congress by protecting the Clean Air Act against all attacks. Thank you.

First, the President failed to push through Congress a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill as he promised he would. Now he seems willing to sell out his own EPA’s updated regulations for carbon pollution — the best tools we have right now to deal with climate here at home — to get a spending deal from Congress.

Every American who cares about clean air, healthy communities and the dangers of climate change should be outraged that this giveaway to dirty polluters is even being discussed.

Tell President Obama to defend the Clean Air Act from all attacks by big polluters — call the White House today at 202-456-1111. After your call, please let us know you took action by visiting this page and reporting your call.

Big polluters like coal and oil companies are putting on a full-court press to gut the Clean Air Act. We need President Obama to fulfill his pledge to protect the Clean Air Act, not sell it out to polluters as part of a deal with Congress. Call the President today and tell him to stand up for the American people, not the profits of big polluters.

Thanks for taking action,

Liz Butler
Campaign Director, 1Sky

Our mission: Reduce the number of plastic bags used in Boulder.

Why?

The US International Trade Commission reported that 102 billion plastic bags were used in the US in 2009. Using census data, this means that Boulder uses about 25-35 million plastic bags a year. We are not able to recycle our plastic bags along with our regular recycling, so many are thrown out after one or two uses. The bags end up polluting our earth and water (as well as our recycling and compost) as they break down. And we end up finding plastic bags in the strangest of places, like in the stomachs of wildlife, in the tops of our trees, and swirled together forming islands in gyres in our oceans.

In addition to the harm that plastic bags cause our earth, the phthalates used to soften plastic bags also wreak havoc on our bodies. Phthalates are now proven to be toxic, endocrine-disrupting, hormone level-changing, and disease-causing.

We want to urge Boulder City Council to investigate policy options to reduce the number of single-use bags in Boulder. Dozens of other cities and countries have already done so and seen huge reductions. Let’s do our part by adding Boulder to that list!

Sign this petition to add your name to the growing list of supporters who want to limit single-use bags in Boulder.

Eco-Cycle needs your help!

Once a year, we all wake up on a cold winter

Your input is needed at the Public Utilities Commission: 2022 is too late for shutting down Cherokee!

Email: pucconsumer.complaints@dora.state.co.us

This past spring, a bipartisan team in the Colorado Legislature passed the landmark Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act, HB-1365, which mandated that Xcel Energy cut emissions of nitrous oxide by 70-80% by 2017 by retiring, retrofitting, or replacing aging and dirty coal-fired power plants along the Front Range. This legislation is a first step toward getting Colorado off of polluting energy sources and toward clean and renewable ones.

Xcel Energy has submitted their plan to the Public Utilities Commission, as required by HB-1365, for converting Front Range coal plants. The plan does not meet the requirements of the Bill.

The following is an excerpt from a post in The Blue Line info@boulderblueline.org by