Le Journal

Colorado officials are making another major push toward electrification of home heating and deep cuts to carbon from natural gas, despite consumer cost concerns and the Trump administration’s attempt to revive the use of fossil fuels. The Public Utilities Commission on Monday finalized a state Clean Heat framework requiring Xcel and other utilities supplying natural gas for home and building heating to cut the carbon emissions from their systems by 41% in 10 years. The utilities are expected to reach 100% decarbonization of building heating by 2050, an ambitious goal celebrated by the environmental and clean energy groups who had pushed for an even faster schedule. To meet the goals, utilities, regulators and policymakers must help hundreds of thousands of homeowners and landlords in Colorado switch from gas-fired heating systems to electric heat pumps and cooking appliances powered by clean, renewable solar and wind technology. “We’re excited to see Colorado continue committing to some of the strongest gas utility decarbonization goals in the nation,” Colorado Sierra Club senior organizer Sarah Tresseder said. Sierra Club, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project and others wanted the PUC to require 55% reductions in natural gas-related emissions by 2035, while the utilities and some state agencies argued for lower targets, Sierra Club attorney Jim Dennison said. “While the commission’s approved target of 41% emission reductions by 2035 is not as strong as we recommended, it represents a significant step forward in decarbonizing Colorado’s gas utilities, and it rejects calls to weaken the target that was originally proposed,” Dennison said. The PUC’s compromise, robust in the eyes of the environmental coalition, “will help maintain Colorado’s leadership in gas utility decarbonization and send a clear signal to help drive a successful transition away from reliance on fossil gas,” he added. The Colorado Energy Office and the health department’s Air Pollution Control Division had asked for a 30% target by 2035, the Sierra Club said. The final targets are “a meaningful win for Latino and working-class families who deserve clean air, lower energy bills and healthier homes,” said Christo Luna, deputy Colorado director for the nonprofit advocacy group Mi Familia Vota. “This decision moves Colorado closer to an equitable transition away from fossil gas.” Advocacy groups note that lower-income families often live in areas historically overburdened with pollution from fossil fuel power plants, industry and vehicles, and that reducing emissions will improve local health in addition to slowing global warming impacts on urban neighborhoods. They also want regulators to ensure average consumers do not suffer from stacks of rate increases that subsidize electrification for others. The major natural gas suppliers to homes and businesses in the state that will now have to comply with the cuts are Xcel, with 1 million customers, Black Hills Energy and Atmos Energy. Some of the emissions cuts can come from tightening up pipeline and home distribution to prevent leaks of methane that are a super-generator of greenhouse gases because of how long they last in the atmosphere. But the majority of cuts will need to come from more effective overhauls of home and building heating systems, replacing natural gas-burning furnaces with electric-driven heat pumps and other clean heating devices. There are also plenty of gains to be had from accelerating installation of more efficient appliances and home insulation, advocates say. Xcel’s versions of required Clean Heat plans emphasized efficiency and electrification, “which were shown to be the most cost-effective and promising measures,” Dennison said. “Meeting this goal will require greater customer adoption of electrification and advancements in heating technologies within the decade,” Xcel spokesperson Michelle Aguayo said Monday. “Xcel Energy remains committed to a balanced, dual-fuel clean heat transition…

A judge has denied Gov. Jared Polis’ request to dismiss the case against him in state court alleging his attempt to comply with a subpoena from Immigration and Customs Enforcement breaks state law. Denver District Judge A. Bruce Jones on Wednesday rejected Polis’ motion to dismiss the case originally brought by former state labor department employee Scott Moss. Moss sued Polis in June after the governor ordered Moss to comply with a subpoena from ICE for personal information of Coloradans acting as sponsors for unaccompanied immigrant children. Just weeks after Moss filed the lawsuit, Jones blocked Polis from ordering certain state workers to hand over personal information to ICE while the case could be heard. The Polis administration has given records to ICE several times since February, including one instance officials said was in error. Colorado law prohibits state agencies from providing personal information to federal immigration officials unless it is related to a criminal investigation. Polis has argued that the subpoena at the center of the case is related to a human trafficking investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, an argument Jones has so far rejected. The subpoena is titled “Immigration Enforcement Subpoena” and says the feds want the information to locate the unaccompanied children to ensure they aren’t being exploited. Since the June ruling, Polis has argued in court that he should be able to give ICE some records of Coloradans. His lawyers asked Jones to dismiss the case, arguing partly that since Moss no longer works at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, he does not have standing, and that another plaintiff, Towards Justice, a nonprofit that represents workers in wage theft claims, also does not have standing. Moss, the former director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics at Colorado’s Department of Labor, resigned from his post. His last day there was Aug. 12. Judge Jones found that Moss and Towards Justice have standing in his ruling last week, provided to The Sun by Moss’ attorney. The ruling means that the case against Polis will continue. In a statement, the governor’s spokesperson Shelby Wieman said, “Polis is committed to protecting Coloradans against human trafficking. While he disagrees with the decision, he respects the opinion regarding standing and cannot comment further on pending litigation.” Moss said in a statement, “The question is whether Governor Polis and Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Director (Joe) Barela really will make the mystifying decision to spend their lame duck year cementing their legacy as collaborators doing the indefensible bidding of Trump’s brutal ICE troops.” Polis has until Dec. 10 to respond to the original complaint.

Depuis octobre, l’association tarbaise Le Débarras des fées et les séniors de la résidence Le Stade réalisent une grande fresque collaborative à partir de matériaux recyclés. Ce projet intergénérationnel favorise...

Le chantier colossal de la future médiathèque est lancé. La première conséquence est l’ablation de places de stationnement (anarchique) sur l’esplanade. Mais est-ce vraiment un problème ?

Le collectif « Le Français pour tous et toutes », organise ce mercredi une action dans les locaux de « Portes ouvertes » pour tirer la sonnette d’alarme sur le niveau de langue de plus en plus exigeant demandé aux...