Published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan on January 1, 2021 Most, if not all of the Coloradoan’s articles on Colorado’s record-setting 2020 wildfire season earlier this year failed to mention the relationship between wildfire and the climate crisis. It is therefore somewhat heartening to see that in his recent article, “Cameron Peak, East Troublesome fires reignite forest management debate,” Miles Blumhardt notes that “some blame” the size and intensity of the Cameron Peak fire on climate change. However, this possible explanation is presented in seeming opposition to other potential reasons for the historic nature of the Cameron Peak fire: the…

The FCSG sent the statement below to City Council on October 7th.  Council ended up not cutting the Air Quality or Climate Action Program budgets, and we sent the follow-up letter to council on November 2nd that is appended beneath the statement. *********************************************************************************************** The Fort Collins Sustainability Group (FCSG) would like to bring to Council’s notice budget item 27.10, Reductions to the Air Quality program, and we would like Council to consider restoring this funding. This cut would adversely affect air monitoring, public education, and regional cooperation. Given that: • We live in an ozone non-attainment area; • We are…

Dear Board Chair Troxell, Vice Chair Hornbacher and Directors Bagley, Bergsten, Bernosky, Cunniff, Koenig and Marsh: Northern Colorado Partners for Clean Energy (NCP4CE) listened closely to the Board’s discussion of the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Report during your meeting on August 27th. We were pleased to hear Chair Troxell and Director Marsh express opposition to the inclusion of a new natural gas plant in the IRP.

Published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan on September 19, 2020 The recent collapse of our economy and routine activities is the result of a microscopic coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Without warning the entire

The Fort Collins Sustainability Group (FCSG) insists that Broadcom’s massive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions be included in the City’s GHG inventory. Those emissions – consisting mainly of fluorinated gases (F-gases) accounted for fully 8% of Fort Collins’ total GHG emissions in 2018. Ignoring those F-gases – or simply mentioning them in a side-bar to the main GHG inventory – is akin to sticking our heads in the sand and pretending that if we don’t count them, those gases won’t really damage the climate.

The Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate (of which the FCSG is a founding member) asked Colorado General Assembly and Congressional candidates where they stand on issues related to climate protection and clean energy. 61 General Assembly candidates and five Congressional candidates who will be on the primary ballot this June responded to questions asking them to rate the urgency of addressing climate change, state whether they would sign on to the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge”, and declare their support or opposition to a number of state and national level climate policy initiatives. We’ve attached the results here, and…

Today, Northern Colorado Partners for Clean Energy released a white paper (available at https://colivableclimate.org/ncp4ce-white-paper-on-prpa-integrated-resou…) calling on the Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) to Implement 100% renewable energy in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). This document outlines compelling data points and central arguments for strengthening PRPA’s commitment to renewable energy in the IRP. “2030 is a long ways away. That’s still a decade longer of fossil fuel pollution in our communities. PRPA should be doing everything it can to transition off of coal and gas in a way that either meets or exceeds city commitments to 100% clean energy by 2030.” said…

The Fort Collins Sustainability Group (FCSG) insists that Broadcom’s massive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions be included in the City’s GHG inventory. Those emissions – consisting mainly of fluorinated gases (F-gases) accounted for fully 8% of Fort Collins’ total GHG emissions in 2018. Ignoring those F-gases – or simply mentioning them in a side-bar to the main GHG inventory – is akin to sticking our heads in the sand and pretending that if we don’t count them, those gases won’t really damage the climate. On March 25th, City staff released a memo (available at https://citydocs.fcgov.com/?cmd=convert&vid=218&docid=3443912&dt=MAIL+PA…) giving an overview of different options for…

The Fort Collins Sustainability Group (FCSG) grew out of a meeting held in the spring of 2005, shortly after the Kyoto Protocol went into effect, among several people interested in getting the city to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Over the following months, others who viewed such a commitment as a way to strengthen the local economy in the wake of high technology sector job losses joined the new organization. Members of the FCSG soon learned that the Fort Collins City Council had passed a resolution in 1999 committing the city to reducing its GHG emissions significantly…

Speech delivered by Kevin Cross at the Fort Collins Peace Festival on September 28, 2019 The Fort Collins Sustainability Group/FCSG was formed back in 2005. We’ve spend the last 14 years focusing on climate action at the local level. We’ve also been involved with coalitions that focus on regional and state level climate action. The names of those organizations are Northern Colorado Partners for Clean Energy and the Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate, respectively. What does local climate action look like? It’s included advocating for setting ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals for the City of Fort Collins. If…