Take Action on Data Centers: Write Legislators to Oppose HB-1030 and Support SB-102
Please send a personalized message today telling your state legislators to support SB26-102 to help control data center air pollution, water usage, energy burdens, noise and other local and statewide impacts, and to stop HB26-1030, which would give corporations $58 million in tax breaks to attract more new data centers.
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News Wire
2026 Climate / Energy / Environmental Legislation
Jan Rose’s report on climate, energy, and environmental bills introduced in Week 11 of the 2026 Colorado legislative session is available here.
Climate Alarmism is a Good Thing
Chris Hoffman, Boulder Daily Camera, February 27th, 2026
In his recent column, Bjorn Lomborg says, “the global retreat from climate alarmism is a good thing.” There are two problems with this assertion: (1) There has not been a retreat; and (2) saying so, and saying that it’s “a good thing,” is not helpful.
Move Beyond False Choices in Energy Policy
Chris Hoffman, Denver Post, February 22nd, 2026
Re: “Global energy demand is rising as Colorado is still restricting operations,” Feb. 15 commentary
In her opinion column on global energy demand, Lynn Granger creates a false dichotomy when she states, “Colorado politics has framed energy policy as a moral choice rather than a systems challenge.” Energy policy is both a moral choice and a systems challenge.
We Don’t Need More Band-Aids for Xcel’s Expensive, Unreliable Electric System
Leslie Glustrom, Boulder Daily Camera, January 30th, 2026
You’ve probably noticed it. Xcel’s electric system is becoming increasingly expensive and increasingly unreliable. Great combo… Well, maybe not.
It’s Time to Ban New Oil and Gas Drilling in Colorado
Chris Hoffman, Boulder Daily Camera, December 31st, 2025
“Vast swaths of the ponderosa pine forests that blanket Colorado’s Front Range mountains could turn rust-colored and die over the next five years.” – Daily Camera front page story.
Let’s connect three dots and take action:
Coloradans Shouldn’t Pay for Xcel’s Coal Mistakes
Jamie Valdez, Denver Post, November 24th, 2025
Just last year, Colorado was leading the Mountain West in the transition from dirty coal plants to clean energy. Federal funding was assisting on rural clean energy while coal plant retirement dates were on track to meet the state’s critical climate goals.
How quickly things change.
Trump’s U.N. Speech Should be Major Cause of Concern
Lynn Fritz, Denver Post, September 30th, 2025
Just over a year ago, we were bemoaning the fact that President Joe Biden’s advisors and the press had not called the question of his mental acuity far sooner than they did. Following President Trump’s United Nations speech, described on the front page of The Denver Post this morning, it is time to raise the question about his mental acuity. His speech was unhinged, often not founded in fact, and rambled badly.
Under Trump, the EPA is Trying to Harm us
Chris Hoffman, Boulder Daily Camera, August 1st, 2025
The Camera recently asked its Community Editorial Board for opinions on the Environmental Protection Agency’s intention to deny Colorado’s plan to shutter coal-fired power plants to reduce regional air pollution.
This prospective denial of Colorado’s plan is a giant step in the wrong direction.
Why Taking Another Risk on Nuclear Power in Colorado Would be a Mistake
Charles Kutscher, Colorado Newsline, July 25th, 2025
As the last coal plants in Colorado shut down, nuclear power proponents are campaigning to replace them with nuclear reactors. An advisory committee for the city of Pueblo recommended that Xcel replace its Comanche 3 coal plant with an “advanced nuclear power plant.” Bolstering that effort, the Colorado Legislature recently passed a bill redefining nuclear as a “clean energy resource.”
2025 Climate / Energy / Environmental Legislation
Jan Rose’s report on the final disposition of bills for the 2025 Colorado legislative session is available here.
Community Choice Energy is not a Joke
Leslie Glustrom, Boulder Daily Camera, May 9th, 2025
Boulder has a chance to take an “off ramp” from its 2020 electric “franchise” agreement with Xcel in 2025. Many Boulder residents would like to take that off-ramp and look for a different, more localized and responsive supplier.
In a recent op-ed, Boulder Chamber of Commerce President John Tayer asked “Are you kidding?” The answer is absolutely not!
Colorado Fossil Fuel Warning Bill Would Highlight Air Pollution Dangers
Moshe Kornfeld, Colorado Newsline, April 22nd, 2025
Last month, Lee Zeldin, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced a plan to revoke the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, the key scientific determination that allows the EPA to regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act.
One of the basic functions of good government is to provide reliable information that can then inform policy that is in the public interest.
Colorado Needs Good Data Center Policy. Discount Electricity is not it
Allen Best, Denver Post, March 9th, 2025
Data centers have come out of seemingly nowhere to potentially reconfigure the landscape of electricity generation in Colorado and many other states. In some places, they’re talking about keeping coal plants running to keep up with the growth in demand.
Polluters Should Pay for the Consequences
Chris Hoffman, Boulder Daily Camera, February 15th, 2025
This will be of interest not only to Colorado homeowners concerned about the risks of wildfires and flooding, but also to all taxpayers. Whether we realize it or not, we are all paying for the impacts of climate change. These costs are large and growing and have effectively become a tax on the public.
Colorado’s Elected Officials Need to Make a Climate Superfund Law a Top Priority
Kevin Cross & Leslie Weise, Colorado Sun, February 6th, 2025
On January 10, the Copernicus Climate Change Service announced that 2024 was the first year Earth’s average temperature rose more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. The news of crossing that critical climate guard rail coincided with deadly climate-change driven fires in Los Angeles, which have so far taken 25 lives and destroyed over 12,000 homes and other buildings. The stories of loss emerging from that tragedy are truly heartbreaking.
We are Fanning the Flames
Jeff Neuman-Lee, Denver Post, January 26th, 2025
Re: Is Denver’s water system ready for a firestorm (January 19th commentary)
The CEO of Denver Water, Alan Salazar, does the responsible thing and reports to us how Denver Water is dealing with the wildfire threat. Apparently, Denver Water takes this seriously and I’m happy to see that happen. Mr. Salazar lists causes for the threat; yet he omits the one that is the largest and the threat that continues to grow every time someone turns the gasoline engine on in their car: the heating of our world leading out here in the west to ever worsening extremes in dry conditions.
The More Xcel Builds, the More we Pay; it Doesn’t Have to be This Way
K.K. DuVivier, Denver Post, November 30th, 2024
As someone who cares deeply about the future of our planet, I converted my 1963 home in Boulder from gas to all electric. The install went smoothly, the problem was the 7½-month ordeal Xcel Energy put me through to disconnect the gas.
Colorado Candidate Questionnaire on Climate, Clean Air and Clean Energy 2024
Posted on September 15th, 2024
The CCLC recently invited all Colorado General Assembly candidates who will be competing in the general election this November to respond to our questionnaire on climate, clean air and clean energy. A total of 38 candidates have responded. We’ve posted the results, and hope they will be helpful as people make up their minds who to support in the general election.
Colorado PUC is Failing to Correct an Egregious Abuse of Xcel’s Ratepayers — and the Planet
Published in the Colorado Sun on September 10th, 2024
Commissioners need to undo the wrong committed by their predecessors and correct the abuses of Xcel’s coal-fired power plant near Pueblo.
Is Earth Really Getting Too Hot for People to Survive?
Published in the Denver Post on June 22nd, 2024
My parents said the planet is getting too hot for people to live here. They called it climate change. What does that mean?
— Joseph, age 12, Boise, Idaho
Many countries have seen extremely hot weather lately, but in most of the inhabited world, it’s never going to get “too hot for people to live here,” especially in relatively dry climates.
An Interview with ChatGPT- 4.0
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera on June 15th, 2024
To ChatGPT: Does climate change endanger human survival?
ChatGPT: Yes, climate change does endanger human survival. It leads to more frequent and severe weather events, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity, disruptions to food and water supplies, and increased health risks. These impacts can threaten the stability and well-being of human societies around the world.
Talking About Climate Change
Posted on May 31st, 2024
Jeff Neuman-Lee and Marc Alston of CCLC member organization Wind & Solar Denver wrote the paper linked to below to try to answer the question, “How do we talk about this human caused change which is heating and ruining our world’s climate?” Their intended audience includes individuals and organizations who wish to communicate with regular people in America who “are concerned, perhaps really concerned about climate change,” but “who are taking their kids to school, or have demanding jobs, or don’t see themselves as science minded, or something like that.”
Polis’ Veto Disappoints
Published in the Denver Post on May 26th, 2024
When I voted for Gov. Jared Polis for governor in 2018 and 2022, I hoped for his leadership on reining in climate change. At least he talked a good game. But it appears that I was conned.
CCLC Statement Opposing SB24-230: “Oil and Gas Production Fees”
Posted on May 5th, 2024
The Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate (CCLC) is opposed to bills that perpetuate dependency on the oil and gas sector by funding state and local government programs through fees imposed on oil and gas operators. The next few years are crucial to implementing a path to a sustainable future on a livable planet, and SB24-230 takes Colorado in exactly the wrong direction by tying funding for diesel transit to oil & gas production fees.
2024 Climate / Energy / Environmental Legislation
Jan Rose’s report on the final disposition of bills for the 2024 Colorado legislative session is available here.
Time for a New Electric Utility Paradigm
Published in the Denver Post on April 27th, 2024
After nearly 20 years at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, I still wonder what parts of “climate crisis” and “extreme weather,” are not understood by Xcel, Colorado’s largest investor-owned utility (IOU), and its regulators at the PUC.
Hope for Larimer County Air
Published in the Denver Post on April 17th, 2024
As a representative of the Larimer Alliance for Health, Safety, and Environment, I wholeheartedly support House Bill 1330, which aims to address our dire air quality issues in Larimer County. With an “F” grade in ozone from the American Lung Association, we are in crisis.
We are Running out of Road on Transition to Green Energy
Published in the Daily Camera on April 10th, 2024
Despite the Camera’s endorsement, Colorado lawmakers rejected a bill (SB 159) that would have gone after orphan and abandoned oil and gas wells and begun the transition away from petroleum extraction. In doing so, our legislators kicked the can down the road. The problem is: we are running out of road.
Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee Conclusions are Delusions
Published in the Pueblo Chieftain on January 14th, 2024
The Xcel Energy-established Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee (PIESAC) recently released their proposed recommendations for energy generation in Pueblo. Most committee members have no expertise in the electric utility field. They recommend building a nuclear or natural gas plant with carbon capture. The main requirement was to generate a significant tax base and jobs. Neither of these projects is likely to be approved by the Colorado Public Utility Commission (PUC).
Colorado Must Overcome its Share of Climate Delusions
Published in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on December 12th, 2023
In the early 1970’s, I worked on the adolescent ward of a state mental hospital. One of our patients was a fifteen-year-old – let’s call him Ian – who was smart enough to beat everyone at chess and to speak a bit of several different languages and who was also experiencing a mental condition that gave him distorted views of the world. These distorted views caused suffering for him and those around him. I think of him, and a particular incident with him, when I think of our climate situation these days.
Colorado’s New Air Quality Rule Puts Profits Over People
Published in the Denver Post on September 29th, 2023
As a Colorado resident, I am proud that our state has strong laws for greenhouse gas emissions reductions and environmental justice, but these laws mean nothing when regulations are not strong enough to put them into action. The rules the Air Quality Control Commission passed on Friday in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Management in Manufacturing Phase 2 rulemaking are an egregious example of this problem.
Xcel’s Clean Heat Plan is Less Than Meets the Eye
Published in the Colorado Sun on August 27th, 2023
Climate change disasters are making headlines on a daily basis. One of the key solutions is to replace polluting natural gas furnaces with clean, high-performance electric heat pumps. Across the country cities and towns like Crested Butte have banned gas in new buildings.
Building electrification is a serious threat to the business models of utilities that distribute natural gas. Xcel Energy has responded by….
2023 Climate Legislation Summary
Posted on July 16th, 2023
The legislature did a lot of great work this year, but also passed a slew of bills that we’re concerned will come back to bite us in the form of billions of taxpayer dollars wasted on the false solution that is carbon capture and sequestration—CCS.
Statement Regarding Concerns About Certain Emerging Technologies
Posted on May 5th, 2023
As Colorado seeks to address the climate challenges of our time, we appreciate efforts to adopt solutions that positively impact our state. However, we have serious concerns surrounding several of the “emerging” technologies being promoted; in particular, carbon capture and sequestration, direct air capture, hydrogen, and nuclear. We are troubled by the lack of risk-analysis, cost-analysis, and impact-analysis being done in these sectors.
Colorado Should Honor its Legacy as a Place of Healing
Published in Colorado Newsline on May 2nd, 2023
Frances Wisebart Jacobs, a late 19th-century civic leader, is the only woman among the 16 Coloradans memorialized in stained glass on the walls of the Colorado State Capitol rotunda.
Three Questions for the Next Mayor of Denver
Published in the Colorado Sun on February 11th, 2023
The next mayor of Denver must have a heart that longs to keep all of Denver safe from the effects of the changed and changing climate. The next mayor of Denver must have the skill to lead the city to make Denver a world leader in dealing with the changed and changing climate.
Colorado Candidate Questionnaire on Climate and Clean Energy
Updated on August 30th, 2022
The CCLC recently invited all Colorado Gubernatorial and General Assembly candidates who will be competing in the general election this November to either respond or update their responses to our questionnaire on climate protection and clean energy. A total of 54 candidates who will be on the ballot in November have responded. We’ve posted the results, and hope they will be helpful as people make up their minds who to support in the general election.
The Supreme Court has put us in a Constitutional Crisis and a Climate crisis
Published in the Colorado Sun on August 6th, 2022
The Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate is outraged by the recent Supreme Court decision eviscerating the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
The decision is an outright attack on Congress that shatters our checks-and-balances system of government. It signals that we are in a constitutional crisis that will impede our ability to tackle the climate emergency.
2022 State Climate, Energy, and Environmental Legislation
Updated on June 5th, 2022
Following is the final bill summary of the 2022 State Legislature for the session ending May 11: Last year we had 59 climate bills, this year we had 41. The following is the status of each bill at the end of the session:
Public Utilities Commission Filing Urging Immediate Closure of the Pueblo Unit 3 Coal Plant
Posted on May 8th, 2022
The Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate has filed comments with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission urging the commissioners to close the Pueblo Unit 3 (“Comanche 3”) coal plant now, rather than waiting until 2031 to do so. Instead, Xcel and its ratepayers should stop wasting time and money on this mistake and start investing our time and money in resources, both demand side and supply side that will help build a truly reliable, low-carbon electrical system for Xcel’s Colorado customers.
Selected Remarks Made at 2022 Earth Day Picnic, March and Rally in Denver
Posted on April 26th, 2022
The following remarks were made by Giselle Herzfeld and Kevin Cross at the Earth Day Picnic, March, and Rally held at the Colorado State Capitol and the Denver Federal Reserve Building on Earth Day.
No, Natural Gas Should Not be Part of Our Energy Mix
Published in the Colorado Sun on March 10th, 2022
In their op-ed titled “Natural gas should remain a key option in Colorado’s clean-energy mix,” the authors would have us believe that, long-term, natural gas should be part of the mix for our state’s goals for ending the use of fossil fuels.
Let’s be clear: When we have ended the use of fossil fuels, natural gas must be just another old, discarded technology, replaced by newer, clean electricity. Natural gas is not clean, nor should it remain part of our energy mix.
Letter to Governor Polis Demanding a Declaration of a Climate Emergency
Delivered on November 19th, 2021
Dear Governor Jared Polis,
We, the undersigned organizations and state leaders, are writing to call for action to address widespread public concern that in the two years since you signed SB 19-181 and HB 19-1261 into law, the situation with regards to oil and gas pollution and the impacts on Colorado communities and the climate crisis has failed to improve as needed.
2021 Colorado Climate/ Energy/ Environmental Legislation Summary
By Jan Rose, CCLC Spokesperson and Legislative Maven
Posted on June 16th 2021
Without question, this has been the most consequential session of the General Assembly for climate change legislation in history, with 53 bills introduced! Nearly all the bills we supported passed, and the vast majority of bills we opposed failed.
CCLC Positions on 2021 Colorado General Assembly Bills
Updated on June 8th, 2021
The CCLC has taken positions on the following 2021 Colorado General Assembly bills:
35 Prominent Environmental Groups Submit Joint Letter to APCD Re: 2021 GHG Inventory
Released on March 30th, 2021
DENVER — On Monday, 350 Colorado and the Colorado Sierra Club along with the Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate, EcoCycle, Clean Energy Action, Resilient Denver and the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council submitted a joint comment to Colorado’s Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) on the 2021 Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory.
Open Letter to our Congressional Delegation: We Need a Green New Deal!
Letter sent on January 22nd, 2021
Dear Members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation:
When the Green New Deal Resolution (H. Res. 109 and S. Res. 59) was first introduced in Congress in early 2019, the Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate voted wholeheartedly to endorse it. We communicated that position to you in a letter dated June 24th, 2019.
Groups Decry Xcel Energy’s Move to Slow Down Climate Action in Colorado
News release dated December 4th, 2020
Denver–Groups representing thousands of Coloradans have called into question why Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility who has long positioned itself as a climate leader, has moved to join litigation to slow climate action in Colorado. The diverse coalition of environmental, justice, health, and climate advocacy groups offered statements below.
Colorado Candidate Questionnaires on Climate and Clean Energy
Updated on October 16th, 2020
The Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate asked Colorado General Assembly and Congressional candidates where they stand on issues related to climate protection and clean energy. As of early October, 75 General Assembly candidates and eight Congressional candidates who are on the ballot this November have 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 posted the results, and hope they will be helpful as people make up their minds who to support in the general election.