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• Local salsa coming to a store near you

  January 12, 2011 12:48 AM

  There's some tasty business going on in Colorado Springs. A small Mexican restaurant is bottling its famous salsa, bringing a little hometown flavor to a grocery store near you. Opened in 2001, the Cafe El Paso has struck a nerve in Colorado Springs. El Paso, Texas native Sandra Santoscoy... more »

• Natural chicken coop uses local materials

  July 9, 2010 7:35 PM

  A woman in Pueblo is using a natural building method to build a one of a kind chicken coop. All of the materials are recycled and local, and so far the whole thing has cost just over $100. Maya Avina and some helpful friends have spent most of the... more »

• Twig beetles latest to attack Colorado forests

  July 7, 2010 9:05 AM

  As if the beetles that have killed millions of pine trees in the region weren't enough, there's a new bug looking to eat what the others haven't. Colorado forest officials say the latest troublesome bug is the twig beetle, which is attacking smaller trees the pine beetle has overlooked.... more »

• Pueblo employer Vestas continues expansion

  July 7, 2010 8:24 AM

  Vestas Wind Systems plans to open a research and development office in Louisville that will employ up to 240 people over the next several years. Vestas already has operations in three Colorado communities, including Pueblo. The Danish company announced its new plans Tuesday during the Louisville City Council meeting.... more »

• Nation's first "green" college is opening in Colorado

  April 21, 2010 5:29 PM

  The nation's first and only college, specifically dedicated to green careers, is opening in Aurora. The new Ecotech Institute will offer degrees in fields focusing on renewable energy and sustainable design. School leaders say they've already received phone calls from companies looking to hire graduates, and they haven't even... more »

• Feds outline plan to nurse Great Lakes to health

  February 21, 2010 10:03 AM

  The Obama administration has developed a five-year blueprint for rescuing the Great Lakes after more than a century of environmental damage. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the document, which Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, will release at a news conference Sunday in Washington. It pledges... more »

• Biodiesel producers lose $1 a gallon tax credit

  January 4, 2010 8:40 AM

  An alternative fuel for diesel engines is off to a shaky start this year even though it emits fewer pollutants and cuts down on petroleum use because it's made from environmentally friendly waste and vegetable oil. A federal tax credit that provided makers of biodiesel $1 for every gallon... more »

• Climate conference leaves a giant carbon footprint

  December 16, 2009 11:07 AM

  If they fail to reach a climate deal in Copenhagen, world leaders flying in their private jets and huddling in five-star hotels will have little to show for their efforts beyond a big, fat carbon footprint. The U.N. estimates 40,500 tons of carbon dioxide will be pumped into the... more »

• Colorado town tries to calm rush of wind power plans

  November 30, 2009 7:48 AM

  One south-central Colorado community is trying to calm the rush of proposals to build wind farms in the area. The La Veta Town Council opposes the planned 7,000-acre Silver Mountain wind farm two miles from town. Two other wind facilities have been proposed in the area. La Veta, about 160... more »

• Texas company told to stop soliciting in Colorado

  November 17, 2009 8:25 AM

  A Colorado regulator has entered a cease-and-desist order against a Texas oil and gas company accused of offering unregistered securities in Colorado. Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph said Plano-based Sethi Oil & Gas Inc. and its founder Sameer P. Sethi agreed to the order that was made final Monday.... more »

• Aspenites question impact of hydroelectric plant

  November 16, 2009 7:23 AM

  The city of Aspen says building a hydroelectric plant would reduce the community's greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists say it could also drain area creeks. Some area residents want the proposed project to go through a full environmental review. The city has applied for an exemption from a full federal... more »

• Colorado senators introduce wilderness proposal

  November 11, 2009 7:35 AM

  U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall are sponsoring a bill to declare about 61,000 acres in southwestern Colorado as federal wilderness and special management areas. The proposal by the Colorado Democrats is a companion to one introduced last month by Colorado congressman John Salazar. The San Juan Mountains... more »

• Lines long for energy-saving work

  November 9, 2009 9:10 AM

  Colorado nonprofits that help lower home energy bills say the lines are long and growing for free energy-saving repairs paid with federal stimulus money. The state is getting $3.6 million for weatherization that helps homes conserve energy by such repairs as improving insulation or replacing old furnaces. The Energy... more »

• Fertilizer, exhaust tied to alpine lake pollution

  November 7, 2009 12:09 PM

  Airborne nitrogen pollution from vehicle exhaust and farm fertilizer is turning algae in the alpine lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park into junk food for fish, a study says. A similar phenomenon is occurring in Sweden and Norway, according to the study of about 90 high-elevation lakes set to... more »

• Colorado ranch plans 'micro-hydroelectric' plant

  November 1, 2009 7:20 AM

  A Colorado ranch owner plans to use a federal grant and loan to build a "micro-hydroelectric" plant and sell the power back to a utility. Ruthie Brown of Aspen says the plant will use a dam her great-grandfather built 90 years ago on the ranch near Creede in south-central Colorado.... more »

• Nuclear energy becomes pivotal in climate debate

  October 25, 2009 7:06 AM

  Nuclear energy was once vilified by environmentalists -- but not so much lately amid the push to curtail greenhouse gases. Nuclear energy has become a pivotal bargaining chip as Senate Democrats seek Republican votes to pass climate legislation. The nuclear industry's long-standing campaign to rebrand itself as green appears to... more »

• Poll: Americans' belief in global warming cools

  October 22, 2009 10:44 AM

  The number of Americans who believe there is solid evidence that the Earth is warming because of pollution is at its lowest point in three years. That's the conclusion of a national survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The poll of 1,500... more »

• Wind farms expand with help of federal aid

  October 20, 2009 3:52 PM

  The nation's wind industry is continuing to open new wind farms with the help of nearly $1 billion in federal stimulus grant money. The American Wind Energy Association reported Tuesday that developers installed 1,649 megawatts of wind power capacity--enough to serve the equivalent of 480,000 average households--in the third quarter.... more »

• Shovelnose sturgeon proposed for listing

  September 29, 2009 12:32 PM

  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing federal protection for the shovelnose sturgeon to help protect the endangered pallid sturgeon. The agency says anglers accidentally harvest the pallid sturgeon when they're seeking the more plentiful shovelnose sturgeon, which is valued for its roe, sold as caviar. Fewer than 40... more »

• Blair touts 10 million jobs from climate action

  September 21, 2009 8:31 AM

  Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he hopes to break the "deadlock" in global climate talks with his new report. Blair heads up a climate initiative. The report presents evidence that 10 million jobs could be created by 2020, if developing nations agree to big cuts in greenhouse gases.... more »

• North America backs plan to cut greenhouse gases

  September 16, 2009 8:12 AM

  A treaty aimed at fixing the earth's ozone layer has become the first global environmental agreement to achieve universal ratification. Small island nations yesterday gained North America's powerful backing for the plan to convert the U.N. ozone treaty into a tool for phasing out some of the globe's most powerful... more »

• Coast Guard to harness tide for electric power

  September 10, 2009 3:47 PM

  The Coast Guard has signed off on its first tidal power project, a small underwater turbine that will generate additional electricity at its station in coastal Maine. The $100,000 project in Eastport will be used to test tidal technology in the nation's northeastern corner, home to some of largest tidal... more »

• Xcel Energy announces launch of "smart grid" city

  September 9, 2009 9:18 AM

  Xcel Energy has completed work on the infrastructure and launched the remaining software to turn Boulder into what is believed to be the first city ready to plug into the "smart grid". The Minneapolis-based utility said yesterday that the $100 million project included stringing 200 miles of fiber optic cable... more »

• Aide: Colorado governor sees natural gas as key

  September 1, 2009 1:15 PM

  An economic adviser to Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter says Ritter now sees natural gas as a clean fuel for generating electricity and not just as a stopgap until more renewable energy is available. Don Marostica, director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said Monday Ritter believes the... more »