September 15, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Water
Colorado water authorities trying to prevent projected shortages have resolved to look further into a proposed multibillion-dollar pipeline to import water from Wyoming.
Meanwhile, the private developer who proposed the 570-mile pipeline — to move water from the upper Colorado River Basin to expanding Front Range suburbs — has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a license to build the pipeline.
A new poll finds Wyoming residents heavily oppose the pipeline.
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September 13, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Land, Natural Resources, Pollution, Water
PLATTEVILLE — Colorado’s wave of gas and oil drilling is resulting in spills at the rate of seven every five days — releasing more than 2 million gallons this year of diesel, oil, drilling wastewater and chemicals that contaminated land and water.
At least some environmental damage from the oil-and-gas boom is inevitable, industry leaders and state regulators say, with a record-high 45,793 wells and companies drilling about eight more a day.
But a Denver Post analysis finds state regulators rarely penalize companies responsible for spills.
This year, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has imposed fines for five spills that happened three or more years ago. The total penalties: $531,350.
State rules obligate regulators to take a collaborative approach, negotiating remedies when possible rather than cracking down. In fact, the COGCC recently declared four companies responsible for the largest number of spills to be “Outstanding Operators” and lauded them for environmental excellence.
Oil and gas companies have reported 343 new spills this year, bringing the total since August 2009 to more than 1,000 spills, state data show.
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August 25, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
International
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday said the “responsibility to protect” civilians from war crimes has become an operational basis for intervening in crises worldwide and urged expanded efforts to protect people.
In an interview before attending the annual University of Denver Korbel Dinner, Ban also said that “R2P” interventions — which in Libya and Ivory Coast involved military force — must include better post-conflict work to bring the rule of law.
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August 17, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Climate Change, Environment
Inuit hunters fighting to continue their traditional lifestyle in the melting Arctic have turned to Colorado scientists for help.
Cracks open unexpectedly in sea-ice routes the Inuit rely on to track polar bears, caribou and other animals. Each year, the ice melts earlier and freezes later, forcing a shift from dog sleds to boats that require costly fuel.
Elders’ once-reliable predictions, based in part on touching and tasting sea ice, increasingly fail.
Today the scientists, led by climate-modeling veteran Glen Liston, are installing a super-sensitive network of weather stations near an isolated community on Baffin Island in northeast Canada called Kangiqtugaapik (pop. 1,000).
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August 1, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Wildlife
FORT COLLINS – GPS tracking data collected from radio collars on mountain lions, lynx, wolves and other wild mammals are challenging scientific understanding of the animals’ range and habitat.
Until about five years ago, the use of GPS technology was limited. Now, Colorado Division of Wildlife and other Western biologists are tracking more animals using satellites and computers and seeing them wander farther, more frequently and far beyond the bounds of what is believed to be their normal habitat.
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June 25, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Water
CASTLE ROCK — Colorado’s latest tactic in the struggle to forestall water shortages: retrofitting suburban lawns with high-efficiency sprinklers.
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May 30, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Natural Resources, Pollution, Water
As mountain snow starts to melt, trickling toxic acid laced with dissolved metals — arsenic, cadmium, copper, zinc — is fouling Colorado watersheds.
Nobody dares try to stop it.
Among the casualties: Peru Creek east of the Keystone ski area has been pronounced “biologically dead.”
State environmental officials also have listed 32 sites along the Animas River in critical condition. Some headwaters of the Arkansas River, too, are “virtually devoid of any aquatic life.”
The source of the contamination is abandoned mines — about 500,000 across the West, at least 7,300 in Colorado. Federal authorities estimate that the headwaters of 40 percent of Western rivers are tainted with toxic discharge from abandoned mines.
Colorado Department of Natural Resources records show 450 abandoned mines are known to be leaking measurable toxins into watersheds. So far, 1,300 miles of streams have been impaired.
But as bad as the damage is, community watershed groups, mining companies and even state agencies contend they cannot embark on cleanups for fear of incurring legal liability.
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May 21, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Environment, Water
PUEBLO — As much as 100 million gallons a day of Arkansas River water trapped in a reservoir for southern Colorado and downriver states is about to take a left turn — to Colorado’s biggest water project in decades.
Construction crews this week began work on the $2.3 billion Southern Delivery System. It is designed to pump water uphill and north from Pueblo Reservoir — through a 62-mile pipeline — to sustain Colorado Springs, which owns the rights to the river water, and other growing Front Range cities.
The cities embarked on this project because water supplies have emerged as a constraint on population growth.
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May 12, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Human Rights, Immigrants, International
Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday called on the Obama administration to relax a freeze on Libyan assets — or extend visas — so that Libyan students aren’t deported back to war-torn Libya.
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May 11, 2011 · The Denver Post
By Bruce Finley, Denver Post Staff Writer
Human Rights, Immigrants, International
Libyan students stuck as upheaval back home threatens civilians and cuts off their finances are dreading possible deportation and considering asking for asylum.
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A journalist and lawyer, Bruce Finley has investigated local, national and international issues with on-site reporting in more than 40 countries. In his position as a staff writer for the Denver Post, he is focusing on environment-related news including water challenges, the oil and gas boom and wildfire.
