Fossil Fuels Transitions
This series is part of a collaboration between stations of the Rocky Mountain Community Radio coalition. Reports will highlight the transition from fossil fuels across the Mountain West. Listen throughout the winter and spring of 2022 for more stories from our partner stations, including KSUT.
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Trina Ortega/Courtesy photoThe basin, near the town of Redstone, Colorado, was the site of a series of 20th Century mining disasters. Now, a privately-owned parcel surrounded by National Forest land provides free public access to custom-designed mountain bike trails. -
Halle Zander/Aspen Public RadioHoly Cross Energy is a utility cooperative that provides electricity from Aspen to Vail to Parachute. Its renewable-energy plans call for a quick transition away from fossil fuels. But many of the renewable-energy sources still emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This story was part of a collaborative effort with Rocky Mountain Community Radio on the transition from fossil fuels.
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The tribe plans to build a 600-megawatt hydroelectric pump. -
As the climate crisis worsens, Pitkin County is working with a group of local stakeholders to capture a large amount of methane that has been leaking out of abandoned coal mines in the Coal Basin area above the town of Redstone. -
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is determining whether companies need to commit more money upfront. Financial assurance, commonly known as a bond, guarantees the state can afford to clean up a well site if a company goes bankrupt or walks away. KVNF’s Chad Reich reports for the Rocky Mountain Community Radio collaboration on fossil fuel transitions. -
How does a small town react to its police force driving a Tesla? -
The city created the garden to provide access to solar energy for mobile home residents. -
Tourism was supposed to replace coal in Crested Butte, but housing problems highlight the tough transition. -
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Commercial aviation contributes about 2.5% to annual global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use. Some airports are turning to a non-petroleum alternative to bring that number down. -
Mining has been an economic driver in Southwest Colorado since the late 1800s. But when a local mine and power plant closed in 2017, a number of communities were forced to reimagine. -
As the Biden administration aims to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels, a battle is being waged between conservationists and business interests over federal land in the West. -
More than 160 workers are using eBikes paid for by the state. The Can Do Colorado eBike pilot program appears to be a hit with participants and a positive step in the transition away from fossil fuels. -
The Ute Mountain Ute tribe of Southwest Colorado is turning to solar generation to provide cheap electricity for its members and infrastructure. But it also has solar ambitions that go beyond the community level. As Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Lucas Brady Woods reports, they include generating solar power that can be sold for a profit.
