Consumer advocates held a "Rate Payer Revolt" at the Colorado State Capitol yesterday, urging lawmakers to address what they see as the root cause of the recent extreme spikes in utility bills - the state's reliance on natural gas.

Danny Katz, executive director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group - said lawmakers and utilities should take steps to protect ratepayers by tapping new federal funds to speed up the transition to sources such as wind and solar, which are produced locally and are not commodities traded on a global market.

"And if we want to make sure that we are not getting ripped off as consumers into the future," said Katz, "we need to do more to reduce our reliance on gas to heat and power our homes and businesses."

Xcel Energy has blamed spikes in heating bills on rising wholesale gas prices and market forces beyond its control. It has launched a cost-adjustment plan to give consumers some relief.

CoPIRG and other groups are urging the Legislature to take steps to lower the state's dependence on gas - including maximizing efficiency and ending ratepayer subsidies for new gas infrastructure, lobbying and legal expenses.

Xcel and other utilities have added clean-energy capacity, but continue to see natural gas as an important source for meeting peak energy demand and keeping the grid working at night and when the wind isn't blowing.

Katz said we now have roadmaps and technologies - including increased storage capacity, and regulating peak demand via smart appliances - to wean ourselves off of natural gas.

"Twenty years ago, maybe we didn't have the technology, and maybe we needed to have a much more diverse portfolio," said Katz. "But I think we've seen the price of renewables have come down, the capacity that we have to put more energy from renewables has gone up."

Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is more than 85 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2 and is a major source of climate pollution.

Katz said he believes now is the time for utilities across the state to move away from a fuel source subject to global supply chains and disruptive geo-political events.

"There's a lot of federal infrastructure money coming in as well," said Katz. "So there's never been a better time for utilities to step up and say, 'OK, we can start to reduce this reliance and move away from gas.'"




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Results of a new study from Michigan State University suggest farmers no longer have to choose between growing crops and harnessing solar power. They can do both on the same land.

The 25-year study of California farmland found farmers who added solar panels, a practice known as agrivoltaics, made more money per acre than those who did not. The research shows crops and solar work together, especially when panels are placed on low-yield acres, or spots not growing as much food due to poor soil or too much shade.

The research indicates the approach helps farmers boost income without reducing food production.

Jake Stid, a graduate student at Michigan State and lead author of the study, said farmers can also benefit through a system called Net Energy Metering.

"A return structure where farmers can directly in many cases, interconnect so they can use the electricity to offset their own needs, as well as sell excess generation, excess electricity back to the utility for a discounted rate," Stid outlined.

Researchers estimate California land now used for solar panels could have fed 86,000 people had it stayed in crops. The study looked at the trade-off between farming and solar energy, while critics warned it could worsen food security by reducing farmland.

Stid highlighted his team chose California's Central Valley as the focus of the research due to its significant contribution to both national and global food production, particularly for a variety of orchard crops.

"It's a really, really agriculturally valuable state and it also happens to be a pretty water-stressed state," Stid pointed out. "Specifically, the Central Valley has been experiencing pretty significant drought, as well as over allocation of water resources."

Some farmers expressed concern about solar panels shading crops, affecting growth and reducing yields. Stid hopes to expand his research on solar arrays and food production nationwide, contributing to the ongoing debate among farmers on how to use land sustainably, without harming food production.


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Lawmakers and climate change activists are speaking out against a rumored executive action by President Donald Trump to revoke tax-exempt statuses from climate nonprofits. One rumored change includes the removal of climate change from qualifying topics for the exemption.

Last Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump hinted environmental nonprofits could have their tax-exempt statuses scrutinized by the administration. Federal law currently bars a president from directly or indirectly ordering the Internal Revenue Service to investigate specific tax-exempt organizations.

Ruth Ann Norton, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, said she found the rumored executive actions troubling.

"We should not be talking about removing tax-exempt status from the civic good that comes from the work of nonprofits to prevent environmental issues that impair and impact and are harmful on people's lives," Norton contended.

Climate nonprofits are not the only organizations in Trump's crosshairs. He has suggested Harvard University should lose its tax-exempt status over defying demands from the administration dealing with diversity, admissions processes and antisemitism.

Tax-exempt status allows organizations to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions and not pay federal income tax.

Joelle Novey, director of the nonprofit Interfaith Power and Light in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, said the actions may target climate nonprofits first but all nonprofits are at risk.

"There is no attack on civil society groups in the United States that isn't an attack on every one of us who expresses who we are by forming, supporting, volunteering and taking action through nonprofit organizations," Novey argued.

A federal judge last week ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze billions of dollars in climate and infrastructure funds previously targeted in an executive order on Trump's first day in office.


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As of today, Earth Day, more than 50 elected officials have signed a letter urging lawmakers to make oil and gas companies bear the cost of climate change.

The California Polluters Pay Superfund, which goes before the state Senate Judiciary Committee today, would assess a fee on large oil and gas companies to pay for programs that mitigate damage from climate change.

Ahmad Zahra, a council member in Fullerton, signed onto the letter sponsored by the group Elected Officials to Protect America.

"Throughout the years, these large oil companies were really not necessarily telling the truth about air pollution," Zahra pointed out. "Just like we've seen in oil spills and ground pollution, the responsible party has to pay for it."

The Western States Petroleum Association opposes the bill, saying it would lead to higher gas prices. The bill directs the California Environmental Protection Agency to determine how much climate change has cost the state from 1990 to 2024. Federal data show California has suffered 46 natural disasters linked to climate change since 1980, each resulting in more than $1 billion in losses, with $250 billion from the Los Angeles firestorm alone.

Marisol Rubio, a council member in San Ramon, said 40% of the funds would be directed to low-income communities most affected by fossil fuel pollution.

"Those funds can then be used to better manage and correct and abate the pollution that not only already exists but that will come inevitably in the future, until we are able to be independent of fossil fuels," Rubio explained.

Advocates said right now, everyday Californians foot the bill for climate change in the form of higher taxes, insurance rates and utility bills, as well as via medical expenses for pollution-related illness.