skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Unproven Tech Could Stall Action on Climate Change

play audio
Play

Monday, May 1, 2023   

Some 45 environmental groups across Colorado are sounding the alarm about a host of emerging technologies that have been attached to legislation aiming to blunt the worst impacts of climate change.

Valley Lopez - the promoting climate solutions coordinator with 350 Colorado - said they are concerned that baking unproven or potentially dangerous tools, such as carbon capture and next generation nuclear reactors, into climate policies could severely hamstring efforts to reduce climate pollution by 2030, the deadline set by the world's leading scientists.

"That transitions money, resources, time, energy away from solutions that we already know are going to work," said Lopez. "Things like solar and wind and stable energy storage, those are the places where we need to be investing our time and our energy."

The fossil fuel industry has argued that capturing CO2 at power plants will keep more workers employed and keep electrical grids reliable.

The sector lobbied successfully for billions of dollars for carbon capture projects in President Biden's infrastructure and climate legislation.

A host of bills introduced this session by Colorado lawmakers also call for investments in nascent technologies.

A recent report suggests that the number of jobs created by fossil fuels has been overblown.

Less than 1% of Colorado jobs come from the oil and gas sector, which contributes just 3% to the state's GDP.

But Lopez said no one is advocating a transition to clean energy without support for workers and communities dependent on fossil fuels.

"One of the things that we're seeing right now," said Lopez, "is we're seeing legislation that is studying ways that we can transition those workers away from those industries, and we can do it in a way that is just."

Scientists have repeatedly warned that in order to avert catastrophic impacts of a changing climate, we must stop burning fossil fuels.

Lopez said carbon capture and sequestration, direct air capture, hydrogen, and new nuclear technologies could take decades to develop to scale, and are much more expensive than proven technologies that can be expanded now.

"We don't have that kind of time if we are going to meet our goals," said Lopez. "We need policy solutions to incentivise solar and wind, but we also need policy that creates consequences for not phasing out fossil fuels."



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021