Thinking of installing a Rooftop Solar Array. Why can't I make more electricity than I use?

City of Longmont stands up to Colorado Governor

On November 6th, 2012 the people of the City of Longmont, Colorado passed an amendment to the city charter banning hydraulic fracturing (Fracking) within city limits. The ballot initiative was known as measure 300. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has helped sue the city for restricting oil and gas activity before and has vowed to repeat himself.  Hickenlooper's ardent support for the oil and gas industry has given him the nickname Governor Frackenlooper. His position also makes me suspicious of his motives and for the murky circumstances of his Democratic predecessor Governor Bill Ritter stepping down.

Watch in the video below as the people of Longmont chant "Dirty water, dirty air. we get sick and you don't care" at Governor Hickenlooper as he leaves the city in September 2012. During this visit the Governor said the passage of fracking ban 300 would bring a second lawsuit from the State.



I am curious to see the Governor's next move. As a native Western New Yorker I hope Hickenlooper looks to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for guidance on this precarious environmental and economic issue. As I understand the current legal situation in New York there is a state-wide moratorium in place against fracking and Cuomo has left the decision up to municipalities whether to allow fracking to occur if the moratorium should happen to be lifted. I plead with state representatives Randy Fischer and John Kefalas to urge Governor Hickenlooper to take a similar stance on Fracking in Colorado.

Carolina Fontoura Alzaga

Carolina Fontoura Alzaga takes us with her as she walks a sustainable walk around her Bike Chain Chandelier. Thanks to Ravi Zupa for posting this on his facebook timeline!

Paper Bird: Carry On

Scandal in Colorado!

Secretary of State for Colorado, Scott Gessler.

Scott Gessler is a one-man sleeper-cell for the GOP in Colorado. Very quietly in 2010 he amassed vast sums of money from the Republican Party to ensure his victory as the Secretary of State in Colorado. When Michael Steele, then chairman of the Republican Party visited Fort Collins in 2010 I attended his rally at the GOP headquarters inside an out-of-business blockbuster video on College Avenue. During the rally I noticed particular attention being paid to Gesslar by Steele. Gessler was the only politician to position himself in close physical proximity to Steele who was a controversial figure at the time.

Why all the love and attention?  This was all part of a quiet campaign by Steele to Gerrymander congressional districts across the country in favor of the Republican Party.  If you are not familiar with what Gerrymandering  is let me tell you. It is the process by which a political group manipulates geographical boundaries of certain voting districts to favor their group overall.

This is precisely what has happened in Northern Colorado in 2012. To understand this you need to know about the liberal/conservative distribution in the State of Colorado. Though there are pockets of liberals in the western mountains there are just as many conservative families up there as well. Neither group really have the numbers to make a big difference in the congressional districts. Looking down on the front-range, Boulder Colorado has historically been a liberal hub. But, over the last decade there has been some spill over as intra-national transplants have discovered the other cool parts of Colorado. 

As with any liberalization of an area the seeds started growing from the the centers of higher learning.  In Colorado this is partly true but there is a bit of a catch.  Denver and Boulder are chocked full of University students and have traditionally voted more to the left. Whereas Colorado Springs to the south, does not have such a liberal contingent.  though there are some private Universities there The Air Force Academy, Focus on the Family and more mega-churches than you can shake a stick at pretty much dominate the political climate in those parts. Now we come to my town - Fort Collins the jewel of Northern Colorado. Smack between Denver and Laramie Wyoming, Fort Collins is balanced town with just as many patchouli-drenched organic farmers as there are wrangler wearing country folk. Home to Colorado State University it is not uncommon to see someone donning Carhartts and cashmere.

I have called Fort Collins home for seven years and have watched as droves of bicycle-riding artists and musicians have taken up residence in this high flat sunny place.  The scales of reason have tipped gradually toward the left since I moved here.  Alas, my new home has now been tainted by the schemes of the Secretary of State, Scott Gessler.  Before 2010 it used to be that Fort Collins was the only large University town in its congressional district. I thought this was great as it pulled our representatives more to the center as they had to compromise with the ranchers and farmers of the high plains for a balanced approach to taxes and government programs for the area. But now the congressional districts have been redrawn and Fort Collins is now in the same geographical voting-bloc as Boulder. The powers that be have corralled  all the liberal folks into one big pen. By doing so they have minimized the liberal voice in Colorado. Instead of two slots for potentially liberal congress men or women there is just one.

See for yourself below.       The 2010 districts...

And here are the 2012 congressional districts!!!

Conclusion? Gerrymandering! In my opinion this is unconstitutional discrimination. The repercussions of this redistricting don't just affect Colorado but the entire nation as the new batch of Federal congress people will not be representing a fair cross-section of the American people. Redistricting in order to confine either side of the political spectrum to one geographical area only feeds the negative feedback cycle of political polarization rampant in America these days.

I do not care that the one person, one vote dogma is being followed. The spirit of the constitution is being violated!!!

Obama visits Colorado State University (Photos)

Power to the people!!! Photo by Kristopher Hite. Creative commons license - feel free to use any of these photos but please give credit to www.tompainesghost.com

President Barack Obama

I took these photos yesterday as I watched President Obama speak to a crowd of 13,000 people on the Monfort quad in the center of the campus at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. He talked a lot about expanding grants and tax credits for college students, not being discriminated against for who you love, and the dangers of a "Romney Doesn't Care" health plan. It made me happy that Obama mentioned the solar and wind industries in Colorado and how we need to re-elect him because "we have a lot more renewable energy to make!"

Photos by Kristopher Hite

Creative Commons license - feel free to use any of these photos but please give credit to www.tompainesghost.com

Ken Salazar - Secretary of the Department of the Interior and former Senator of Colorado

Ken Salazar - Photo by Kristopher Hite

John Hickenlooper - Current Governor of Colorado - I do not like him because of his stance on FRACKing. Thus the photo I choose looks like he is going to the bathroom.

Photo by Kristopher Hite PhD

Photo by Kristopher Hite PhD

Photo by Kristopher Hite PhD

Tallest Sand Dunes in North America

James Holmes - Dark Knight Shooter

A 24-year-old graduate student in the neuroscience department at the University of Colorado Denver Aschutz Medical Campus in Aurora has been identified as the shooter in last night's deadly attack.

James Holmes killed 14 people and injured scores more firing several guns into a crowded theater at the premiere of the new Batman movie - Dark Knight Rises.

The University of Colorado confirms Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from the program in neuroscience.

"Mr. James Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from the University of Colorado Denver's graduate program in neurosciences," the univesity statement said. "Mr. Holmes enrolled at the university in June 2011."

The University of Colorado website reports the Biological Basis of Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders as one of his courses while in attendence.

Holmes also made a presentation on MicroRNA biomarkers while enrolled.

Community Supported Publishing

 Wolverine Farm Publishing, a fledgling publishing house in Fort Collins, CO is testing a new strategy for staying afloat in the publishing bussiness - Community Supported Publishing.

You may ask, ummm isn't this the same as a subscription?  Well yes, however I do think re-branding to CSP is apt for this outfit as Wolverine Farm is a family run affair, epically conscious of its place in the community and its unique position to provide for the community of northern Colorado.

Much like the pioneering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs in the neighborhood Wolverine Farm cultivates a cohesive community through literacy outreach, and various intellectual forums. Not the least of which are a series of discussions at the Bean Cycle coffee shop in downtown Fort Collins.

I should say as a disclaimer, I have written for Wolverine Farm Publishing in the past and they have written about me :) A symbiotic relationship of the highest caliber. They have been good to me so I'd like to return the favor.

From WFP ~

“The best way to support Wolverine Farm Publishing is to sign up for our Community Supported Publishing program. There are different levels of support depending on your desired selection of books and publications. While we are based in Fort Collins, Colorado and some of our work focuses on our actual geographical community, our wider community includes readers from coast-to-coast and around the world, the businesses who support us, and also the businesses, people, and issues we involve ourselves with. Find the level that is right for you and sign up today!

All CSP levels include the upcoming issues of our publications – Matter 15: East Coast and/or Boneshaker BA 43-300 — unless you specify otherwise.   If you would like to pick up your CSP share instead of us mailing it to you, please let us know.”

Please take a moment and learn what Wolverine Farm Publishing is all about at their web page.

Gasland Revisited