Colorado Conservation Voters is excited to announce best-selling author Paul Hawken as the keynote speaker of the 2012 Fall Luncheon. Hawken has been involved in social change since the civil rights movement and was one of the first advocates for sustainable business practices. In addition to Mr. Hawken, the Luncheon will feature the unveiling of the new name and logo for CCV and Colorado Environmental Coalition’s merged entity.
Colorado’s conservation community will be hosting its first ever Lobby Day on Tuesday, March 13th. The Lobby Day is designed to help you voice your environmental concerns to the members of our legislature. The day will end with the annual Conservation Community Legislative Reception. More information will be coming soon!
2012 Legislative Session Underway
Colorado’s legislative session has begun and the environment is once again one of the top issues. Read about the environmental priorities for this session in CCV Executive Director Pete Maysmith’s blog. You can stay on top of individual bills and issues through CCV’s online bill tracker.
2011 Colorado Legislative Conservation Scorecard Released
The 2011 Scorecard is here! This year’s legislative session saw key victories on clean air, public health, and the new energy economy, among other topics. The new edition of the Colorado Legislative Conservation Scorecard covers the biggest conservation bills and highlights legislators who played important roles in committee and leadership.
How did your legislators do when it comes to protecting Colorado’s environment? Click here to find out. Don’t forget to let them know how you feel about their environmental records.
Congratulations to Michael Hancock on his big win to become Denver’s next Mayor. We look forward to working with Hancock and his team to make the Mile High City a world leader in sustainability issues. Read Hancock’s answers to our Sustainability Questionnaire here and visit his website to see his sustainability platform.
2011 Legislative Session Recap
The 2011 Colorado Legislative Session has ended and it was another good year for the environment. Check out Pete Maysmith’s wrap up of the session’s biggest news and visit the CCV Bill Tracker to see all of the environmental bills discussed this year.
Denver Mayoral Race
As our state’s largest city prepares to choose a new mayor, CCV will keep you informed on the environmental policies each candidate is campaigning on through our 2011 Denver Mayoral Tracker.
Colorado’s sixty-eighth General Assembly is in session and CCV is your one stop source for information on all of the key environmental bills. Visit our Current Session Info page to see what is happening at the Capitol and sign up for our Action Alerts to be notified whenever a key vote is being taken by your elected representatives.
Colorado Conservationists Announce 2011 Agenda
Colorado conservation groups announced plans for the 2011 legislative session to create jobs, improve Colorado’s economy and protect our environment through energy efficiency upgrades and electronic waste recycling.
Another Election Day has passed and we’ve got the results right here. For a wrap up of the role of the environment in the 2010 Colorado elections, check out Pete Maysmith’s latest edition of Keeping It Green in Colorado.
CCV is proud to announce our latest round of endorsements for the 2010 General Election. Chief among them is our support of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in his bid to become Colorado’s next Governor. While Mayor, Hickenlooper has overseen significant environmental policies including:
Development of a greenhouse gas reduction plan.
Increased use of public transportation and bikes to reduce air pollution.
Implementation a ten year water conservation plan at Denver Water.
Creation a waste management plan that saw an 18% increase in recycling rates in the first year.
A requirement that all new buildings by the city be a LEED Silver or higher rating.
The 2010 Scorecard is here! This year’s legislative session saw groundbreaking victories for public health, wildlife, and the new energy economy. The new edition of the Colorado Legislative Conservation Scorecard covers all of the biggest conservation bills in the remarkable 2010 session.
For the first time in the Scorecard’s history, a majority of legislators scored a perfect 100%. Currently, twenty-eight legislators have perfect Lifetime scores.
On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest scores this year were the 8%s achieved by Senator Schultheis and Representative Liston. Each lawmaker only voted the pro-conservation stance once.
How did your representatives show their conservation values? Click here to find out. Don’t forget to let them know how you feel about their environmental records.
The 2010 Conservation Community’s Scorecard will be released soon. While we are preparing the new Scorecard, current legislators pages will be taken down for updating. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The Colorado Clean Air/Clean Energy Act Becomes Law
On April 19th, Governor Ritter signed the Colorado Clean air/Clean Jobs Act into law. The bi-partisan supported law switches 900 Megawatts of power on the Front Range from coal to cleaner burning, locally available natural gas. See CCV Executive Director Pete Maysmith’s thoughts in his blog.
Colorado Enacts 30% RES
On March 22nd, Governor Bill Ritter signed HB10-1001 into law. Colorado now has a 30% Renewable Energy Standard by 2020 for investor-owned utilities. This standard represents the second time the conservation majority in the CO legislature has raised the RES since voters initially voted for a 10% standard six years ago.
Here are highlights from the bill signing:
Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act Sent to Governor
The Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act has passed in the House and Senate and awaits the Governor’s signature! The Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act will require Xcel Energy to dramatically reduce pollution from its aging Front Range coal-burning power plants by replacing or updating those units with cleaner sources of energy by the end of 2017.
On February 22nd, Colorado Conservation Voters joined the national League of Conservation Voters in releasing the 2009National Environmental Scorecard , revealing scores for the Colorado delegation in the first session of the 111th Congress. For 30 years, the National Environmental Scorecard issued by LCV has been the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health and energy issues.
Colorado Conservation Voters has launched another tool to keep you on top of Colorado environmental news with our new Twitter feed. Check it out at http://twitter.com/ConservationCO and keep in touch! ReTweet to spread the word about important issues that you and your friends care about.
HB10-1001 Passes the Senate
The 30% Renewable Energy Standard is out of the legislature and headed to Governor Ritter’s desk. Here is some video from the press conference to introduce the bill.
CCV Launches Blog
CCV Executive Director Pete Maysmith will be giving his perspective on the legislative session as it unfolds through his new blog, Keeping it Green in Colorado. Check it out.
2010 Session Opens
The 2010 Colorado legislative session is underway! The conservation community has set a priority agenda that includes:
Growing the clean energy economy in Colorado;
Increasing water efficiency to prepare for our state’s inevitable growth;
Ensuring that the uranium boom happening in Colorado doesn’t leave a toxic legacy.
Follow these priorities and all of the environmental legislation that is proposed this year by clicking on Current Session Info.
CCV STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR RITTER’S DECISION NOT TO SEEK RE-ELECTION
We’re saddened to learn of Governor Ritter’s decision not to seek re-election. The Governor’s leadership has been critical in making Colorado the national leader in the Clean Energy Economy, creating tens of thousands of new jobsand strengthening our economy, while helping to move the state towards energy independence. The Governor’s leadership has also been instrumental in preserving our valued Coloradan way of life – protecting our drinking water, public health, communities and our natural resources for future generations. Link to Denver Post Story with Pete Maysmith quote
CCV Becoming a Literary Society?
Well not exactly, but we are very proud of the three authors on our Board of Directors.
Beth Conover is the most recent addition to our Board and the editor of How the West Was Warmed, a collection of essays focusing on the effect of global warming on the Rocky Mountain region.
Auden Schendler gives a ground level view of moving a corporation towards sustainable business practices in Getting Green Done.
New national youth poll shows strong support for clean energy
The Clean Energy Works campaign recently released a new national poll of American youth that underscores their strong support for comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.
The poll also reveals that youth are demanding a voice on energy and environmental issues and are paying attention to what Washington is doing on issues they view as top priorities requiring urgent action.Of note, 68% of those polled say “investing in renewable energy to create new jobs” should be an important priority for their Senator to address and 69% say they would be more likely to re-elect their Senator if he or she votes for the bill.
Check out CCV Board Member Auden Schendler in the Oct. issue of Outside Magazine
Outside Magazine handed disposable cameras to 11 Outside icons, including our own Auden Schendler, for a behind the scenes look into their lives. Click here for an inside look into this sustainable business pioneer’s life.
Fall Luncheon a Huge Success
Thank you to all of the Sponsors, Hosts, Conservation Champions, guests and volunteers who helped make the 2009 Fall Luncheon our most successful event ever. Over 300 people gathered together to support and protect the unique Colorado environment that we all cherish.
This year we’re hosting the biggest and best Fall Luncheon and only a handful of seats are still available. Due to the limited seating, we have shut down the online registration. Please contact Ben Gregory at (303) 454-3349 or bgregory@coloradoconservationvoters.org to check on availability.
CCV Announces New Executive Director
The Board and staff of Colorado Conservation Voters are pleased to announce that Pete Maysmith will be joining CCV as Executive Director in late August. Pete began doing organizing work immediately after graduating from Duke University in 1991. Over the course of the last 18 years Pete has done on-the-ground organizing, run state and national field campaigns, lobbied at the city, state, and national level, done extensive earned media work, directed statewide candidate and ballot campaigns, run a statewide non-profit, and served as senior leadership staff of national organizations. More recently, Pete has been making a difference in key Colorado races as a partner with Confluence Strategies.
Pete brings energy, passion, hard work, and creativity to the non-profit work he does. He moved back to his home state of Colorado in 1996 and lives with his wife and two red-haired daughters in Denver. He completed an evening law degree from the University of Denver in December of 2008, graduating with honors. In whatever spare time he can find he trains for marathons, bikes, reads, and cooks.
US House passes biggest environmental bill ever
On June 26th, the U.S House of Representatives voted to pass a clean energy jobs bill (H.R. 2454) that will create 28,000 new jobs in Colorado, while shifting U.S. energy to cleaner, cheaper sources. The bill passed 219 to 212, with Representatives DeGette, Polis, Markey, and Perlmutter voting for the clean energy jobs bill. Representatives Salazar, Lamborn and Coffman voted against the legislation.
Passing this legislation will help shift our country to a clean energy economy and create new jobs in manufacturing, labor and clean technology. It will increase energy efficiency, help consumers save on energy bills, and protect lower-income families. And it will finally put our country on a course to limit the carbon pollution that causes global warming.
Now, the bill will move to the Senate, where it needs to be strengthened and delivered to the President’s desk. With the help of Senators Udall and Bennet, we can deliver President Obama strong clean energy and climate legislation that will create clean energy jobs, reduce our dependence on dirty fuels and lead the world’s effort to slow down global warming.
CCV Releases 2009 Scorecard
CCV is proud to release the 2009 Colorado Legislative Conservation Scorecard. The Scorecard tracks the most important environmental decisions made in the Colorado State Legislature this year and shows you how each member voted their conservation values. Take a look and tell your representatives how you feel about their scores.
And don’t forget to check out our Current Session Info, which tracks every environmental bill considered by the legislature and shows which passed bills Governor Ritter signed into law.
2009 Another Banner Year for Colorado’s Environment
May 6th marked the end of Colorado’s Legislative General Session and the Centennial State continues to be a national leader on environmental issues. Significant victories were won in each of the environmental community’s priority areas including boosting renewable energy development, making oil and gas drilling safer, encouraging energy efficiency, and improving our transportation systems.
Governor Ritter now has 30 days from the close of the session to sign the bills on his desk into law. For more details on the bills passed this year, visit our Current Session Info page and visit this website in early June to see the 2009 Legislative Conservation Scorecard.
Three Conservation Champions Leave the Legislature
With the close of the 2009 Legislative Session, Colorado says farewell to three long time Conservation Champions: Senate President Peter Groff, Senator Jennifer Veiga, and Representative Gwyn Green. CCV would like to thank these Champions for their hard work to protect Colorado and wish them all the best of luck in their future endeavours.
23 and 11 with 24 to go
With one month left in the Colorado Legislative Session, our environment has seen 23 victories and 11 losses. As of April 7th there are 24 environmental bills that are still being discussed. Some of the victories on the conservation communities priorities include:
Passage of the Oil and Gas Rules to improve pulbic health and habitat safeguards
Improved transportation infrastructure and mass transit funding through the FASTER bill
Expansion of the Colorado Clean Energy Finance Program Act to encourage renewable energy systems for homes and apartments
Empowering electrical coops to encourage efficiency by charging higher rates to bigger energy consumers
See all of the wins, losses, and bills still in process on the Currect Session Info page.
Thank You Representative McGihon
CCV would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to departing Representative for House District 3 and Lifetime 100% Conservation Voter Anne McGihon. Since 2004, Rep. McGihon has been a staunch supporter of public health, sound water policy and the New Energy Economy. This year McGihon was the House sponsor for the Oil and Gas Rule Bill that was one of the conservation community’s highest priorities. On behalf of the conservation community, we would like to thank Representative McGihon for her dedication and wish her great success in the next chapter of her career.
With her departure, Daniel Kagan has stepped in as the new Representative for District 3. We look forward to Rep. Kagan continuing to work hard to protect the health of District 3′s residents and the beauty of Colorado’s wild areas.
Enivronment Wins with New Oil & Gas Rules
After a tough legislative battle, the Senate has approved the proposed oil & gas rules with the passage of House BIll 1292. This victory has been years in the making and CCV would like to thank everyone who was involved – from legislators who sponsored and voted to change the make up of the oil and gas commission to local residents who made their voices heard during the rule making process to the oil and gas companies who were willing to work to build a strong bill for both industry and the environment. Thank you for your hard work to find a balance of development that protects the public health and Colorado’s environment.
The legislature has passed the FASTER bill and it is on the way to the Governor! This bill provides critical funding for our transportation infrastructure and improvements to mass transit. CCV would like to recognize Senators Gibbs and Romer, Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll, and Representatives Kerr, Levy, May, and Rice for their leadership on this critical bill. Keep track of all the latest action in the legislature on our Current Session Info page.
Why Obama Chose Denver
A few days ago, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law right here in Colorado. It is unusual for a President to sign a bill outside of Washington, but there is a reason why Denver was chosen to be the scene of this historic moment. The President wanted to highlight how the stimulus will jumpstart the new energy economy, and Colorado is the model for how strong policy leadership can lead to the creation of thousands of clean energy jobs. more
Legislators Protect Oil & Gas Rulemaking
CCV thanks Senators Newell, Foster, and Schwartz for protecting our public health by defeating the proposed moratorium on implementing the new oil and gas rules in committee. What other bills are being discussed in the legislature now? Visit our Current Session Info page to find out!
Track the 2009 legislative session with CCV
The Colorado legislative session is underway! Keep tabs on your representatives and the progress of the Colorado Clean agenda with the CCV Current Session tracking system, powered by Colorado Capitol Watch. Check back often – information will be updated daily as new bills are introduced.
A New Way to See the CCV Scorecard
Introducing the new map version of the 2008 CCV Scorecard. With this tool, the scores of the 2008 Colorado Legislators are represented visually on a district map of the state.
Click here to see the map of the Senate results and here for a map of the House of Representatives.
Let Us Help with Your Holiday Shopping
Cross some names off your gift list and support CCV by giving CCV Gift Memberships this year. For as little as $25, you can introduce someone to our organization with a Gift Membership that includes a custom greeting card, a copy of the 2008 Scorecard and all of the usual benefits of CCV Membership including an invitation to the Annual Membership Meeting on January 15th. Click here to purchase, or contact Ben Gregory at bgregory@coloradoconservationvoters.org or (303) 454-3349
Election Results
Check our Endorsements page for the unofficial results of the 2008 General Election and thank you for voting with your conservation values!
Vote No on 52
Voter Tools
Find your polling place with the help of Google. If this application doesn’t return a polling place for your address, please contact your County Clerk to find your voting location.
Vote Yes on Amendment 58
Know Your Rights!
If you feel that your right to vote is being interfered with in any way, please contact Just Vote Colorado (JVC). Formerly known as Fair Vote Colorado, JVC is not affiliated with or promoting any issue or candidate. JVC works to ensure that every eligible voter who wants to vote can and that every vote is counted accurately.
CCV Endorses Wally White in La Plata County
CCV is pround to announce our endorsement of Wally White for La Plata County Commissioner. Visit our Endorsement Page to see our full list of endorsed candidates in the 2008 elections.
CCV is pleased to announce the endorsements of Cheri Gerou in House District 25, Todd Hagenbuch in House District 57, and Noelle Hagan in House District 58.
Welcome to Colorado Conservation Voters’ new website! It’s an Election year and a lot of exciting things are happening here in Colorado. CCV is working to keep the public informed of important environmental decisions happening now and you can help!
