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Columns

March 21, 2024

ECFR State of the District: A year of progress and challenges

In January 2024, we experienced an unprecedented period of windy, freezing weather that left many without power and unable to drive on icy roads. Many residents reached out to each other with offers of assistance. East County Fire and Rescue (ECFR) was busy on calls for residents with house fires, medical emergencies, trees blocking roads, broken water pipes and traffic accidents. Our firefighters worked diligently to keep people safe during that time, as they do every day.

March 14, 2024
Colorado Parks and Wildlife workers release captured Oregon wolves into remote swaths of public land in central Colorado, in December 2023. (Contributed photo courtesy of Jerry Neal, Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

Freed wolves move into their old niche

What was it like for 10 captured Oregon wolves when Colorado Parks and Wildlife opened their crates on a December day last year? The wolves had been chased by helicopter, drugged, blindfolded and collared, then moved to remote public land in central Colorado. One of those animals might have had this experience.

February 29, 2024

Remembering a voice for peace

Our world lost a giant of peace research this month. Johan Galtung, the author of more than 100 books and 1,000 scholarly articles known as the “father of peace studies,” died Feb. 17, at age 93.

February 22, 2024

You’re not the boss in wilderness

When my friends and I encountered the fresh grizzly bear scat, we were deep in Wyoming’s Teton Wilderness, 20 miles from a trailhead. I’d seen grizzlies before — from the car. But this experience was on a whole other level. I felt vulnerable, nervous. I also felt fully alive.

February 15, 2024

EV battery recycling requires Herculean effort

Each year Americans throw away more than three billion batteries constituting 180,000 tons of hazardous material. The situation is likely to get worse as the world shifts to lithium batteries to power a massive influx of electric vehicles (EVs). It needs immediate attention.

February 8, 2024

Energy guru says energy gap can be bridged

The experts tell us an energy gap looms. Fossil fuels are phasing out, and solar and wind power can’t produce enough electricity to meet the demand in the coming decades.

January 18, 2024

The year ahead: 10 issues and one wild card

2024 is likely to be filled with more than the usual challenges to planetary safety and survival. Here’s a look at 10 issues and a wild card that suggest what’s ahead internationally that is worth our attention.