Program Director Welcomes New Students

Last Friday, new students were invited to attend a gathering at Director Don Smith's house. Despite the previous rainy days, the clouds parted for most of the evening. New students were able to meet continuing students as well as adjuncts, faculty and graduates over delicious appetizers.

The guests mingled throughout the evening with the conversations ranging from professional plans to learning techniques to where to buy the best shoes. The program hopes that these events allow new students to feel more comfortable and connected to their new environment.

Associate Administrative Director, Lucy Daberkow, commented: "It never ceases to amaze us how diverse and incredibly talented our students are. Participating in these get togethers outside of the classroom strengthens their ties to their classmates and the Denver Law community."

A hearty "welcome" to all of our new students and "thank you" to all of the wonderful faculty, staff and adjunct professors who took time out of their busy schedule to meet the new students!

Colorado Moves Toward an "All of the Above" Energy Strategy

A wind turbine blade installed in CO.

Xcel Energy filed a proposal with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to increase its use of renewable energy sources. Xcel will nearly triple its solar power capacity and increase its amount of wind power. If approved, the plan would cut Xcel's carbon dioxide emissions by one third the levels of 2005.

The new proposal is the result of intense bidding from renewable energy developers. Most renewable energy development projects aren't able to compete with the cost effectiveness of natural gas. The robust competition and competitive costs to renewable energy projects in Colorado is exciting to see. Xcel's plan to include more renewable energy at a utilities scale is a big step toward an "All of the Above" energy strategy.

The hope is that with a more diverse energy portfolio, Colorado can begin to significantly reduce the environmental effects of energy development. The diversity of energy sources has led Xcel to also consider shutting down the last coal-fired power plant by the end of 2013.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

2013 LLM Alumn, Sonia Nunez Orduz Collaborates with the Nature Conservancy

Sonia Nunez Orduz, a recent LLM graduate from Colombia, recently began working for the Nature Conservancy. Sonia attended a law school in Bucaramanga City in northeastern Colombia before moving to Denver. She became interested in environmental law during an internship she had with the Municipal Waste Company of Bucaramanga. In this position, she examine environmental pollution and solid waste recycling issues and developed a desire to conserve the environment.

Sonia now serves the Nature Conservancy as Attorney for Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean. She provides legal advice and support to other attorneys on a variety of legal matters. Sonia stated, "Earning a Masters Degree from the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy program taught me how to analyze, interpret and apply the U.S. laws regulating the environmental industry. In addition, it assisted me to improve my research skills and gave me the opportunity to network with experts in the field."

Sonia is happy that her work for the Nature Conservancy will allow her to continue to develop her expertise in environmental law. She advises current students to look for opportunities to develop their practical skills and to take advantage of networking opportunities while in the program through conferences and seminars.

Congratulations to Sonia! We are confident that she will make the most out of her current position with the Nature Conservancy and wish her all the best in her future endeavors!

Program Director and Adjunct Write Guest Commentary for the Denver Post

Director Don Smith and Adjunct Professor Rebecca Watson co-authored an article, The Global Impact of U.S. Oil and Gas Development, for the Denver Post. The article was published at the end of August.

The article takes a broader view of the impacts of domestic oil and gas development in the global energy market. Energy demand will only continue to rise and the U.S. stands to receive "a foreign policy dividend" from the development of its resources.

To read the whole article, visit the Denver Post here.

SCOL ENRL Program to host Colorado Renewable Energy Society’s Annual Conference

CRES Annual Confence: http://cres-energy.org/  this Friday, September 6

Carbon dioxide concentrations reached a record 400 parts per million in May of 2013.  This threshold not only represents an all-time high within the course of human history, but also represents a level “unsurpassed in at least 800,000 years.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/05/10/atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-concentration-400-parts-per-million/

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that global temperature increases due to greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced to below 2 degrees Celsius if countries around the world shifted their generation and consumption of energy from fossil-fuel sources to renewables. In fact, the IPCC believes that appropriate public policies that enable renewable sources could boost their contribution to 80 percent of the world’s energy supply by mid-century. http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/  Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN) (roughly a thousand page comprehensive assessment compiled by over 120 leading experts from all over the world for IPCC‘s Working Group III).

"‘With consistent climate and energy policy support, renewable energy sources can contribute substantially to human well-being by sustainably supplying energy and stabilizing the climate,’ said Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, Co-Chair of Working Group III at the report launch. ‘However, the substantial increase of renewables is technically and politically very challenging’ he added. …

Ramon Pichs, Co-Chair of the Working Group III, added: ‘The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource, but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades.’” …   http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/press/content/potential-of-renewable-energy-outlined-report-by-the-intergovernmental-panel-on-climate-change

Renewable energy resources have recently enjoyed some gains in Colorado.  The Colorado General Assembly passed SB 252 in 2013 that attempts to increase Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard and to encourage the capture of methane. http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013a/csl.nsf/billcontainers/D1B329AEB8681D4D87257B3900716761/$FILE/252_01.pdf  But some argued that SB 252 was part of a “war on rural Colorado,” http://energy.i2i.org/2013/04/15/war-on-rural-co-economic-impact-of-sb-252/  which partly has sparked secession threats from fossil-fuel rich counties in the state. http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/06/08/Colorado-counties-want-to-secede-form-North-Colorado/7951370690081 Although Governor Hickenlooper signed SB 252 into law, he did so only after issuing an executive order establishing a panel to look into potential adjustments needed to implement the bill. http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/panel-will-try-to-make-controversial-law-on-renewa

Some might consider Boulder’s efforts to leave the Xcel franchise and convert into a municipal utility that employs more renewable energy generation sources a step forward. https://bouldercolorado.gov/energy-future  Yet, Xcel continues to throw up road blocks to the City’s efforts including a fight for whether Boulder County residents can join the City in the utility and participation in initiating a second vote on the municipalization issue. http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_23252922/xcel-admits-links-group-backing-boulder-charter-amendment

In addition, it should be good news that the City and County of Denver was recognized as the first city in the country to qualify as a “Solar Friendly Community” under an innovative program attempting to bring down the soft costs of solar installations. http://www.ases.org/denver-is-first-solar-friendly-community/  Largely because of these efforts and similar ones across the state, a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found Colorado to have some of the lowest costs for installing a photovoltaic solar array in comparison to anywhere else in the United States. http://blogs.denverpost.com/thebalancesheet/2013/08/12/colorado-solar-installation-costs-are-lowest-in-the-nation/10505/  Utility response to this good news about solar, however, has been to identify it as “as a potentially ‘disruptive technology’ that could compete with” their bottom line. http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_23986631/rooftop-solar-net-metering-is-being-fought-across

Xcel Energy has submitted a plan to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission that would deeply cut solar incentives.  According to Blake Jones, of Namaste Solar, “ The utility industry sees rooftop solar as a threat to its business model…. For the solar industry in Colorado, it is a question of survival." http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_23986721/battle-brewing-over-future-rooftop-solar-colorado?source=pkg

SB252, Boulder’s Municipalization, Xcel’s study to support cutting solar incentives, and many other exciting topics will be the focus of over a dozen sessions during this Friday’s (9/6) annual conference of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society.  ENRLP is hosting the event from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Rooms 165, 280, and the law school forum.  In addition to the sessions, there will be exhibits and an outdoor display of cutting-edge Medved, Tesla, and NREL electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Go to http://cres-energy.org/ to register.

Guest Author: K.K. DuVivier

Professor of Energy Law and Renewable Energy Law

 

Colorado Unveils New Logo and Nature-centric Slogan

Just yesterday, state officials released Colorado's new logo and slogan as part of Colorado's new brand during the Colorado Innovation Network Summit. Contrary to popular belief, Colorado has never had a unified brand. The creation of the new brand is one of Governor Hickenlooper's "Colorado Blueprint" for economic development.

The new logo has been dubbed the "Peak," a green triangle representing Colorado's mountains and upward momentum in multiple areas of the economy. The new slogan, "It's Our Nature" highlights the common goal of Coloradans to achieve greatness and enjoy the outdoors. See below for the release video:

State officials released a statement describing the new brand as the most ambitious branding effort undertaken by any state. The process included a combination of public and private support. The unveiling marked the completion of a 12 month public engagement campaign where information was gathered from thousands within and outside of Colorado. Funding was made available through corporate sponsors, and the work of individuals and freelancers, contributing to pro bono services valued at $1.5 million. The Statewide Internet Portal Authority and the Colorado Tourism office contributed  $800,000.

It is hoped that the new brand will help stimulate the economy and streamline statewide programs. Aaron Kennedy, Chief Marketing Officer for the Sate of Colorado, stated, "This brand will not only help Colorado attract talent and jobs, but also save public dollars by eliminating the need to manage individual brands for each agency and department in state government."

The state official release estimated that the new state brand could save state agencies such as the CDOT as much as $300,000 per year in marketing expenses. Now, consider that savings across the state's 22 agencies and the savings really add up. The problem was that state agencies were using the Colorado flag logo which is public domain and as such could be used by anyone in whatever context.

Many have already criticized the new logo, whether they liked the image borrowed from the flag or if they feel the new logo looks like a haz-mat symbol, it has met mixed reviews. Even the new slogan, "It's Our Nature" has met conflict. The criticism is that it is too close to Cabella's slogan, "It's in Your Nature" (click here for Cabella's slogan video). This is a timely conflict as Cabella's recently opend two large stores along the I 25 corridor.

While the new logo is nature-centric and promotes Colorado's beautiful natural settings, some fear a conflict with Cabella's. Colorado conservation groups and recreationists depend upon the recreation industry's contributions toward preserving our state's natural qualities. Will the new brand endanger the long standing interdependent relationship between preservation and use? Only time will tell, but for now, let's celebrate that Colorado's natural settings are being prioritized.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

Amy Beattie, Denver Law Graduate and Executive Director of the Colorado Water Trust, Wins Colorado Foundation for Water Education 2013 Emerging Leader Award

Amy Beatie, a Denver Law JD graduate, has been recognized by the Colorado Foundation for Water Education as the 2013 Emerging Leader.  Ms. Beatie has served as Executive Director of the Colorado Water Trust since 2007. 

The Colorado Foundation for Water Education promotes "a better understanding of Colorado's water resources and issues by providing balanced and accurate information and education" according to its mission statement.

In making the award, the Foundation said Ms. Beatie "fights drought by putting water back into parched Colorado streams for fish, wildlife and people.  In the summer of 2012, when Western Slope streams were running precariously low, the nonprofit Colorado Water Trust she leads, helped to hold some of the hardest-hit waters together."

While at Denver Law Ms. Beatie served as editor-in-chief of the Water Law Review.  After graduating she clerked for the the Honorable Gregory J. Hobbs of the Colorado Supreme Court. She later practiced with several water law firms before assuming her current position.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Water Congress.

Professor and Associate Dean Federico Cheever said, "We are very proud of Amy.  She is not only an excellent water lawyer and public interest advocate, she is also a great person.  We are delighted she has received this important award."