JULY 2020

Over the past six weeks or so, we at Lotus have been partaking in many internal conversations about what it means to be an ally to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in our communities and across Colorado. None of us has a perfect answer, and we’ve been working to educate ourselves on how our country has arrived at this moment in time and what we can do to ensure better inclusivity and equity now and into the future. Our blog post this month is a statement of solidarity with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and what concrete steps that we, as Lotus, are committing to taking to be the change we wish to see in the world.

Photo from Getty Images

Project Highlight #1 - Grand Canyon trust greenhouse gas emissions inventory

Lotus recently completed a project with the Grand Canyon Trust, where Lotus helped develop the first greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau covers an area of roughly 130,000 square miles and includes portions of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Lotus’ largest inventory yet by geographic area! The inventory tool was customized to fit the Colorado Plateau and will help the Grand Canyon Trust better understand the biggest sources of emissions within the Colorado Plateau, identify opportunities to impact those sources through policy, and help educate interested parties. Read a summary of our findings here!

Project Highlight #2 - Las Cruces’ climate action plan

Lotus recently completed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the City, and also developed greenhouse gas reduction targets and strategies. This work will help the City understand its carbon footprint, identify and implement ways to reduce its carbon footprint, gain community buy-in, and inform future policy and programs. Throughout the process of identifying emission reduction strategies, a Task Force of local experts and leaders in sustainability provided guidance and feedback on the development of the strategies. Lotus also worked with a broader group of community stakeholders to vet these strategies and identify the steps towards implementation. You can read the final report here!

Lotus Blog - In Solidarity

We vehemently condemn acts of violence against people of color. These actions have no place here in Colorado or anywhere else on Earth. We wish to add our voices to the growing list of those who will strive to be better allies to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).

Read Lotus’ In Solidarity statement and the actions Lotus has committed to taking in the Blogs section of our website.

Summer Recipe Recommendations FROM THE LOTUS TEAM

This summer our family barbeques and picnics may look a little different than they did in the past. But that doesn’t stop us from cooking up our favorite recipes!

Here are some of the Lotus team’s favorite summer recipes:

Emily: “Anything by Danielle Walker. None of her recipes have gluten, dairy or soy! And everything is delicious and foolproof. Here’s one of my favorites: Mexican chicken soup.”

Hillary: “My son Rodger is an avid chef and requested to share one of his recipes. Here’s his favorite Peach Jam recipe straight from the chef himself: Add 4 peaches with no skin into a pot on the stove. Add tons of honey. Smash and stir. Then add sugar, pepper, and salt until it tastes good. Cool. Then put the jam on everything.”

Julia: “One of my favorites is a Spicy Spinach Pesto! Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews, toasted

1-2 TBS coconut oil, melted

1 large bunch (~1/2-1 pound) spinach

salt

pepper

Caribbean seasoning (or, if you don't have that, a blend of chili powder, ginger, red pepper, lemon zest, nutmeg, and parsley to taste)

Sriracha, to taste

Instructions:

1) Grind the nuts in a blender until well chopped. You may need to scrape down the sides a couple times.

2) Add the spinach and pulse into a puree as you slowly pour in the coconut oil.

3) Scrape down the sides and add salt, pepper, and spices. Blitz a few times to make sure it is all incorporated.

4) Take it out of the blender when you reach the desired consistency, scrape into a bowl, and add the sriracha to taste.

5) Serve with noodles or zoodles, on top of roasted chicken, or any other way you would eat pesto”

Rachel: “My favorite food blog at the moment is Cookie and Kate, so many wonderful vegetarian recipes. But my all-time favorite summer recipe is this Southwest Orzo Salad, I have it memorized I’ve made it so many times, it’s SO yummy and versatile!”

Inspiring or Noteworthy News

As the summer season gets started, the novel coronavirus continues to spread while states begin the reopening process. Meanwhile, governments across the globe are finding new ways to recover from the economic downturn caused by the shutdown, pushing some to consider investing in climate change solutions. And cities and states across the country are experiencing racial protests against inequity faced by communities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and some are taking bold steps to eliminate that inequity. Here is a look at some noteworthy local, national, and global new stories:

Local News

• The closure of power plants in Colorado will free up a significant amount of water currently used in those operations.

• Frisco and Breckenridge adopt new Summit Sustainable Building Codes to help meet Summit County’s sustainability goals.

• Broomfield County extends oil and gas setbacks to 2,000 feet, which is four times the state’s minimum setback.

• Tri-State Generation and Transmission announced it will now offer a contract option that allows its member-owner cooperatives to increase the amount of renewable energy they utilize.

• Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission recently adopted Regulation 22, which establishes guidelines for polluting entities to report their emissions to the state and supports the tracking and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions statewide.

• Both the Colorado Energy Office and the City and County of Denver recently released electric vehicle plans that lay out roadmaps for enhancing EV infrastructure and adoption throughout the state and its biggest metropolitan area.

• Platte River Power Authority has announced the closure of the Rawhide coal plant in 2030, 16 years ahead of schedule; Colorado Springs Utilities also announced the closure of its two coal plants by 2023 and 2030.

• Only in CO: Denver Beer Co and The Clinic (medical and recreational cannabis) partner to create carbon capture and reuse system.

• City and County of Denver was recently awarded a $1 million DOLA grant to create community solar gardens on City and County property.

• Colorado Senate Bill 20-055, which supports the expansion of recycling end markets in Colorado, has passed in the General Assembly.

• Conservation groups are suing the state for failure to meet the rulemaking requirements of House Bill 1261, under which the Air Quality Control Commission was asked to develop rules to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals for the state by July 1.

National News

• COVID-19 has impacted the US oil and gas market significantly, with Denver-based Whiting Petroleum being the first to file for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the transition to renewables does not seem to be slowing down.

• Electricity generated from renewables is predicted to surpass that supplied from coal in the coming year based on the EIA’s most recent short-term outlook.

• A legal battle over the Trump Administration’s recent rollback of fuel economy standards is likely to begin soon.

• C40 Mayors has released a Statement of Principles to guide a climate action-and-resilience focused recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• A coal-fired power plant in Utah proceeds with a plan to convert to running on 100% hydrogen; LA Department of Water and Power is investing in this project, which is the world’s first utility-scale renewable hydrogen power plant.

• States like West Virginia and Nevada are exploring how to repurpose old mine sites for solar power plants.

• Here are 9 purpose-driven, everyday products that can help us reduce our impact on the environment.

• Nearly two dozen states recently launched a lawsuit against the Trump Administration regarding the roll-back of fuel economy standards.

• NOAA adapts, continues to perform climate change research amidst the global pandemic and stay-at home orders.

• ACEEE released a policy brief that provides a review of state and local beneficial building electrification programs.

• President Trump signed an executive order that waives environmental requirements for pipeline projects in an effort to spur economic development; the order will likely see many challenges in court.

• Electricity consumption in the US is predicted to drop by a record amount in 2020.

• The links between racism, environmental justice, and climate change are explored in an in-depth interview with activist Elizabeth Yeampierre.

• A drop in the cost for renewable technologies and storage has some researchers predicting that the US could be 90 percent powered by renewables by 2035.

• California utility PG&E has pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter that occurred due to the Camp Fire in 2018, the largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history.

• Florida’s Governor signed the Essential State Infrastructure bill recently, which, among other measures, calls for the state to develop a plan for building out an electric vehicle charging network and considering equity in regard to charging center placement.

• Chicago adopts new, more stringent ordinance requiring EV charging stations in new developments, including residential buildings with 5 or more dwelling units.

• Grape growers in the Napa Valley turn to carbon farming to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the region.

• Senate passes the Great American Outdoors Act, permanently funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund and providing funding to the National Park Service and other federal agencies to clear their maintenance project backlogs.

• Rocky Mountain Institute, in partnership with World Resources Institute, have released a tool for municipal governments that tracks renewable energy transactions and engagement efforts by US cities, counties, tribal governments and more since 2015.

• Minnesota and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against Exxon Mobile, the American Petroleum Institute, and Kock Industries, alleging the companies knew about the impacts of their products on climate change and deceived investors and the public.

• Nevada announces the Clean Cars Nevada initiative in an effort to increase zero and low-emissions vehicles in the state and reduce transportation emissions.

• Dominion Energy and Duke Energy have canceled their Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, citing ‘legal uncertainty.’

Global News

• Economists and researchers suggest ways that the pandemic economic stimulus funding can help in the low-carbon transition.

• A National Geographic story map shows how the climates of different cities will be impacted by climate change.

• A travel journalist gives her advice on how to be more sustainable in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.

• Sweden closes its last coal-fired power plant, becoming the third coal-free European country.

• The UN COP26 Climate talks, originally planned for November of this year, have been reschedule for November of 2021 due to concerns around COVID-19.

• CarbonBrief hosted an interesting webinar to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global emissions.

• A major diesel fuel spill in northern Russia is making its way towards the Arctic Ocean.

• A survey of over 80,000 people across 40 countries seems to indicate that awareness of and concerns about climate change is growing across the world. The US and Sweden were the two countries with the highest levels of people not concerned about climate change.

• A Finnish city has launched an app that functions as a personal carbon trading platform, where residents are rewarded for choosing less carbon-intensive mobility options. Residents earn points for taking actions like replacing driving with walking or biking, and these points can be exchanged for rewards like bus tickets, pool passes, and other eco-friendly swag.

We always appreciate your feedback, and any opportunity to support your work on climate action and sustainability. Please reach out to us with questions or comments. Also, if you have an interesting article that you think is worth sharing, please send it to us and we may include it in a future newsletter. Thank you and keep up the social distancing!