NOVEMBER 2020
So far, 2020 has certainly tested our collective patience. And for many of us, it has forced us to accept dramatic changes to the way we work, parent, teach, and live our lives. Here at Lotus, we’ve experienced our own changes to the way we do our work. Since March, we have transitioned to working remotely and embraced many new platforms to help us continue to effectively conduct stakeholder engagement activities. Without the ability to meet in person, we’ve doubled down on our efforts to take complex data and make it fun and accessible for our clients and the public. We have also helped our clients make websites to communicate their climate action work and provide resources to those working to address climate change across the state. You can read about our work with the Colorado Energy Office below and find out more about the innovative ways we approach data visualization in our blog post.
Project Highlight #1 - Colorado Energy Office’s Rebuild and Re-energize Colorado Website
This past spring and summer, Lotus worked with the Colorado Energy Office to create a website that serves as a climate action resource to local governments across the state. The website, called Rebuild and Re-energize Colorado, provides interactive resources such as dashboards and GIS maps in addition to text and linked resources. Additionally, the website provides access to Colorado’s policy initiatives while showcasing numerous energy and climate ambitions. Five key, high-impact actions that communities can take immediately are also noted. These include:
1. Pursue Energy Efficiency through Energy Performance Contracting.
2. Update Building Codes.
3. Implement Smart Growth Principles.
4. Adopt Electric Vehicles.
5. Create a Climate Action Plan and Set Renewable Energy Goals.
The resource guide includes community spotlights that highlight some of the bold climate actions already being taken by communities across the state. Lotus’ GIS expertise transformed hard data into an interactive and visually appealing resource map used to communicate energy goals, strategies, and incentive programs.
An example map is shown below. Click around the map to explore large greenhouse gas emitting facilities and check out the coal-fired power plant facilities to see which ones are closing in the next 10 years!
Lotus Blog - How Lotus Visualizes Data
Recently, Lotus has been working with new platforms that help to creatively visualize and communicate data. These new methods include interactive dashboards, creative new chart types, online maps, and Storymap websites. Our latest blog post details the benefits of using innovative methods and storytelling to communicate data.
Read about creative ways that Lotus visualizes and communicates data in the Blogs section of our website.
What the Lotus Team is Grateful For This Season
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we all have a lot to be grateful for. So, in the honor of the season of giving and gratitude, the Lotus team would like to share what they are grateful for at this moment in time.
Emily: “I am grateful that we are moving into winter. I love this time of year where everything and everyone slows down. I love the evenings and the coziness of a fire and a good book. I love that my children beg for hot chocolate when the snow starts. I love that my 2-year old asks to go ice fishing and my 8-year old can’t wait to get on her skis. I love hiking in a quiet aspen forest, where all the rocks look like marshmallows. I love that there isn’t the expectation of constantly going.”
Hillary: “Independent bookstores especially the Bookworm of Edwards! Their staff picks have never steered me wrong.”
Julia: “I am grateful for the technologies and tools that have allowed me to stay connected to my family and friends this year, despite our limited ability to see each other in person. From using Facetime to see my nephew in Houston practice his first words to a virtual wedding shower over the summer, these tools have helped me become more present to my relationships and the time that I have with the people I love.”
Rachel: “There is SO much to be grateful for right now. I’m extremely grateful for the health of my friends and family (and myself), my co-workers, and the work I am lucky that I get to do every day, and the amount of time I’ve been able to spend in nature this year.”
Inspiring or Noteworthy News
We have seen climate change in real-time here in Colorado and across the West this summer and fall. This only supports the urgent need to take aggressive action to limit our carbon emissions. Individual companies, cities, and states are beginning to take the lead on climate action. Here is a look at some noteworthy local, national, and global new stories:
Local News
Colorado recently released a draft of the state’s greenhouse gas reduction roadmap. Read a summary of the plan here and read the full draft plan on the CO Energy Office’s website.
The City and County of Denver have allocated $300,000 of its $25.6 million Phase 2 Coronavirus Relief Funds to EV charging stations, subsidizing eGo Carshare memberships for residents in lower-income and under-resourced areas across the City.
Black Hills Energy has reached an agreement to construct a 200 MW solar project in Pueblo that will boost the utility’s renewable energy portfolio to 51%.
The Suncor refinery in Commerce City has been leaking dangerous chemicals at levels much higher than legally allowed.
As of November 10, nearly 75% of the state’s land area is in at least an extreme drought, find out what’s driving the drought in this article.
The City of Boulder is offering grants to local restaurants to help fund sustainable takeout items and packaging.
Vail Resorts and PepsiCo are expanding their sustainability partnership.
Colorado is taking further steps to regulate the oil and gas industry, hoping to extend well setbacks in addition to new emissions monitoring rules.
Starting in 2021, Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s member cooperatives can negotiate new contracts with Tri-State that allow the co-ops to self-generate more of the electricity they sell to their members; Tri-State also plans to reduce member rates by 8% by the end of 2023.
Farmers and ranchers in NW Colorado are experimenting with farming hay to help keep more water in the Upper Colorado River.
Environmentalists from Colorado are challenging rules and decisions made by former the Bureau of Land Management director.
Looking for sustainable, bulk foods, and zero-waste shops in Colorado? Here’s a guide that can help.
Ball Corporation, based in Broomfield, announced a partnership with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment to introduce its Infinitely Recyclable aluminum beverage container at arenas in Denver, Los Angeles, and London.
National News
The solar company Sunrun has announced a partnership with three Community Choice Aggregator utilities in the Bay Area to build what essentially amounts to a virtual power plant of distributed rooftop solar and storage across the region.
One of the largest natural gas utilities in the country is suing the California Energy Commission over a report published by the latter that deals with the transition to cleaner fuels for generating heat and power.
The Climate Equity Act, which would require the federal government to consider the impact of environmental legislation and regulation on low-income communities and communities of color, is gaining some attention and traction in Congress.
Death Valley just recorded the hottest reliably measured temperature on Earth, at a toasty 130F!
Rural areas and local communities across the country—including the five profiled by Inside Climate News—are poised to implement green economic recovery programs and hoping that federal aid will be available to support this work.
Ford has announced it is developing an electric F-150 truck designed to be used for heavy-duty hauling and towing, separating itself from models developed by Tesla and GMC.
REI Co-op announces new sustainability and climate goals, in which it aims to cut its carbon footprint by 55% by 2030 and join Climate Neutral and the 1 Trillion Trees Initiative.
A fire historian helps add context around this year’s catastrophic wildfires across the Western US.
As fires continue to rage across California, insurers increase the pace at which they are abandoning coverage for at-risk homes.
California’s Governor has issued a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks in the state after 2035; the directive is likely to be challenged in court.
Maryland has passed a ban on Styrofoam to-go containers at restaurants statewide, becoming the first state in the US to pass such a ban.
Young voters have been joining the Sunrise Movement in large numbers, aiming to shame politicians that deny climate change.
The US consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2019, making up a total of 11% of the country’s energy consumption.
Global News
Investing in green stimulus recovery programs across the globe may help to put the world on track to reduce emissions 35 percent or more from the current pathway; if a green recovery is not prioritized it is likely the pandemic will have little long-term effects on emissions. Carbon Brief has a tracker of the green recovery plans being vetting or implemented across the globe.
Coal and natural gas may be some of the biggest casualties of the global coronavirus pandemic, suggest global energy analysts.
London, a city known for its poor air quality and concentration of emissions-heavy industries, has a plan for achieving its net-zero carbon goal by 2050.
Canada plans to center its COVID-19 economic recovery around climate action and invest in thousands of jobs in energy efficiency building retrofits.
China president Xi Jinping has pledged the country to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, which could have significant impacts on the global fight to curb the climate crisis.
Pope Francis gave a passionate talk about addressing climate change at TEDTalk’s first-ever free conference, Countdown Global Launch.
Nature broadcaster David Attenborough pleads with citizens and governments across the world to care about the planet and start taking action to fight climate change.
Global plastic pollution is a massive problem worldwide. But there are options and solutions out there to address the problem, according to National Geographic.
A company called First Solar has pioneered a way to recycle solar panels, reclaiming up to 90% of the materials in the panels.
A start-up in Uganda called Takataka Plastics is closing the loop and turning used plastics into construction materials and COVID face shields.
Environmental Justice News
Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission will reconvene without some notable emissions reduction advocates.
New research suggests that environmental racism not only affects humans but has negative impacts on wildlife and ecosystems too.
Being a person of color does not increase your risk of contracting COVID-19, but racism does.
Home appraisals for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities are still significantly lower than for white households, even when comparing neighborhoods of equal economic status.
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!