Watchdogs expose pollutants
The air quality in and around Durango is becoming increasingly foggy. A recent citizens sampling of local air turned up numerous carcinogens and pollutants south of Durango and has cast doubt on government testing in the same region.

Last fall and winter, three air-quality samples were taken in southern La Plata County at Sunnyside Elementary, Cow Canyon Road and La Posta Canyon. Sponsored by the watchdog group Global Community Monitor, the effort was undertaken to determine if there are health threats associated with living and playing in the vicinity of natural gas drilling. Community members in the San Juan Basin worked with Global Community Monitor to run a “Bucket Brigade” in the effort. According to the independent report, La Plata County residents have serious cause for concern.

“People are getting gassed, and they don’t even know what is coming at them,” said Denny Larson, of Global Community Monitor. “The air monitoring provides crucial information in understanding what families are being exposed to on a day-to-day basis.”

In addition to the three La Plata County sites, samples were taken all over the greater San Juan Basin. In total, Global Community Monitor found 22 toxic chemicals in the air samples, including four known carcinogens and toxins known to damage the nervous system. The chemicals were detected in ranges from 3 to 3,000 times higher than state and federal baselines. Sunnyside Elementary was among the sites where all four carcinogens were present.

“Carcinogenic chemicals like benzene and acrylonitrile should not be in the air we breathe – and certainly not at these potentially harmful levels,” said Mark Chernaik, a scientist who worked on the study. “These results suggest neighboring communities are not being protected, and their long-term health is being put at risk.”

Interestingly, the citizen study stands in sharp contrast to a long-term monitoring at Sunnyside by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe started monitoring Sunnyside in 2009 on behalf of the EPA. The agency selected the elementary school because it is near oil and gas drilling emissions sources. The study turned up low levels of benzene, butadiene and other volatile organic compounds. However, in the end, the agency deemed concentrations of air toxins near the school to be within safe levels for short- and long-term exposure.

Based on the Global Community Monitor, a number of watchdogs – including Josh Joswick, oil and gas coordinator for San Juan Citizens Alliance – are calling on the agency to take a second look at Sunnyside and the region as a whole. Joswick is the first to admit that three samples do not make for a conclusive body of evidence. However, the findings do point out the need for further study.

“Nobody really has any idea what kinds of emissions are coming out of the San Juan Basin,” Joswick said. “Nobody has a count on the number of dehydrators and compressors out there, and we don’t even know where they all are. Our conclusion is that the regulatory agencies had better start paying attention to this situation.”

Durango cyclist rides to historic win
A Durango native pedaled to a world’s first over the weekend. On Saturday, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s DEVO Sweet Elite racer Howard Grotts became the first American to ever win a junior men’s cross-country UCI World Cup race. The mountain bike competition met in Windham, N.Y., and Durango’s AliciaRose Pastore, also of the Sweet Elite, enjoyed a spot on the podium as well.

Also riding on behalf of USA Cycling’s Development Program, Grotts won with a time of 1:10:50 and rode straight into the record books. “Howard’s win is significant for our program not only because of the way he won but also because we have worked toward this goal since the junior World Cup races were introduced,” said Marc Gullickson, of USA Cycling. “It’s great to see an American jersey on the top step of a World Cup Cross-Country podium again.”

Pastore put the stars and stripes on the podium for a second time last weekend, when she took silver in the junior women’s cross-country race Saturday. Her finish marked the best for an American female and was trailed by Luna Pro rider Georgia Gould’s fifth place in the women’s elite cross-country race.

The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup now returns to Europe making its eighth stop of the year in La Bresse, France, on Aug. 6-7.

State marijuana initiative takes off
The push is on in Colorado to bring marijuana out of the dispensary and into the mainstream. A broad coalition has launched a campaign in support of a 2012 statewide ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana in Colorado and regulate and tax it in a manner similar to alcohol. “The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act” has received approval of its initiative language and started collecting signatures Friday to qualify the measure for next year’s ballot.  

“Voters in Colorado are ready to end marijuana prohibition and begin regulating and taxing it in a manner similar to alcohol,” said attorney Brian Vicente, one of the initiative’s two formal proponents. “By regulating and taxing marijuana like alcohol, Colorado can tightly control its production and sale, generate tens of millions of dollars in new tax revenue, and redirect our limited law enforcement resources toward serious crimes.”

In addition, the act would remove criminal penalties for the private possession of up to 1 ounce and for home-growing of up to six marijuana plants in an enclosed, locked space. It would also establish a regulated system for the licensing of retail stores and cultivation facilities and enact an excise tax of up to 15 percent.

Energy Master class comes to county
Durangoans can now take energy conservation to the next level. The local Colorado State University Extension office is offering a new Colorado Energy Master program to educate Coloradans and support volunteers interested in energy issues.

Three-week courses on Energy and the Environment, Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy will be offered and include hands-on learning experiences and short field trips. The classes are targeted at home and small business owners interested in saving energy and money as well as educators, Realtors and other professionals. Each course also offers Continuing Education credits through both the Green Building Certification Institute and the Colorado Real Estate Commission.

For more information or to register for fall courses, visit www.ext.colostate.edu/energymaster or stop by the extension office in the La Plata County Fairgrounds.

– Will Sands