Colorado to phases out coal-fire energy production by 2031
The plan offers support to impacted workers and communities, lays the groundwork for a clean energy future, and results in a nearly 90 percent reduction in Xcel’s Colorado carbon emissions.
Colorado
Colorado is home to sweeping mountain landscapes, fast-growing cities, and communities tackling big challenges in creative ways. This archive tracks progress stories from across the state — spanning clean energy, public health, conservation, education, and civic life.
Many U.S. states now allow mental health absences for students
At least nine states now allow students to take mental health days. Other states using less expensive solutions like in-class mediation, mindfulness exercises, and social-emotional training.
Colorado passes bill offering 10 hours per week of free universal preschool
By the fall of 2023, all 4-year-old children in Colorado will be able to attend preschool at no cost to their families.
U.S. federal judge overturns oil and gas lease sales on 58,000 acres of public lands in Colorado
A federal judge agreed with conservation groups that fracking and drilling will worsen air quality in a region where smog levels have exceeded federal pollution standards and threaten public health.
Colorado becomes second U.S. state to legalize human composting
The US buries an estimated 5.3 million gallons of embalming fluid each year, which is toxic to the natural environment. Although cremation removes this factor, each cremation emits about as much as a 500-mile car drive.
Denver to donate bison to Tribal land as form of reparations
The 10-year initiative has culminated in the first bison making their way from to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma and the Tall Bull Memorial Council in Colorado.
Denver’s unarmed 911 response team arrested no one in its first 6 months
Denver’s new Support Team Assistance Response responded to 748 incidents, with not a single one of them requiring police or leading to arrests or jail-time.
Colorado approves $110 million transportation electrification plan
Xcel Energy will deploy 20,000 EV charging stations across Colorado, under a $110 million plan formally approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
AI-powered recycling robots now deployed in three continents and 20 states
AMP Robotics’s AI-powered recycling robot that can sort through recyclables twice as fast as its human counterparts has gone global.
Colorado passes historic police reforms following protests
Colorado passed one of the most comprehensive police reform packages in the country, setting limits on police use of force and mandating data collection to make sure cops who are fired from one agency don’t get rehired by another.