From Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo to locals) big oil's "Drill America Now" campaign is just faint hysterical shrieking in the distance.  America's energy policies and energy perils are getting a much more sensible hearing here.  The talk around the convention about building a solid future for the country -- one that's reasonable, sustainable, affordable and secure.

In The Big Tent today a panel laid out the challenges and choices facing the next president -- whoever that is, although the audience obviously leaned toward Obama.  Bill Becker of the University of Colorado's Presidential Climate Action Project laid out options for the first 100-day of the next administration.

NBC has refused to run this ad according to Pickens. If you don't want to click on the link, you can just read the ad. It's pretty simple. A guy says:

"Get this one. Iran is changing its cars to run on natural gas and we're not doing a thing here. They're doing this to use less oil and sell it for $120 a barrel. We can switch our cars to natural gas and stop sending our dollars to foreign countries."

The guy talking? T. Boone Pickens. Pickens? The oil-well-drilling, oil company-owning, corporate raiding guy from Texas? The same.

Pickens says the executives at NBC won't run the ad because they say it might not be true. (And, of course, NBC wouldn't run an ad that isn't perfectly true).

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A task force of 20 representatives from government, utility companies and advocacy groups took its first step Wednesday toward mapping out the most promising areas in the state to develop solar, wind and geothermal energy. The goal is to define "renewable energy zones," to highlight locations to identify the areas most promising for development and where additional transmission capacity might be needed.

link to news story 

Colorado and federal officials sparred with environmental groups before a national advisory committee Wednesday over a proposed rule to manage 4 million acres of roadless forests. "The state of Colorado does believe that this is a solid, sound vehicle for protecting the state's roadless areas," state Department of Natural Resources director Harris Sherman said at the meeting.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10049507

We spend billions attacking almost every wildfire, but scientists say that's bad for the forest, can put firefighters in unnecessary danger and doesn't protect communities as well- or as cheaply - as we now know how to do.

link to news story