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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · 1d

The AI boom isn't just a massive drain on water and electricity.

In north Denver, local residents worry future data center could be the area's latest air pollution source. My latest:

www.cpr.org/2025/10/14/a...

Does the AI boom threaten local air quality? A north Denver neighborhood is about to find out

A new data center campus is currently under construction in Elyria-Swansea — a neighborhood already struggling with pollution from major highways and Colorado’s only oil and gas refinery.

www.cpr.org

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Julia Simon @juliaradio.bsky.social · 6d

This story was inspired by a conversation with a fossil fuel exec in Paris a few days after the big outage in Spain. He blamed too much renewable energy as the cause.

Was that really it? Turns out: No.

@npr.org takes you through a new report on what happened + impacts of renewable misinformation.

After Spain's blackout, critics blamed renewable energy. It's part of a bigger attack

When millions lost power in Spain and Portugal this spring, some were quick to blame too much solar and wind power. That wasn't the cause, but the misinformation had an impact.

www.npr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · 9d

Fatal?

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · Sep 8

Aspiration Inc. is at the center of the alleged $28M no-show gig for LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.

Back in 2021, years before Aspiration went bankrupt, @propublica.org revealed how the company appeared to inflate claims about the many millions of trees it had planted.

The Celebrity-Backed Green “Fintech” Company That Isn’t as Green as It Seems

Aspiration is among a group of companies that provide banking and financial services, and promise to help the environment. But so far its marketing is greener than its reality.

www.propublica.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Sep 3

Plus the NPR radio version:

www.npr.org/2025/09/02/n...

Federal tax credits for electric vehicles are ending, leading to spike in sales

Federal discounts for electric vehicles expire at the end of the month. The deadline has led to a spike in EV sales and whiplash for auto dealers.

www.npr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Sep 3

Colorado red-hot EV market is burning bright before it fades away.

Here's my report from hanging out at dealerships before federal EV tax credits expire at the end of the month. CO's generous incentives are also on steep, downward trajectory.

www.cpr.org/2025/09/03/s...

In EV-crazed Colorado, drivers rush to dealerships before tax credits disappear

The federal EV tax credit is set to expire on Sept. 30, luring a surge of customers to dealerships in Colorado and across the country.

www.cpr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Jul 23

Always feel welcome to say then to us at CPR News!

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Jul 18

This isn't happening because public media is irrelevant in the digital age.

It's happening because PBS and NPR offer free news and educational programming--and keep finding ways to do it despite a shifting media landscape.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/b...

Conservatives Get the PBS and NPR Cuts They’ve Wanted for Decades

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Caitlyn Kim @caitlynkim.bsky.social · Jul 16

Trump’s EPA moves to reject key portions of a Colorado plan to close coal-fired power plants www.cpr.org/2025/07/16/e... via @sambrasch.bsky.social #copolitics

Trump’s EPA moves to reject key portions of a Colorado plan to close coal-fired power plants

The proposed rejection doesn’t stop Colorado from enforcing the plan, but it signals the federal government no longer supports the state’s approach to combat air quality and climate change.

www.cpr.org

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Ryan Warner @ryanhasaquestion.bsky.social · Jul 2

Current and former federal workers, we want to hear from you!

Have you been let go? Did you take an offer? Are you left with fewer colleagues and more responsibility?

Fill out our survey. We won't publish w/o your permission. You can also be anonymous:

Have you been impacted by recent federal layoffs? We want to hear from you

Budget cuts to federal agencies from the Trump administration has resulted in a reduced workforce and an end to research and other projects. CPR News wants to hear from those impacted.

www.cpr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Jun 4

Absolutely terrifying!

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

Opinion | Why we should worry about nuclear weapons again

Deadlier weapons, more nations, autocrats in charge, disinformation and collapsing arms control — the risk of nuclear catastrophe is back.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Jun 4

Because tense city council meetings are somehow a new thing in...Boulder?

This whole NYT article trying to connect the dots between the horrible tragedy on Sunday and local Boulder politics is really reaching.

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Shannon Osaka @shannonosaka.bsky.social · May 29

An underappreciated aspect of the new WMO report -- if the temperature predictions are correct, the world will pass 1.5C in as a long-term average (i.e., the _actual_ Paris goal) in 2027.

In just two years.

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Earth could cross a key climate threshold in two years. Here’s why it matters.

A new World Meteorological Organization report spells the end of the world’s most famous climate goal.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Seth Klamann but spooky @sethklamann.bsky.social · May 15

A really horrifying @samtabachnik.bsky.social story about the death of a 7-year-old adopted son of a Granby police officer and a pledge by some in power to ensure the case was tossed aside. www.denverpost.com/2025/05/15/i...

A Colorado boy likely died from drinking too much olive brine. Grand County tried to make the suspicious case disappear.

Isaiah Stark died from ingesting too much sodium, the coroner found, likely due to drinking olive brine.

www.denverpost.com

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · May 9

If anyone in Colorado has experienced something similar, please let me know.

Miriam Wasser @miriamwasser.bsky.social · May 8

One day in March, people claiming to be FBI agents knocked on the doors of 6 local climate activists. No one knows why they came, or if they were real agents, but many worry it's an intimidation tactic.

Great story from @moranwriter.bsky.social www.wbur.org/news/2025/05...

Boston-area climate activists report visits from the FBI

Local climate activists are on edge after people claiming to be FBI agents visited at least six at their homes on the same day in Greater Boston in March. Weeks later, the motivations behind these vis...

www.wbur.org

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Miriam Wasser @miriamwasser.bsky.social · May 8

One day in March, people claiming to be FBI agents knocked on the doors of 6 local climate activists. No one knows why they came, or if they were real agents, but many worry it's an intimidation tactic.

Great story from @moranwriter.bsky.social www.wbur.org/news/2025/05...

Boston-area climate activists report visits from the FBI

Local climate activists are on edge after people claiming to be FBI agents visited at least six at their homes on the same day in Greater Boston in March. Weeks later, the motivations behind these vis...

www.wbur.org

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Jeff Brady @jeffbradynews.bsky.social · May 5

Don’t call it ‘climate denial,’ Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claims he’s preaching ‘climate realism’ -- nice reporting here from @cprnews.bsky.social's @sambrasch.bsky.social
www.cpr.org/2025/05/05/c...

Don’t call it ‘climate denial,’ Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claims he’s preaching ‘climate realism’

As a Denver-based fracking executive, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright honed a message on global warming: yes, it’s real, but it’s a manageable side effect of modern life.

www.cpr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Apr 24

More stories from the series: www.cpr.org/2025/04/22/c...

Why CPR’s climate team reported a series of stories about geothermal energy

Our reporting confirms that geothermal could help the state’s efforts to fight climate change. At the same time, the bipartisan enthusiasm for the industry doesn't always capture local concerns about ...

www.cpr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Apr 24

Another story from Hotspots, our on-going series about communities leading Colorado's geothermal energy boom.

This one really brings it home. Across the state, more homeowners and homebuilders are turning to ground-source heat pumps for heating and cooling.

www.cpr.org/2025/04/24/c...

How to mine your backyard for underground heat — and why it might get cheaper in Colorado

Geothermal heat pumps, also known as ground-source heat pumps, take advantage of the Earth’s constant temperature to heat and cool homes.

www.cpr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Apr 23

It's fascinating how Sec. of Energy Chris Wright uses Denver's success in dealing with its "brown cloud" as a national example.

What he leaves out: the metro area has seen big PM improvements, but its ozone issue has gotten worse due, in part, to oil and gas.

www.foxnews.com/video/637176...

Energy Secretary Chris Wright issues 2025 Earth Day message | Fox News Video

Secretary Chris Wright offered his 2025 Earth Day message, which was exclusively obtained first by Fox News Digital.

www.foxnews.com

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Apr 12

Behold the power of dirt cheap leases and probably some political misgivings about Tesla.

Nissan is now the #1 EV brand in CO.

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Apr 11

Context ICYM: Bennet is running for gov now. www.cpr.org/2025/04/11/m...

Sen. Michael Bennet is officially running for governor

The Democrat has represented Colorado in the Senate since 2009.

www.cpr.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Apr 11

Curious if Sen. Michael Bennet's support of Energy Sec. Chris Wright will shape the D primary for CO Gov

Wright has repeatedly tried to reframe climate change as a good thing. Before voting to confirm him, Bennet praised his "deep expertise in energy innovation."

www.axios.com/local/denver...

Colorado's U.S. senators break with environmentalists to support Trump's energy pick

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper are breaking rank to back the Denver-based fracking executive.

www.axios.com

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Reposted by Sam Brasch

Paul Voosen @voosen.me · Apr 11

BREAKING from @science.org: The Trump admin is seeking to kill nearly all climate research at NOAA, its climate science agency.

Its near-final budget proposal would end all NOAA research labs, academic institutes, and regional climate centers. And it wants to fully end the NOAA Research division.

Trump seeks to end climate research at premier U.S. climate agency

White House aims to end NOAA’s research office; NASA also targeted

www.science.org

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Sam Brasch @sambrasch.bsky.social · Apr 11

CPR loses a real one today. @startribune.com, cherish this man and give him a premium bus pass.

Nathaniel Minor @nbminor.bsky.social · Apr 2

Hello! A little news from me.

Next week is my last at @cprnews.bsky.social. Later this month I will join the @startribune.com's politics team covering the state Capitol.

Denver, Colorado and CPR have all been wonderful to me since I arrived more than a decade ago. I'll miss this place dearly.

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