Spanish Peaks Library District

Using documents and information obtained through a series of 22 structured interviews, the Colorado Climate Preparedness Project provides a catalog of climate impacts and adaptation activities and options in five climate-sensitive sectors in the state of Colorado: water; wildlife, ecosystems and forests; electricity; agriculture; and outdoor recreation.

Despite its potential, research is often critiqued for being not as usable for decision making in practice. This guide provides tangible, tested ways for making science more usable based on our experience in the Western Water Assessment as well as other input. It also highlights examples of researchers at CU Boulder who have produced usable research to serve practical needs.

The issue of produced water is a pressing one facing the State. Significant amounts of water are produced from oil and gas operations in Colorado, which has the third largest gas reserves in the country. In 2012, produced water amounted to over 41,000 acre-feet, with over 20,000 acre-feet from the Western Slope alone. There are numbers of complex legal, regulatory, geographic, technical, social, and political considerations involved in any discussion...