BY PEYTON GARCIA | @CITYCASTDENVER

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WE LOVE YOU, EARTH 🌎🌱

This Friday is Earth Day 💚 So I’ve compiled some resources to help you get involved in local eco-friendly initiatives; some material you can read up on about local people and organizations making a difference; and plenty of ways for you to show our Big Blue Planet a little extra TLC, tomorrow and always.

Good climate news:
🌱 Pitkin County has the right idea — the Colorado mountain community lags behind only Boulder when it comes to composting and recycling. Aspen, for its part, is working to pass an extensive food waste ban for all restaurants in the town. [Aspen Times]

🌱 Durango couple Louise and Jane Barden are offering healthy meal options and battling food waste with their new company, Farm to Summit. The duo makes dehydrated meal packets (often used by backpackers) with fruits and veggies they collect from local farmers that can’t be sold in stores and would otherwise be thrown away due to cosmetic imperfections. [5280]

🌱 The Vail Valley Jet Center is joining the sustainable aviation game by using a new fuel blend that is 30% beef fat. The stuff reportedly cuts the carbon output of jets by 25%. [CO Sun]

🌱 Denver wants to beef up its recycling and composting efforts. In a new Sustainable Resource Management Plan, the city is aiming to double our 26% landfill diversion rate in the next five years. (A 50% diversion rate would be equivalent to taking 600,000 cars off the road!) New efforts could include zoning code updates and a volume-based fee for trash headed to the landfill. [Denverite]

🌱 Denver is also putting focus on its solar panel program, an e-bike program, zero emissions building requirements, and rebate incentives. [9News]

Volunteer opportunities and resources
👐 We Don’t Waste and Foraged Forest are local nonprofit organizations working to reduce food waste and battle food insecurity in the Denver community. You can help fundraise, speak at public events, harvest produce, or deliver food.

👐 Through Denver’s office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency you can explore the city’s current goals and initiatives, plus find resources for recycling and compost services, solar panels, and community engagement opportunities.

👐 Consider donating to Conservation Colorado or Environment Colorado, nonprofits that are working to mitigate climate change and protect Colorado’s lands, water, and wildlife.

Earth Day 2022 activities
🌎 Tonight, tune into a free community webinar and professional panel discussion, hosted by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, on current sustainability initiatives in our state and how you can get more involved in the battle against climate change.

🌎 Tomorrow evening, Denver Film is screening six award-winning environmental short films inspired by climate change, wildlife conservation, and protecting nature. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

🌎 Tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m., join fellow Denverites in a community “plogging” event. Apparently, plogging is picking up trash… while jogging! The event will begin at Wash Park and extend to nearby neighborhoods and parks.

🌎 Denver Children’s Museum is hosting kid-friendly Earth Day activities all weekend long, including a beehive observation and solar-powered cookie baking. Tickets start at $13.

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TODAY ON THE PODCAST: WILLOW PILL 🏳️‍🌈

“When I started drag, I was like, ‘if I’m going to do this I have to go balls to the wall… I can’t have a half-fleshed out character, a half-fleshed gig. This has to be amazing.'” — Willow Pill

Willow Pill Talks ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ Coming Out as Trans, and Denver’s Weird Scene
She dazzled the judges all season with her Victorian baby doll style, and now Denver’s own Willow Pill has made it to the finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” If she wins, Willow would become the second Drag Superstar hailing from the Mile High City. Her mentor, friend, and fellow oddball Yvie Oddly won in 2019. But Willow has been dreaming of Drag Race success for longer than that — since she was a baby queen at Colorado State University. Bree sat down with Willow ahead of Friday night’s finale to talk about her experience on the show, how it’s helped her discover new things about her gender identity, and why Denver’s drag scene keeps producing these weirdo, eccentric queens. 

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MORE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

⏰ Colorado is one step closer to locking the clock: Following the lead of the state House, the Colorado Senate passed a bill to permanently adopt daylight saving time this week, advancing the measure to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk for final consideration. However, any actual change is contingent on two conditions: 1) the OK from federal lawmakers and 2) four other Mountain Time Zone states also need to make the switch. [CO Politics] 

• 📜 The federal bill, called the Sunshine Protection Act, passed the U.S. Senate last month, but still needs to pass the House before going in front of President Biden. 

• 🎧 Break it down: We invited local meteorologist Andy Stein onto the podcast recently to break this issue down for us. Check out our episode: Early Birds and Night Owls Face Off Over Daylight Saving Time

⚖️ Surprising change of course in Morphew murder case: Prosecuters unexpectedly dropped the charges against Barry Morphew for the alleged murder of his wife Suzanne Morphew, who’s been missing since 2020. A Fremont County District Court Judge granted the dismissal without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can refile charges in the future. District Attorney Linda Stanley said the decision to drop the case was made because she believes they are close to recovering Suzanne’s body, which would completely change the trajectory of a trial. The defense, however, is accusing Stanley of “judge shopping” and argues that Stanley filed to dismiss the case because she realized she could not win. [Denver Post]

• ✊🏾 Justice for ALL victims: Colorado news outlets have been obsessively covering the Morphew case for the last two years. While it’s important to find justice for Suzanne, a white woman, it’s equally important to recognize the extreme lack of justice sought for missing and murdered BIPOC women. Check out our recent episode about it: How Can Colorado Tackle the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People?

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