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Request for Hearing on TR-1 1 1 for the West Elk Mine (Permit No. C-1980-0007) Page 4 <br />June 20, 2008 <br />of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report at 622, 629-630.' In Colorado, for <br />example, the range of the pika, a diminutive alpine relative of the hare, is shrinking, almost <br />certainly as a result of the increase in global temperatures over the last century. American robins <br />have been found to arrive, and marmots have been found to end hibernation, earlier in the spring <br />at a site in the West Elk Mountains. Such seasonal changes place wildlife at risk and are <br />anticipated to increase as the climate warms. Inouye, et al. at 1631-1633. <br />Global warming has also reduced available freshwater resources in the Rocky Mountain <br />region and is likely to leave the region with even less water in the coming decades. IPCC's <br />Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report at 621-622, 627. There is <br />concern that climate change-related drought coupled with a lack of available unappropriated <br />water in Colorado, could lead to "shutting off half of the water which is now used by the major <br />municipalities of the Front Range of Colorado where 85% of the state lives."3 <br />IV. Venting Methane Would Waste One of Colorado's Most Valuable Commodities. <br />Methane, a primary component of "natural gas," is also a commodity that, if vented to the <br />atmosphere, will be wasted, depriving the residents of Colorado of a valued resource and <br />significant revenue. Venting methane also misses an excellent opportunity to reduce impacts to <br />other state resources that would result from harvesting a desired product (natural gas) without <br />requiring additional exploration and production activities. <br />According to Federal Energy Information Administration figures, the value of the seven <br />million cubic feet of methane to be vented daily at the Mine represents a commodity worth <br />$52,220 per day or more than $19 millon per year. 4 Loss of this desired commodity is a loss to <br />the economy of Colorado and a direct loss to the citizens of the state through lost royalty and <br />severance tax payments. <br />' Field, C.B., L.D. Mortsch„ M. Brklacich, D.L. Forbes, P. Kovacs, J.A. Patz, S.W. <br />Running and M.J. Scott, 2007: North America. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and <br />Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group H to the Fourth Assessment Report of the <br />Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van <br />der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 617-652. <br />2 David W. Inouye, Billy Barr, Kenneth B. Armitage, and Brian D. Inouye, Climate <br />change is affecting altitudinal migrants and hibernating species, PNAS, Feb 2000; 97: 1630 - <br />1633 <br />3 Written Testimony of Bradley Udall, Director, NOAA-University of Colorado Western <br />Water Assessment, Hearing on Impact of Climate Change on Water Supply and Availability in <br />the United States before the Subcommittee on Water and Power, Committee on Energy and <br />Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, June 6, 2007. <br />4 Energy Information Administration Natural Gas Prices (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ <br />ng/ng_pri_sum_a_EPGO_PG1_DMcf m.htm, last viewed June 19, 2008). The most recent price <br />cited for Colorado is $7.46 per thousand cubic feet for March 2008.