READER

For the uninitiated, Backyard Pitmasters Colorado is here to provide all you need to become a legendary chef.

e “Barbecue University” events are three-hour classes that teach “the art of smoking great meat in a non-competitive and fun environment at local breweries, distilleries, and other communitydriven venues.” You can attend one at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 6 at Mad Rabbit Distillery, 10860 N. Dover St., No. 2000, in Westminster, or at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 13 at Mother Tucker Brewery, 2360 E. 120th Ave. in ornton.

Find all the details at https://colorado.brisketu.com/.

that every drilling permit issued in the late 2020s would weaken Colorado’s pledges in the implementation plans. e plans are a commitment to the EPA on how and when Colorado will come into compliance.

e commission put o nal approval of one of the plans until late 2023, when sta could propose new ozone-cutting policies to stu into the document. Silverstein and other Regional Air Quality Council leaders want action on lawn and garden equipment to be part of those late 2023 commission votes.

Lawn and garden equipment makes up 84% of small, o -road engines being run across the U.S., the regional council said. Another favored statistic: One hour of running a high-polluting gas leaf blower produces emissions equal to driving a gas car 1,100 miles, or to Denver from Los Angeles.

Lawn and garden equipment may also be an appealing target because there is little organized opposition, compared to the powerful oil and gas trade associations, or chambers of commerce who oppose restrictions on commuters’ driving. e RAQC said it has been working on outreach to equipment manufacturers or any trade groups for landscape maintenance, but has not had much success.

Environmental groups that have been pushing the state air quality commission for a faster crackdown on ozone emissions are supportive.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Lil Wayne at Fillmore Auditorium

I don’t really have to tell you who Lil Wayne is, do I? He’s the Young Money millionaire with criteria that can’t be compared to your career because it just isn’t fair. His run as the best rapper alive in the late 2000’s was absolutely incredible and he’s still capable of e ortless bars whenever he feels like it. Rap doesn’t have a lot of elder statesmen gures still out on the road, so the fact that Weezy is coming to the Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St. in Denver, at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 7, means you should de nitely take notice. Get tickets at www.livenation.com.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.

“We want to live in a world where mowing your lawn, or maintaining your landscape, doesn’t mean spewing a bunch of harmful pollution into the air, or for that matter, driving your neighbors crazy with earsplitting noise,” said Kirsten Schatz of CoPIRG, which has been involved in the working group on the issue at the RAQC.

CoPIRG organized a media event in 2022 featuring clean electric lawn equipment at comparable prices to gas-powered equipment, even before available rebates. ey also highlighted a small local contractor who is using all-electric equipment who had rigged battery-recharging solar panels on his truck roof.

Electric prices are competitive with gas equipment except in the largest commercial ride-on categories, Schatz said. e current drafts of the proposed bans do not bar sales or use of the larger ride-on vehicles in the initial stages.

A little-known fact of the billions in federal aid for electric vehicle tax credits, Schatz added, is that they can be used to lower the price of ride-on electric lawn tractors as well.

Actual prices to the consumer will get better and better, clean air advocates say. e Colorado legislature is working on a bill providing a 30% rebate at the cash register, statewide, on electric lawn equipment.

However tough the nal recommendations turn out to be, Silverstein said, everyone in the working group wants to be clear that they’re avoiding a hit to mom and pop operators or the average homeowner. e urgency to act in Colorado is building, he added. At the April meeting, air quality commissioners asked the RAQC for speci c ideas it was serious about putting in the State Implementation Plans for a late 2023 vote.

“We’re de nitely not trying to target the high school kid that’s mowing lawns to get some spending cash,” Silverstein said. Besides, he said, the real savings in emissions comes from a changeover among the equipment operators who are using the machines all day, every day. e regional council is also looking for federal or state money that could expand the vouchers for individual lawn and garden equipment buyers to small businesses in landscaping. at kind of support could take millions of dollars, Silverstein acknowledged.

“If we’re going to make a real difference quickly,” Silverstein said, “we’ve got to have a rapid transition to electric.” is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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