Green tech often runs on gov't subsidies. Updating CBI's gun investigation stats.
Reminder: a whole lot of green tech works because of gov't subsidies
The Colorado Sun article below is nominally about a series of proposed green factories that were to have been built in the state, but which now will not get off the ground.
Because it's written by Sun environmental advocate Michael Booth, the article is full of hints around the edges that even though market factors may be at play, it's Trump. Even though the companies may not be talking in full about why they pulled the plug on Colorado projects, it's tariffs which means Trump.
I mean you can see Booth trying here to be on the level (or someone was making him be), but really guys, when you get down to it, it's Trump.
Lost in a lot of the discussion (and only barely hinted at in Booth's piece) is the fact that renewables run on subsidies. That is, they make economic sense only to the extent that you and I and all the other taxpayers are forced to give our money to them.
One of the fears related to cutting subsidies (both expressed in the article and elsewhere--though elsewhere I've seen it as a selling point not so much always a fear) is that we'll be behind the curve manufacturing renewables and associated technology.
Quoting the article (with link intact) as an example of this kind of rhetoric:
"Internationally, the fast-changing U.S. policies are 'ceding the ground on advanced manufacturing onshoring to other countries, because other countries are going to continue to move forward with investing in wind and solar,' [Colorado Solar and Storage Association executive director KC] Becker said."**
I don't know about this concern, however. I think the US being a hub of manufacturing (advanced and otherwise) went out the window long ago. I mean, up til now what we seem to have focused on for renewables has been subsidizing the demand side.
We've shown all kinds of willingness to put tax money to people purchasing these things with the rationale that we have to cut greenhouse gases, but I've not seen similar efforts to position ourselves to be the ones in the world that SUPPLY those that have greenhouse gas concerns.
Meanwhile countries like China who don't give a rat's a** about greenhouse gases and which has much looser standards is putting their time and attention into being the ones who sell things to us.
As such, I think a large part of the problem with the closure of the businesses in the Sun article rests just as much on our previous choices (subsidizing demand more than supply and research), as it does on current Federal policy.
But no, seriously, it's Trump guys. It's all Trump.
** I think it also worth mention here that the people who are worried about losing subsidies are the people who stand to make money from them, whose job depends on them. This should not go unnoticed and should be part of how you weigh the validity of the concerns.
https://coloradosun.com/2025/06/25/colorado-clean-energy-project-cancellations/
Updating CBI's gun investigation stats
SB24-003, linked first below, enabled the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to to investigate certain gun crimes on its own. This is something they previously didn't have authority to do (and still don't for things falling outside the scope of the specified gun law violations).
Screenshot 1 attached gives the text from the bill itself if you want to see specifics.
Back in November, Gov Polis was crowing about how much safer he and other Democrats had made our state by citing some of the initial gun investigation statistics from CBI. I'd shared those back in a November newsletter which is linked second below.
I felt those statistics were incomplete and had asked for more detail on them, but I was told at the time by their spokesman that the numbers given were all they had until their record keeping could be beefed up. I'd promised to check back on that and update.
I did check back recently and have some updates on the number and types of investigations that CBI has undertaken under its new authority.
Screenshots 2 and 3 (taken from an email from the CBI spokesman) give an overview and county by county breakdown of CBI's investigative activity.
I'll leave it to you to look through the numbers and come up with patterns that stick out to you. If you find something you think that's noteworthy, speak up in the comments.
For my part, there were a few random patterns/thoughts that stuck out.
--The arrests relative to the number of guns seized in Fremont County is striking. Was there someone that shouldn't have them stockpiling? Something else?**
--When it comes to people having illegal guns, it sure seems like long guns and shotguns aren't the common choice.
--By far and away, CBI is getting illegally-possessed firearms at a much higher rate than they get stolen ones (with homemade firearms -- denoted PMF in screenshot 3 -- coming a distant second). Do I think this means that there aren't many stolen guns floating around? No. I think it means CBI's not finding them. Some quick reading (see the third link below) shows that it's hard to pin down exactly where the guns used in most crime comes from, but there seems to be evidence that stolen guns sold informally or given to criminals are the most common way people get guns illegally. See, for example, screenshot 4 from the conclusion of the report in link 3.
--I put this fact next to the relatively small number of people (see screenshot 2 where about 10% of people fail a background check and get arrested) that try to get guns illegally via buying them, next to the limited things CBI can actually investigate on their own, and wonder how many of the guns CBI seized would have been guns used in the commission of crimes. That had been one of the selling points of this law: that CBI would do the work locals weren't and that it would keep us safer.
Anything stick out to you?
**Note, the way to get an answer on things like this would be to pursue a Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act request. The rules for those are slightly different than they are for CORA requests. More details can be had by scrolling down to the CCJRA heading in the fourth link below.
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-003
https://coloradoaccountabilityproject.substack.com/p/cbis-stats-on-increasing-our-safety?utm_source=publication-search
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-ii-part-v-firearm-thefts/download
https://coloradofoic.org/open-government-guide/#Colorado_Criminal_Justice_Records_Act