The Great Plains and Prairies

-The perceptions of Denver, Colorado include that the weather is bad, that there are terrible winters and that it can't beat states like California.  There are perceptions that Denver has no city life and that it is just one of the great plains and prairies.  These tend to be wrong because "cities such as Denver and Calgary occasionally bask in abnormally balmy, midwinter days with temperatures over 50 degrees fahrenheit" (Birdsall,etc...).  There are around 300 days of sunshine in Denver, Colorado with there being an average of 55.4 inches of snowfall each year, according to their weather website.  For as far as Denver not really having a city life, "Denver is one of the largest cities on the plains" ( Birdsall,etc...).  Denver has a huge downtown with sports teams, business, tourism, and skiing nearby.  
-As far as financial responsibilities, "Denver  is a regional office center as well as the focus of financial activity for energy resource development on the norther plains as well as the interior west."  (Birdsall,etc...)
-The physical geography of Denver includes the Rocky Mountains are helpful in calming the winters and the South Platte River travels all throughout Denver.

--Colorado faced a huge drought from 1976 to 1977 due to the lack of rain and heavy snow, but with Denver strictly using these two forms of weather, another drought is starting to occur.  Wildfires are a huge problem throughout the plains in the past and present day because of the high numbers of high temperatures that include the highest number of days over 90 degrees in 2008(NOAA).  In October, 2010, the NOAA put out a wind advisory for Boulder and Denver because there were winds of up to 100 mph.  The average annual cost of water for someone living inside Denver is $330 per year, according to the city website.

-Colorado mostly uses coal for it's energy resources with gas and hydroelectricity for the remaining demands.  Denver is trying to clean up it's image, so with these potentials of solar and biomass, solar, wind, and geothermal shown above, these are the ways to start.




References:
http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/USCO0105?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

http://www.personal.psu.edu/jsw265/blogs/review_of_meteo_101/CO%20Topo.jpg (pic 1)

http://www.weather.gov/
http://www.denverwater.org/BillingRates/RatesCharges/2011Rates/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=CO (pic 2)