The doors to a prized collection of plants are opening to Boulder — for just a few people and only briefly. On Nov. 8, the CU greenhouse on 30th Street will allow a few people in to tour the greenhouse and develop a better understanding of the work that happens at the greenhouse and the work plants do in our daily lives.

Boulder’s Bioneers sets out to conquer fears of something much scarier than the typical Halloween mask: Visions of a post-peak-oil apocalypse, pictures of the collapse of the world food system, the dismal view of a country run by corporate monopolies.

It´s been almost a year since USA Today broke the story of yogurt giant Dannon’s overzealous marketing of its product as a miracle health food. The makers of Activia and DanActive yogurt had to pay a whopping $21 million fine to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for claiming their product could relieve irregularity and prevent the common cold.

When Loveland started to redevelop its downtown area a few years ago, city planners knew one of its proposed building sites, a dry cleaning facility called Leslie the Cleaner, should at least undergo a preliminary environmental assessment. The results were to be expected, according to Tracy Turner-Naranjo, environmental compliance administrator for the City of Loveland. The city did a more thorough analysis and found soil and groundwater contamination.

The end is coming. Famine, war, the horsemen and their antiquated and inefficient means of transportation — whatever you believe in, there’s an apparent solution. United Way, trees, not eating shellfish. But what about the unromantic catastrophes like blizzards, floods and the occasional E. coli outbreak? What can we do about those?

Prepare to be amazed. Or surprised. Or jealous. This year’s Tour of Sustainable Homes, formerly the Tour of Solar and Green Homes, has planned a day of programming designed to let you get acquainted with more than your neighbors’ solar panels.

EnergySmart wants you to bundle up this winter. No, not with a coat and gloves. EnergySmart is running energy audits around the county, and advisors have found Boulder homes consistently under-dressed for the winter — in spots that surprise some homeowners.

Though the general rule is not to play in the street for fear of cars, the pedestrians of Boulder will have the opportunity to take over a vehicular domain and do just that this coming weekend.

Last November, outside of Craig, Colo., Brazilian-born Leo Zacharias removed a loaded .45-caliber pistol from his belt and handed it to his girlfriend, Colorado native Stephanie Loveless. If the strange man she was being left behind with tried anything, Zacharias told Loveless, she must defend herself.

When the lines for the statehouse are redrawn after this year’s reapportionment, more competitive districts could cost Democrats seats in the House, leaving them facing a Republican supermajority. Based on the voting record of the last year, that could make it tough for pro-conservation Democrats to pass environmental bills.