It's not easy going green

A great article in the Wall Street Journal looks at the City of Boulder's efforts to reduce it's environmental footprint.

From the Wall Street Journal:

BOULDER, Colo.—This spring, city contractors will fan out across this well-to-do college town to unscrew light bulbs in thousands of homes and replace them with more energy-efficient models, at taxpayer expense.

City officials never dreamed they'd have to play nanny when they set out in 2006 to make Boulder a role model in the fight against global warming. The cause seemed like a natural fit in a place where residents tend to be politically liberal and passionate about the great outdoors.

Instead, as Congress considers how to encourage Americans to conserve more energy, Boulder stands as a cautionary tale about the limits of good intentions.

Read the full article here.

How green are you?

Over the past year, the Center staff have been working to reduce our ecological footprint. From single stream recycling to compact fluorescent bulbs to car pooling to programable thermostats, we have been making progress.

What have you or your organization/company done to minimize your overall impact on the planet?

Every little bit counts...

(Lack of) Power Hour

Last weekend marked the first ever global "Earth Hour" an event that started last year in Sydney, Australia as a way to demonstrate how much energy can be saved by turning the lights out for one hour. Over 300 cities participated in the event worldwide.

"Earth Hour" was approximately 8 p.m. RMST and many businesses in the Denver/Boulder area showed their support; participating restaurants, for example, served candlelight dinners. A friend of mine told me that a government building in downtown Denver that turned off its lights for one hour saved energy equivalent to the amount that six homes use in a year. 

If anything, the event served to promote the idea that there are many simple ways we can minimize our impact on our planet, whether it be in our homes or out in the field. In other words, proactive programs such as these, and Leave No Trace for that matter, are threads of a much larger tapestry of sustainability.

For more information about this specific program, visit: http://www.earthhour.org/