North Boulder Park:

Is this a great town or what?

Colorado legislators will introduce a pile of energy efficiency and renewables legislation in the upcoming legislative session, and there will finally be a governor who’ll sign good policy into law.

Of more immediate interest, though, are Governor-elect Ritter’s appointments to various energy-related positions in his administration.

Today, he named John Stulp, former Prowers County Commissioner, as the executive director of the Department of Agriculture. Biofuels look like an emerging bright spot in U.S. agriculture, and Mr. Stulp will be in a position to impact Colorado’s contribution to the emerging biofuels industry. Rural economies also stand to benefit from wind power development. Stulp has a wind project on his family property, and is involved in a farmer-owned effort to bring additional wind power capacity to southeast Colorado.

I’m particularly curious about who Ritter will name to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Owens appointee Greg Sopkin’s term ends in January. I presume that Ritter will also name a new PUC executive director, which would mean Doug Dean, formerly Speaker of the Colorado House, would be looking for new work.

The PUC made some crappy decisions during the Owens years, with perhaps the worst being its godawful handling and approval of Xcel’s application to build a huge, climate-unfriendly addition to a coal-fired power plant in Pueblo. That dinosaur is being challenged in court by Clean Energy Action, and if built would mean we’ll pay too much for electricity while magnifying the climate change problems our kids will face.

I assume there will be a new director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC). There are rumors that outgoing Rep. Tom Plant (D-Nederland) is under consideration for the OEMC job … but I have no idea whether that’s true or whether Rep. Plant would like the job. I do think he’d be a great pick. For those who don’t know, Rep. Plant is the Executive Director of the Center for Resource Conservation, a Boulder nonprofit dedicated to promoting sustainability in resource use.

Ritter will of course be able to issue executive orders as well. The Santa Fe paper reports that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson just signed an order (actual Executive Order here [pdf]) that should move renewables and efficiency forward significantly in the state. (there’s discussion over at dkos)

I wonder what kind of planet our kids are going to inherit — and what they’ll think of our efforts to address the climate mess we’ll be leaving for them. The federal government has failed to do anything of consequence (so far). So, I want to see state and local governments pick up the slack, and get aggressively into efficiency, renewables, and greenhouse gas reduction.

We’re due for a bunch of snow tonight … some forecasts are saying ten inches. [update: 22″ of snow. That’ll keep the plants happy for a while!] Last night, a plastic bottle of water I’d left in the yard froze solid. We had eight inches of snow a couple of weeks back.

Despite all that, I’ve been going out to the garden and harvesting vegetables. I don’t even have a cold frame. Kale, arugula, green onions and spinach are all surviving on their own, and I have some carrots that have been sitting under a layer of leaves, ready to be dug up whenever I want them.

I could be bringing in a lot more vegetables, though, with only a little more effort. A cold frame would be one way to do that, but there’s a cheaper and easier way to build a “greenhouse” row cover for a larger area. Using this approach, I really think a twenty-foot garden bed, three feet wide, is enough to provide vegetables for a couple of people straight through the winter in Colorado.

This is what it looks like on a warm, sunny day … still in the Fall, as is apparent from the leaves on the trees, but after the first frost, which killed the squash plant in the left foreground. The hoops are 1″ black plastic tubing — the kind used in sprinkler systems — which I picked up for five bucks at a recycled building materials center. On the right, all rolled up, is a heavyweight plastic sheet, 10′ x 25′ feet. The plastic was about ten dollars at a local hardware store. To the left of the hoops are a bunch of large rocks, which are crucial for windy weather.

When cold weather sets in, I pull the plastic over the hoops and weight down the sides with plenty of big rocks:

During the winter, if the weather’s not severe, I leave the ends rolled up a bit. At night and during severe weather, I roll the ends down and add a couple of rocks on each end.

The vegetables in the photos were sown in late summer. In this sunny climate, it’s possible to germinate seeds under a row cover during the winter (I’ve done it in February), but growth is slower in the winter. It helps to get a good start before it gets too cold.

Parsley, kale, arugula, and Swiss chard, shown here front to back, are great vegetables for row-covered winter gardens.

Some upkeep is necessary. On warm days, it’s essential to roll up the ends like the cuff of a sleeve, so that air can circulate. Without that, it could get very hot under the plastic. By the same token, on very cold days/nights it’s important to roll the ends down again, to keep the warmth in. Of course, watering is needed, but not as frequently in the winter as in the summer.

There are a couple of other items worth noting. I’m putting together a page with some of the more detailed information, which I’ll link to as soon as it’s done [update — it’s here (.pdf, 800k)]. Bottom line, though, is that growing high-quality local food can be a 12-month operation on the Colorado Front Range. It works in other areas, too. Eliot Coleman has a book, Four Season Harvest, that describes what can be done in Maine for year-round vegetables.

This time of year in local grocery stores, almost all of the vegetables are trucked in from more than a thousand miles away. I’ve been more and more concerned about climate change lately, so being more energy efficient is a high priority for me. Eating locally is another way to be energy efficient, but I also think it’s hard to match the flavor and quality of produce that’s fresh from the garden.

– Eric Johnson

Looks like an early-out-of-the-gate start for Governor-elect Bill Ritter on his promise to make clean energy a key focus of his administration.

Steve Raabe writes in the Post:

“We as a state can play a real role in providing leadership for this country in developing renewable energy,” Ritter said at a meeting sponsored by the Colorado Harvesting Energy Network. “We need a grand strategy that says we are a leader.”

Ritter said he will pursue a strategy of developing a “clean- energy coalition” comprising renewable-energy, oil-and-gas and coal interests; increasing the use of energy-efficiency techniques and products in state government buildings; encouraging development of new electric- transmission lines; and supporting financing of new renewable projects by leveraging available federal funding.

I’m not a fan of every energy policy Mr. Ritter will pursue, but I’m a fan of almost all of them. After witnessing President Bush’s 2000 campaign lie that he’d regulate carbon dioxide emissions, and godawful inaction at the state level during the Owens administration, it’s refreshing to see things are changing.

Ritter’s focus on economic benefits is smart policy, and good politics. Efficiency legislation that saves money for ratepayers results in dollars that can be used elsewhere. Improving the business climate for companies that work on renewables and efficiency will position Colorado more favorably for a carbon-constrained future.

The legislature will be moving legislation that Ritter will likely sign. For example, from the same Post article:

State Rep.-elect Claire Levy, a Boulder Democrat, said she will sponsor legislation for natural- gas conservation measures by utilities that also requires building codes to include energy-efficiency measures.

“There will be a suite of legislation that fosters energy efficiency and renewable energy,” she said.

It’s great to see Rep.-elect Levy getting right to work as well. Like Ritter, Levy made it clear that energy policy would be a focus of her work in the legislature.

My recollection, from past years, is that there was frequently a Democrat or two, in committee or on the floor, who voted against common-sense, money-saving efficiency legislation.

I’ll be interested to see who falls where this time around, do as much as possible to blunt the efforts of corporate lobbyists who want to water down good legislation, and twist arms as needed to move legislation to Ritter’s desk.

Besides putting Colorado in a stronger position economically, starting to put a dent in climate change is the right thing to do for our children and generations to come.

It’s a nice Fall afternoon out there, temperature in the 50s, partly cloudy, with the sun going down. I just finished gathering about fifty bags of leaves from the City of Boulder leaf drop-off program, which is run every November at North Boulder Park and Harlow Platts Park.

I’ll be eating them, starting next summer.

Of course, they have to decompose in a compost pile first, and then feed the vegetables.

The leaf drop-off was an interesting sight. A steady stream of cars pulled into the parking lot, unloading bag upon bag of leaves, which were being emptied into roll-off dumpsters. It’s an unbelievable quantity of leaves. I only saw one other person, in the four car trips I made (stuffed to the gills with leaves), who was there to get leaves.

For addicted-beyond-sanity gardeners like myself, it’s a great opportunity. I only wish the water was still on at the community garden, so I could build a compost pile right there where I need the end product.

It’s also a glimpse into the waste stream, and the kept-from-the-waste stream. Apparently at North Boulder Park they fill half a dozen or so roll-offs full (that’d be about 20 feet long, maybe seven feet wide, and six feet high) on each of the leaf drop-off days.

I wonder what percentage of homes bring leaves to the drop-off, what percentage of them compost them or use them for mulch at home, and what happens to the rest. Those that go to the landfill are lost forever from benefitting the soil. Plus, they’ll contribute to global warming as they anaerobically decompose there, turning into methane, a greenhouse gas twenty times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.

I’d rather eat them.

– Eric Johnson

I know, I know.  I’m not willing to buy this one right off the bat, either.

Richard Kelly, CEO of Xcel, got some great PR in the Boulder Daily Camera on Saturday.  In fairness, he deserves some of it.  Xcel is speeding up its compliance with Amendment 37.  And, the utility is going to collect, at cost of modifying its billing system, the City of Boulder’s climate program funds (which, in the long run, will save Boulderites far more than they pay in).

It’s also a good sign that the article about Mr. Kelly came as a result of his sitting down with the excellent folks at Western Resource Advocates.  WRA has top-notch policy expertise to lend Xcel in changing its ways.

What’s not a good sign is that Xcel is still pursuing a godawful, expensive, polluting, climate-changing new coal-fired power plant in Pueblo.  So, what gives?

Xcel is a big ship, and it’s hard to turn a behemoth that’s been so committed to the status quo for so long.  In many ways, it’s still a business as usual dinosaur.  There’s also the small matter of, if Xcel gets we-the-ratepayers to fund the Pueblo plant instead of them financing it, Xcel share prices stand to gain.  Xcel has some good public relations staff … I don’t think for a second that they didn’t think ahead about what kind of news coverage last week’s event might generate. 

Mark me down as appreciative of Xcel’s gestures, but very skeptical.  The big picture is still ugly.

It may be that Xcel, institutionally, is beginning to see the light, if only a distant glimmer.  But while they’re still building a new carbon-burner, at a time when climate change is becoming a global emergency, I can’t give them all the credit they’d like.  A new pulverized coal-fired power plant is an absolute nonstarter.

With the turning of the legislature, and a new governor, we have the opportunity for legislation and a Public Utilities Commission that are forward-looking and that really serve Colorado ratepayers … and their descendents.  It’s a good thing, because I’m not convinced that Xcel will do what’s necessary on its own.

– Eric Johnson

I voted at lunch yesterday, 10/23.  It was pretty busy at the County Clerk’s office, but I didn’t have to wait in line.  One of the election workers said, though, that while the early voting locations could accomodate large numbers of people, precincts, with their small number of voting booths & machines, can’t.

Add onto that the fact that this is longest ballot in Colorado history, and there could be real lines at the polls on November 7.  The good news is that, by voting early, you’re able to vote at a time convenient for you (including this coming Saturday in at least some counties) and take some pressure off of the polling places in November, making it easier for others who have to vote then.

There’s great early voting information at FairVote Colorado.  Scroll down the page and click on your county for information on where to vote and hours for early voting.  FairVote Colorado also has absentee voting information.  Early voting runs through Friday, November 3rd.

I’ve been noticing all of the “buy local” info in signs & advertising at the Wild Oats-owned markets around Boulder lately.  Last week, for example, the ad circular I picked up at a checkout stand had an attractive photo of apples with the “buy local” slogan prominently featured.

There’s just one problem.  NONE of the apples in the store closest to me were from Colorado.  I watched for a couple of weeks, in fact, waiting for our Colorado Jonathans, Golden Delicious, and Jonagold apples. 

Nada. 

Colorado grows great apples, and growers were sure selling them at the Boulder County Farmers Market.  It wasn’t until Thursday this week that I finally saw some Jonagolds at Ideal Market.  Now there are Jonathans as well, in bags.  I finally bought some apples as a result.

I’m used to seeing the Colorado potatoes come into the stores at about this time of year, too, and I’ve been watching for them.  Last week, I did buy some potatoes at the farmers market.  Those were from nearby growers, but Colorado produces potatoes in large quantities in the San Luis Valley in the southern part of the state, and also some along the Platte Valley north of Denver.

Again, I checked Wild Oats-owned Ideal Market.  No local potatoes.  Now, it’s conceivable that the loose potatoes were Colorado-grown, but none had “buy local” signage, and all of the bagged potatoes were from the west coast.

So what gives?  Wild Oats certainly does sell some Colorado produce.  The winter squash, so far as I know, are all Colorado-grown, and there are onions now as well.

I suspect that part of the problem is that Wild Oats frequently buys huge quantities of produce at the lowest price they can find, regardless of the provenance of the stuff.  When that happens, there’s likely an incentive (or even an imperative) for stores to stock from the Wild Oats warehouse.  It certainly worked that way when I worked produce for a Wild Oats store in the 90s.

Local growers frequently can’t deliver the quantity of produce that the Wild Oats chain might buy, or they can’t deliver it at the price larger growers, or those with subsidized water, can.

If we factored in the true cost of the diesel it takes to haul produce here from the west coast, local produce would probably look a lot more attractive, to both grocery stores and consumers.  Cheap energy is still distorting things.

I wonder what it’ll be like when diesel is ten bucks a gallon.

I also wonder if our failure to support local growers will mean that local agricultural production will have difficulty gearing up production in the event of an energy price shock

Someone I know has a friend who’s doing something along the lines of a “100-mile diet,” in which everything he eats comes from within 100 miles of his home.  I’m guessing that’s challenging, but I could sure see trying it out by cooking 100-mile meals.  The Front Range and points east grow quite a bit of wheat, and I’ve seen farms growing dry beans near Boulder.  Last week I made a nice batch of hot salsa, almost entirely from the garden.  Can you say “burrito?”

But, it’d be nice to see the stores put a lot more effort into sourcing local apples and potatoes, too.

Turns out, if your city is Fort Collins, a hell of a lot.

Given the complete lack of action on climate change from the Bush administration, it’s no surprise that local governments are picking up the ball and running with it.  Fort Collins is one of them.  The benefits, in addition to reducing the impact of climate change, include lower energy bills, local economic development and cleaner and more livable cities.

Tuesday evening, I sat in on a talk given by local efficiency & renewables advocate Ken Regelson about the Sustainable Cities (.PDF, 2 MB) report he wrote last Fall for the Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter.   Ken profiled four cities, of various sizes, with different types of energy utilities, in different climates, that are leading the way on greenhouse gas reductions:  Austin (TX), Chicago, Portland (OR), and Fort Collins. 

If your local government hasn’t yet started on an energy planning process that’ll save citizens money while improving livability — or even if it has — this report’s got a lot of great ideas. At under 2MB, it’s quick to download a copy for yourself, but it ought especially to be seen by city council members, county commissioners, and local government staff everywhere. With numerous links to relevant online resources of the profiled cities, it’d be easy to use the report as a jumping-off point for researching successful programs in detail, as well as to get contact information for programs that our local governments might like to emulate. Granted, the state Sierra Club chapter in Colorado commissioned the study, but it has applicability just about anywhere in the USA.

For any of you in Fort Collins, this stuff may be old news, but for those of us elsewhere in Colorado, what’s happening in The Fort isn’t as well known:

• investments in energy efficiency will result in savings of $40 million between 2004 and 2012.
• rebates have been offered to citizens for the purchase of high-efficiency clothes washers and retirement of inefficient refrigerators. In 2004, there were 950 washer rebates and about 600 inefficient refrigerator retirements.
• free weatherization assistance is available to help lower-income residents reduce their energy bills.
• homeowners can get reduced-cost home energy audits which may also help qualify them for zero-interest loans to pay for money-saving energy-efficiency measures.

What Fort Collins is doing is an example of smart, progressive government policy. Saving local residents and businesses $40 million over 8 years means there’ll be an additional $5 million a year in the local economy. In addition, money spent on energy efficiency improvements provides local jobs rather than paying for coal imported from Wyoming or Colorado’s West Slope.

Regelson’s report looks in-depth at four communities, only one being in Colorado. But, other communities in Colorado are also doing great things. Boulder County has a pair of new environmental intiatives that should help things along there, along with substantial commitment already from the City of Boulder and local nonprofits ( 1. , 2. ). The City of Aspen, Pitkin County, and a community nonprofit have been doing great things for years.

We can expect to see a great deal of additional activity on energy issues by local government in coming years. If your city isn’t yet doing as much as you’d like, perhaps there are city council members or city staffers who could use a copy of the Sustainable Cities report.

– Eric Johnson

County Commissioners in Boulder County passed a pair of resolutions today that will change the way Boulder County government does business and move the  county towards a clean-energy, zero-waste future.  One aims to bolster energy efficiency while increasing the County’s use of renewable energy, and the other embraces “Zero Waste” as a goal for the county.

According to the drafts (I watched the hearing online and don’t have the final versions as passed), here are some of the things that, within budget constraints, these resolutions will mean for the county’s operations:

 - A greenhouse gas reduction plan by December 2006, with an initial goal of meeting Kyoto Protocol standards and an ultimate goal of making county operations climate neutral.

 - Increased use of biofuels in county vehicles, photovoltaics on county buildings, and LEED-certified “green building” standards for construction of new county buildings.

 - Including assessments of climate impact when considering transportation projects, building codes, and land use policy.

 - Outreach and education efforts to bring citizens information about making use of solar hot water, photovoltaic, and other renewable energy strategies.

 - Tuning up county purchasing policies to minimize waste and increase use of recycled-content materials.

 - Creating a Zero Waste plan for Boulder County with a goal of generating zero waste (or “darn near”) by 2025, and recovering 50% of previously landfill-bound materials by 2010.

Summit County already made Colorado history by declaring its intent to reach Zero Waste, and there are other communities (e.g. Loveland) with impressive waste diversion rates.  Pitkin County and the rest of the Roaring Fork Valley began some time ago to address energy use in that part of the state.  It’s great to see Boulder County, with its own history of forward-looking environmental policy, step up to the plate on these two important topics.  

The draft resolutions are available online (I converted them to .pdfs:  energy and zero waste), as is a county press release on the topic.

For more on Zero Waste, see the web site of the Grassroots Recycling Network.