According to a report in the Longmont Times Call, going green by implementing Boulder County’s Sustainable Energy Plan will save $445 million annually (I assume once it’s been implemented).
Not a cross word was to be reported from the unveiling of the plan at the Boulder County Courthouse. Other good things to come from the plan are:
The Boulder County Sustainable Energy Plan’s recommendations for homes, businesses and government have the potential for reducing carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by more than 1.3 million metric tons by the year 2012, its authors have estimated, with emissions reductions growing to 3.6 million metric tons by 2020.
The plans include recommendations for local-government energy-reduction measures such as using sustainable biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel in those governments’ fleets and promoting residents’ use of such biofuels.
Biofuels aren’t inherently evil, but to date, government subsidized biofuels have been a nightmare. There is some very good research going on such as the University of Tennessee’s efforts to produce ethanol from switchgrass.
I don’t understand why we need the government to sponsor home energy audits…
Government-sponsored audits of homes and businesses would help reduce energy use and emissions, and rebates could help people afford the investments in they’d need to make to achieve those reductions.
and the plan has very aggressive, and probably unrealistic goals…
The plan, a product of two years of work by the Boulder County Consortium of Cities’ Energy Strategy Task Force, could result in a 40 percent reduction in countywide greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, in comparison to 2005 emissions levels, its authors estimate.
and Boulder County Commissioner Will Toor has obviously drunk the global warming kool-aid…
Boulder County Commissioner Will Toor said the lower energy bills that would result from renewable energy and energy-efficiency investments suggested by the sustainability plan “make real financial sense for the businesses and residents of Boulder County.”
Climate change “truly is one of the greatest challenges that our species has ever faced,” Toor said, adding that the launch of Boulder County’s sustainable energy plan is “one of the most important things I’ve ever been involved in.”
