Boulder is a Stoopid Place

Oops I mean’t global warming. In a WSJ opinion column (registration may be required), author Steven Hayword tries to put the goal of 80% reduction of global warming gases by 2050 into perspective.

First, this translates into approximately 1 billion metric tons, vs. the current 5.8 billion metric tons. According to Hayword, it’s been awhile since we used so little green house gases.

Were man-made carbon dioxide emissions in this country ever that low? The answer is probably yes – from historical energy data it is possible to estimate that the U.S. last emitted one billion metric tons around 1910. But in 1910, the U.S. had 92 million people, and per capita income, in current dollars, was about $6,000.

Presently, American households emit more than the nations target limit in 2050.

Consider the residential sector. At the present time, American households emit 1.2 billion tons of CO2 – 20% higher than the entire nation’s emissions must be in 2050. If households are to emit no more than their present share of CO2, emissions will have to be reduced to 204 million tons by 2050. But in 2050, there will be another 40 million residential households in the U.S.

If we all drove Priuses

Right now our cars and trucks consume about 180 billion gallons of motor fuel. To meet the 2050 target, we shall have to limit consumption of gasoline to about 31 billion gallons, unless a genuine carbon-neutral liquid fuel can be produced. (Ethanol isn’t it.) To show how unrealistic this is, if the entire nation drove nothing but Toyota Priuses in 2050, we’d still overshoot the transportation emissions target by 40%.

The goal of Boulder’s recently announcement Visionary Sustainable Energy Plan, is only for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases, however they want to reach that by 2020. I suspect that goal is more drastic then the current 80% reduction by 2050 that both Barack and Hillary endorse.

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.”

Here are some key recommendations from the plan:

Conduct neighborhood energy awareness sweeps

Offer discounts on high efficiency light bulbs and residential energy audits

Develop green building codes and ordinances for new and existing residential, commercial and governmental buildings

Promote industrial combined heat and power technologies

Encourage statewide participation in the Western States Climate Initiative

Implement controls and policies to limit idling of municipal and county vehicles

Install light emitting diode (LED) traffic signals

Promote plug in hybrid vehicle-to-grid power connection

Implement a Clean Car Incentive program

Encourage adoption of a statewide Clean Car Standard

Develop a sustainable energy financing district

Maximize the use of rebate incentives for sustainable energy

Work with utilities to create energy budgets and rate structures

Create a revolving loan fund for sustainable projects

Offer “climate offsets credits” and use to build community renewable energy facilities

Implement Energy Performance Project for businesses

The wonderful Boulder County Government just can’t quit coming up with ways to save the world and micromanage their domain. What a bunch of busybodies.

I’m not against reducing GHG (that would be Green House Gases) or alternative energy, but there are way too many people trying to play “bureaucrat” and “save the world” when there hasn’t been any warming in 10 years!

Also, there are many different types of technologies being developed, and guess what, the Boulder County busy bodies have very little to do with it. And people will start using them with or without their existence.

Highlights (or is it lowlights?)…

35 broad strategies…

The Boulder County Consortium of Cities (BCCC) Sustainable Energy Plan includes 35 broad strategies that county entities and/or individuals can use to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

and the significance of the cuts will depend on the amount of funding! Imagine that. Note to myself, continue to vote against all Boulder County tax increases. There’s a beast that needs to be starved.

Just how significant the GHG reductions will be will depend on commitments to action and funding, but a passage from the plan says the county could reduce its emissions 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 if the plan strategies are fully implemented.

Let’s have a cermony, attended by important people. Yippee, all the busybodies can feel good together.

The county will hold a ceremony to formally release the plan Thursday, April 24 at 4 p.m. in the Boulder County Courthouse, 1325 Pearl St. in Boulder. Visiting officials will include former state Rep. Tom Plant, now the Director of the Governor’s Energy Office, and Heidi Van Genderen, Climate Change Advisor for Gov. Bill Ritter.

You can see a draft of the plan here.