CEAP on Keepin' On

For one year, I dedicated myself to facilitating the development of the La Plata Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP), in collaboration with a wide range of community volunteers (volunteers who had already been hard at work for a year-and-a-half before I came into the picture!). As a group, we put an incredible amount of time, energy and soul into the creation of the CEAP. Working with that group of dedicated volunteers was a pretty incredible experience. I was so inspired by their passion, knowledge and drive to create a plan that they hoped would help shape a stronger future for the local community they loved.

The vision for the CEAP was to impact personal, organizational, and governmental policies, practices, and behaviors in a meaningful, measurable, and cost-effective way to minimize or neutralize local greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt successfully to climate change. The City of Durango and La Plata County recognized that climate change is not just a global problem, but something that is already having impacts here in our local community (projected impacts described below):

The community volunteers engaged to create the CEAP came up with the following emission reduction targets and strategies (and 42 recommended actions within the six strategies below).

The CEAP was officially submitted to elected officials in June of 2011. The City of Durango passed a resolution on August 2nd, 2011 that the plan is finalized and accepted by the City of Durango for timely consideration of its recommendations. However, the county chose to not pass a resolution regarding any sort of planned action. Since the CEAP was submitted, neither government entity has begun implementing recommended actions under the umbrella of the CEAP. Thousands of volunteer hours went into the creation of the CEAP, a plan that we were all incredibly proud of, a plan that we thought could really benefit our local community.

To realize that this amazing piece of work was just going to sit on a shelf was a pretty demoralizing experience. But just because the CEAP was never officially adopted and purposefully implemented, it doesn't mean that action hasn't been occurring in our community that supports its goals. The City of Durango has done a lot to promote resource conservation within their operations, increase multi-modal transportation through many different projects, and has switched to single-stream recycling. La Plata County has also taken action to be more resource efficient through partnering with the City on recycling events and greening their own operations. LPEA, as well, has contributed to the cause through its Green Power Program, its highly successful commercial lighting program, as well as the recently developed Community Solar Garden policy. 

Here at 4CORE we have also been hard at work, weatherizing 628 low-income homes, conducting energy audits on and assisting with upgrades for 30 businesses, launching a Solarize campaign to increase installations of rooftop solar, coaching fleets on alternative fuel options, and conducting resource efficiency education presentations and training. Even though our local governments haven’t directly encouraged or supported implementation of the CEAP, our community has continued to work on a variety of grassroots activities that work to achieve the CEAP goals.

Two years later we are faced with a different political climate than we were when the CEAP was submitted. New local leadership is placing more of a priority on sustainability initiatives. Durango Mayor Dick White (a former member of the CEAP Steering Committee) made the following comment:

“I very much want to see these initiatives advance during my term as Mayor . . .  I think that the easiest way forward would be to update the [emissions] inventory, even as the City (and, I hope, the County) begin to consider what CEAP actions make sense for near-term consideration.”

According to Gwen Lachelt, La Plata County Commissioner,

"Several county residents [have] request[ed] that La Plata County take up the CEAP again. The La Plata County Commissioners will be meeting before the end of the year to discuss priorities for 2014 and the CEAP will be on my list as it was during my campaign . . . If the CEAP is a priority to county residents I would urge folks to send letters to the three La Plata County Commissioners . . . [Additionally], the EPA has been planning to lower the federal ozone standard and if that were to happen tomorrow, La Plata County would be in non-attainment due to the high ozone concentrations that currently exist. I believe it is critical that we work cooperatively with the oil and gas and coal industry as well as the local governments in the region to address this issue in order to protect public health, the environment and our economy." 

As a community, we've had some setbacks in the sustainability department, but also a lot of positive developments. And with strong local leadership in support of taking action to address climate change, I think we have a bright future on the horizon. I’m excited to be a part of this community and to help see these actions unfold!

About the Author Amanda Saunders is Program Coordinator at 4CORE. She was born in Florida and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While in Chapel Hill, Amanda worked with the town to conduct a greenhouse gas inventory for their Climate Action Plan. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys climbing, hiking, skiing, traveling, reading, and soccer. Amanda manages the Resource Smart Business Program.

Colorado’s New Energy Economy

In November of 2007 Governor Bill Ritter announced Colorado’s first Climate Action Plan with the goal of establishing “clear strategies to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions,” for the purpose of ensuring Colorado's "energy, economic and environmental future," according to a Governors Energy Office GEO press release.

Following the Governor's action plan there have been significant advances toward a new energy economy for Colorado in addressing greenhouse gas emissions, both statewide and at the local level. In addition to advances in renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency through weatherization and certain insulation practices has helped to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

One way in which greenhouse gas emissions are being addressed locally is through the 2009 La Plata Climate Energy Action Plan (CEAP) in response to a US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement. CEAP provides a tangible way in which concerned citizens can get involved in identifying ways "our community, individuals, governments, businesses, and other groups can reduce greenhouse gasses throughout La Plata County."4CORE is currently initiating the creation of a collaborative region-wide strategy to decrease emissions in for Archuleta, Dolores, Montezuma and San Juan Counties.

Currently, 4CORE works to decrease emissions in Southwest Colorado through the CEAP Process in La Plata County, by providing weatherization assistance to low-income households, and through providing information about energy efficiency. Other strategies include community education and outreach as a way to increase local participation, and an incentives and services strategy that reinvests funds into the community and offers individuals a rebate to facilitate effective and sufficient energy services.

To date 4CORE has issued 199 rebates to community members, totaling approximately $135,000.

These programs resulted in 2,730 Metric Tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions prevented annually. To get a better idea of this quantity, it is equivalent to 125,391 mature trees consuming carbon dioxide each year, or taking 641 cars off the road for one year.

The GEO is a leader in promoting Colorado's New Energy Economy by pushing for the production and manufacturing of clean modern energy technologies. In addition, the GEO currently offers the Insulate Colorado Program for homeowners wishing to make energy efficiency improvements to their existing homes. The GEO partners with local Colorado organizations such as 4CORE to offer rebates directly to qualifying homeowners for the installation of insulation and air sealing measures through the Insulate Colorado program. For more information please visit the Partnership Opportunities Section for an application.

As a student of Environmental Studies interested in the preservation of natural resources, it is my hope that this push for a new energy economy in Colorado will eventually be translated into a shift from excess and shortages to a relationship of social restraint for the purpose of both ecological and economic sustainability and the overall health of people and the landscapes we live in.

Through my experience studying environmental policy and culture, although short, it is my opinion that the support and efforts made by local organizations are vital to the stability and effectiveness of programs and efforts like the Climate Action Plan and the Insulate Colorado Program.

Being apart of the 4CORE team is an exciting opportunity to experience this process first hand and witness change.

About the Author

D. Linnea Decker is interning for 4CORE through the Environmental Studies department at Fort Lewis College. Linnea is a Colorado native living in Montezuma County, and attends Fort Lewis College as a full-time student working on a Bachelor’s of Art degree in English/Writing and Environmental Studies/Policy and Culture. Her interests, not surprisingly, reside in spending as much time in the Colorado wilderness as possible snowshoeing, hiking, biking and writing about nature.