Walk too quickly down Walnut Street and you will pass right by Sherpa’s Adventurers Restaurant and Bar.
The tiny, nondescript building in the dimly lit stretch of Walnut Street seems like more of a shack than a popular restaurant and meeting place. But ascend to the top floor, following the sound of clinking glasses and debating voices, and you will find a community setting focused on improving the climate of Boulder.
PLAN-Boulder County hosted a meeting with City of Boulder Executive Director of Community and Sustainability David Driskell at Sherpa’s on Monday night. Driskell spoke of his experience at the Copenhagen Conference and the state of the Climate Action Plan in Boulder.
“The minute they heard we were from Boulder, they had a million questions,” Driskell said of his Copenhagen experience. “They didn’t know exactly where Boulder was, but they knew of the work we are doing here. They had questions on programs we haven’t even started yet.”
Boulder receives worldwide respect for its environmental awareness programs, including a new service called “Two Techs and a Truck.” Driskell said this new program will take awareness right to residents’ doors.
“We have the building blocks in place for improvement, but it’s not happening, so we’ll come right to your door,” Driskell said. “A bunch students at CU are interested in training to do energy audits.”
Through the Environmental Center, students can sign up for training, then visit residences in Boulder to hand out energy-efficient light bulbs and give suggestions on how to make the building more environmentally friendly.
Students like Robert Dong, a 19-year-old sophomore chemical and biological engineering major, said students can help the environment in easier ways.
“I know students who take 30 minute showers with the hot water blasting,” Dong said. “Students won’t like the idea, but we could reduce shower times and turn down the heat.”
Dong said Boulder’s environmental awareness differs from the focus in his hometown of Greeley, Colo.
“It’s definitely a lot different here,” Dong said. “A lot of the policies instituted here aren’t in Greeley.”
While Boulder continues to improve, Driskell said he was disappointed with the progress other countries reported at Copenhagen.
“It was really encouraging that everyone was there, but when you dig below the surface, it’s kind of disappointing,” Driskell said. “We’re working as hard as we can to reach the Kyoto goal, but we’re going to have to go past that.”
According to the BBC, the global warming pact called Kyoto, after the Japanese city, aims to reduce 5.2 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2012, the limits set by Kyoto will expire. Though the United States never officially ratified Kyoto, local communities like Boulder try to outperform other parts of the world in emissions reduction.
Gwen Dooley, co-chair of PLAN-Boulder County, said the main goal of PLAN is to increase awareness by motivating the local government to take action.
“We are pushing the council to do more than they’ve ever done,” Dooley said. “We want to reduce our emissions by 80 percent, but we’re not even near being close.”
Despite the focus on environmentalism in Boulder, students like Juliana Darrow, a 20-year-old junior integrated physiology major, said they think that Boulder should look to other areas for improvement instead.
“I think they put too much emphasis on the environment,” Darrow said. “Boulder is too focused on things that aren’t people.”
Darrow said Boulder should look to community aid, not environmental aid, when considering how to better Boulder.
“We need to think about helping people that don’t have the necessary supplies they need,” Darrow said.
Though the environmental movement always faces opposition, Driskell said the people of Boulder must work toward reducing emissions, not just the members on committees.
“It is a community goal,” Driskell said. “Everyone in this community must play a part if we want to get to this goal.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jennifer Retter at Jennifer.retter@colorado.edu.
