ZGreen News - City of Aspen, Colorado

ZG reen N ews

… ta k i n g a c t i o n t o d ay f o r a g r e e n e r t o m o r r o w

C i t y o f A s p e n · C a n a r y I n i t i at i v e · E n v i r o n m e n ta l h e a lt h

Mixed bag in Copenhagen While the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December did not result in strong, legally binding policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it did—for the first time—unite people around the world (from policymakers to everyday folks) in

a discussion about how to combat climate change. The summit set the stage for future negotiations. It also highlighted the importance of local government actions and successes and how (Continued on page 2.)

ZGreen-certified businesses: Bluegreen Alpine Bank Aspen Aspen Alps Condominium Association Aspen Art Museum Aspen Club & Spa Aspen Center for Environmental Studies

Charles Cunniffe Architects Colorado Mountain College, Aspen Community Banks of Colorado The Little Nell

Aspen Historical Society

Rowland + Broughton Architecture

Aspen Meadows Resort

St. Regis Aspen Resort

Aspen Recreation Center

Stan Clauson Associates, Inc.

Aspen Skiing Company, base operations

The Sky Hotel

Aspen businesses go ZGreen Certification requirements more stringent Now in its third year, the City of Aspen ZGreen business certification program offers an updated checklist for use by businesses striving for certification. The new checklist is based on research, feedback, and its experience with its 18 certified businesses, listed above. (Continued on page 2.) New for 2010: Click on a globe or any website address to go directly to the linK!

January 2010 · Vol. 03 · Issue 1

Save gas Use overdrive. Overdrive slows the speed of your car’s engine, saving gas and reducing wear. Use cruise control on the highway. Cruise control helps maintain a constant speed, saving gas. Do not use cruise control on icy roads. Follow the speed limit. Every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying 10 cents more per gallon of gas.

January is Radon Action month Test your home for radon. The second-leading cause of lung cancer, radon is a natural, radioactive, colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. To keep your family safe, pick up a free radon test kit from the City of Aspen Environmental Health Department (second floor, City Hall). City officials will be available to answer questions about what to do if radon levels in your home are harmful to health.

Climate Counts Curious how the environmental practices of your favorite companies stack up? Visit www.climatecounts.org to see whether the businesses are “striding”, “starting”, or “stuck.” Updated annually, the Climate Counts Scorecard rates companies based upon their climate efforts…or lack thereof.

Stuck

Starting

Striding

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Green

Events Calendar

January 21 & 28 guided snowshoe hikes Aspen Join the Roaring Fork Conservancy and Pitkin County Open Space and Trails/ Aspen Parks Dept. Jan. 21: Northstar Preserve. Jan. 28: Stein Park. Free, registration required. Call (970) 927-1290. January 27 - 28 Virtual Energy Forum Webinar Learn about sustainability strategies, green building, and renewable energy in Web-based seminars and real-time question-and-answer sessions with experts. Free. www.virtualenergyforum.com Ongoing Courses: Colorado Mountain College Enhance your skill set with energy and environmental-related courses at Colorado Mountain College campuses throughout the valley. For offerings and to register, visit www.coloradomtn.edu. Ongoing, Thursdays · 7:30 pm (Jan -Mar) Naturalist Nights Aspen Center for Environmental Studies Learn from wildlife experts and ecologists about the natural world through slideshows and discussions. For more info, www.aspennature.org Ongoing, Daily Naturalist-guided snowshoe & ski tours Aspen, Snowmass & Ashcroft Join a naturalist from the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies on a snowshoe or ski tour to learn about the ecology and natural history of the Roaring Fork Valley. For more info, www.aspennature.org

For more information: Contact the departments and programs that have taken the lead in

protecting Aspen’s environment and our quality of life. Canary Initiative: [email protected] · www.aspenglobalwarming.com

Aspen Canary Initiative

Aspen ZGreen: [email protected] · www.aspenzgreen.com

Aspen ZGreen

AspenZGreen

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Utilities Energy Efficiency: [email protected]

www.aspenpitkin.com/energyefficiency

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Utilities renewable energy: [email protected]

www.aspenpitkin.com/departments/utilities/renewables Environmental Health: [email protected]

www.aspenpitkin.com/departments/environmental-health

Copenhagen

ZGreen

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Continued from page 1.

they must be a key player in leading the way to climate recovery.

“The new ZGreen checklist expands the options for businesses working to become greener and requires certified businesses to continually work to reduce their environmental impact,” said Lauren McDonell, ZGreen business program coordinator.

The final document generated from the summit, the Copenhagen Accord, acknowledges the need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prevent deforestation, provide aid to developing nations ($100 billion annually by 2020), and verify countries’ greenhouse gas emissions (including those of China, now the world’s largest emitter). As a result of the near stalemate at the conference—with progress only being achieved in the summit’s final hours after negotiations transpired between the world’s major emitters—it is likely that future negotiations will take in smaller arenas. The next round of United Nations talks will take place in Mexico City in 2010 and will demand the collaboration of some 193 member nations. Read more about the outcome of U.N. climate summit by clicking on the following links: Copenhagen Accord (U.N. document) New York Times (editorial) Pew Center on Global Climate Change (summary) Washington Post (editorial)

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Aspen Canary

New mandatory measures for businesses seeking certification include: · No propping exterior doors open when heating or cooling the building · Recycling newspaper, magazines, office paper, cardboard, and comingled containers · Educating customers about environmental efforts · Identifying five new environmental goals that will be achieved within the year. Exceptional businesses opportunity to achieve certification, a distinction businesses going “above requirements.”

also have the ZGreen Summit applied to those and beyond the

The City of Aspen ZGreen program offers guidelines and green tips for businesses, events, residents and visitors. To learn more about becoming ZGreen, visit www.aspenzgreen.com.