Like many ski towns, Aspen has been slowly going green--a necessary action in saving the environment and the snow that we all love. As an example, Aspen Skiing Company has made strides towards sustainability with green development, green purchasing, on-mountain education, sustainability reports, habitat protection, and more.
Aspen itself has also become a forum for environmental discussions through events such as Aspen Ideas Festival which last year fostered conversations about the scale of our CO2 emissions and what it really means (hype aside) to be green. Other upcoming events such as The Aspen Institute's Aspen Environment Forum (March 26-30) invite economists, scientists, citizens, and decision-makers to offer solutions and engage in discussions about the state of our environment.
And with so much "going green" discussion it is no wonder that some Roaring Fork Valley homeowners have turned to geothermal heating and cooling systems, alternative building materials and techniques, and good ol' fashion solar power.
With all of our efforts though, we are not nearly as green as we hope to be. In the words of best-selling author and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, “The good news is that green has gone mainstream…Green has gone mainstream, but it hasn’t gone down the main street.”
For example, a heated debate about the town's fire pit on the corner of Galena and Cooper (a gathering place that emits 9 1/2 pounds of carbon per year) has been ongoing for months. For some visitors and locals, the fire pit is viewed as an Aspen attraction--a place to warm your hands, gather with friends, and soak in the mountain town scenery. While the fire pit may be very "Aspen" is it hypocritical to have in a town that is Going, Going, Green?
Let us know how you feel about Aspen's initiatives by making a comment or answering the poll below.
We live in a town fueled by
We live in a town fueled by the tourism industry. I walk by the firepit and it is never on because of the overly sensitive greenbacks that think it is wasting fuel. Let's shut down the ski lifts then or stop heating our houses. The amount of gas needed to keep that going is minuscule.
I think the effort to go
I think the effort to go green is dependent on taking small steps. "baby steps". But I think the more important baby steps for aspenites is to turn off your lights!!!. I live on E. Hyman Ave. and every evening I walk by a home with all of its lights on including x-mas lights. The worst part. No one lives there, it is up on the market and seems to be used only as a show house for the moment. Not to mention the mansions with heated driveway that are used for two weeks out of the year. second note. take the bus. My car sat in a ice cave for a whole month and I still survived. GO RFTA!
I think the firepit is the
I think the firepit is the least of Aspen's concerns. I think it's fine bc it's a tourist attraction and there is only one. We should be more concerned about the line of single passenger cars that sit idle for hours coming into and leaving town during rush hours. We need to think of a plan to get people out of their cars and onto the bus. With gas prices as they are, one would think that people would be loving RFTA now, but everyday I still see 1 passenger cars sitting in traffic. The firepit should be on our list of concerns but I think we would be better off starting with the traffic issue amongst the so-called Roaring Fork Valley's environmentally conscience people.
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