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The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

Aspen updates plans for climate action

A decade ago, City of Aspen officials identified a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by the year 2020. But, with just three years left on that target, those emissions are down only 7.5 percent. Workers with the Canary Initiative, Aspen’s climate team, are devising a new plan that will identify specific steps to make progress.

 

Residential energy use is actually up about 5 percent from the 2004 baseline. Jane Wilch, who works for the city, said preliminary results from a recent survey show that residents are willing to take actions, but cost is still an issue, especially for renters.

“I think that there’s an effort needed to reach out to the property managers, reach out to the building owners and the landlords and work with them,” Wilch said.

The survey is still open, and city staff will be drafting the new climate plan through the summer.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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