Glad to see that we’re moving towards sustainability in the Springs.
Is the tide turning for sustainability in Colorado Springs?
There are certainly signs that it is. Just months after Colorado Springs finished dead last in a Brookings Institution national ranking of cities’ “clean economy” performance, the Springs is sprouting community solar gardens, Fort Carson is moving toward “net zero” goals for energy, water and waste, and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs is launching an electric vehicle program, among other mileposts.
The Catamount Institute, a local nonprofit dedicated to sustainability and environmental education, is trying to keep the ball rolling at its annual Colorado Sustainability Conference taking place Thursday and Friday at the Antlers Hilton hotel downtown.
“A lot of times the community doesn’t realize the great things that are happening,” said Whitney Calhoun, conference coordinator for Catamount.
Calhoun pointed to a number of smaller developments, like the region’s first EPA WaterSense home, which was completed earlier this year at Gold Hill Mesa, and the growth of the local food movement.
Getting military, business and community leaders in the same room and talking about issues that affect them all is the primary goal of the conference, Calhoun said. Some of the topics include “getting to zero waste,” “rethinking transportation,” “sustainable procurement” and “alternative energy and rural Colorado’s future.”
“It’s the types of collaborations that come out of these, whether it’s the education that you get at the conference or the meeting of diverse people in the community that may not have been in the same room at any other event,” she said.
What’s changed at this year’s conference, the fourth year Catamount has run the program, Calhoun said, is that many of the national speakers Catamount is bringing in this year knew about one facet of Colorado sustainability or another and were excited to come.
“We haven’t had to beg the presenters,” Calhoun said. “They’ve heard about Colorado Springs and are excited and engaged to come to Colorado Springs and see what we’re doing here.”
Speakers include David Sandalow, assistant secretary of policy and international affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, National Geographic writer Joel Bourne, FoodCorps farm-to-school program co-founder Debra Eschmeyer and Kevin Danaher, co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange.
COLORADO SUSTAINABILITY CONFERENCE
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
Where: Antlers Hilton hotel, 4 S. Cascade Ave.
Information: 471-0910 or catamountinstitute.org
Pricing: General public - $235, Pikes Peak Sustainable Business Network member $185, teacher/non-profit, $95, student $55
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/springs-128557-colorado-sustainability.html#ixzz1dzQqWwqc
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