September 25, 2009 12:12 AM UTC

I Love Denver, But This Has Got to Change...

•  
• by: wade norris

(E&E reporting: Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) plan to introduce their sweeping cap-and-trade bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on Wednesday, Sept. 30 – promoted by ClubTwitty)

(crossposted at Huffington post)

I love living in the Mile High City of Denver – I love that since I have moved here in 2000, we have turned from a ‘red state’ to a purple or even blue state.

I even am willing to give Josh McDaniels a little props for the Broncos getting to 2-0.

Denver is a great city with the great outdoors and the Rocky Mountains just a 20 minute drive away.

But this information reported today, makes me sad and mad with Denver.

Denver released the largest amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) and Barcelona the smallest amount in a new study documenting how differences in climate, population density and other factors affect GHG emissions in global cities.

Now living in a city that is this beautiful, it is hard to believe that we beat out Los Angeles for pollution.

Denver had the highest overall GHG emissions, with levels two to five times higher than other cities. Its high levels were due partly to its high use of electricity, heating and industrial fuels, and ground transportation, they note – Los Angeles was second on the list…

What if a city’s reputation for pollution was reflected in the Sports team’s names?

Instead of the Denver Broncos we would be the Denver Bronchitis?

It really should give the leaders of our state’s energy policy pause, in light of global warming’s threat to the 2 billion dollar Colorado skiing and tourism industry, when deciding on how to power our state and what Denver emits.

Anyone visiting Colorado Rockies can already see the 2 million Pine trees that are dead or dying due to Pine Beetles – an epidemic many scientist attribute to global warming.

The voters have proven that they want alternative energy – and they proved so by passing approving Amendment 37 in 2004 – the first bill in the nation to require a percentage of the state’s energy sources be derived from renewable energy.

The time is now to call on our elected leaders like the Mayor and the Governor to change the way we power our city.

And it is not just about Colorado, while our pollution is ‘just’ killing our trees in Colorado, it is robbing others of the world’s citizens their very way of life.

the time to act is now – even if you are not from Colorado – we are all in this together – contact your Senator to support Climate Change legislation like Waxman-Markey a.k.a ACES

As I have written previously, even though ACES is not perfect,especially when it comes to coal – we must go to Copenhagen with some kind of climate bill to get some real action globally started for their sakes.