They Don't Just Live Inside of Your Head
By: Drew Thornley
Planet Gore
In case you missed it over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece noting that even Boulder, Colorado -- one of the greenest-minded cities in the country -- is finding that it's not so easy getting people on board with "eco-friendly" lifestyle changes -- even with the help of robust taxpayer-funded subsidies/rebates.
In a nutshell: Boulder has been trying to change resident behavior via carbon taxing and rebates on energy-efficient home improvements. Some people are game, but so few that Boulder is focusing on ways to compel change -- shades of the green-police Super Bowl ad, after the airing of which I remarked to the other attendees at a Super Bowl party, "Think they're kidding? It's coming, folks."
Boulder is proof positive. Here are some indications:
<<< Boulder has found that financial incentives and an intense publicity campaign aren't enough to spur most homeowners to action, even in a city so environmentally conscious that the college football stadium won't sell potato chips because the packaging isn't recyclable.
"We still have a long way to go," says Paul Sheldon, a consultant who advises the city on conservation. Residents "should be driving high-efficiency vehicles, and they're not. They should be carpooling, and they're not." And yes, he adds, they should be changing their own light bulbs -- and they're not.
City officials are frustrated -- and contemplating more forceful steps.
The City Council will soon consider mandating energy-efficiency upgrades to many apartments and businesses. The proposals under review would be among the most aggressive in the nation, requiring up to $4,000 a rental unit in new appliances, windows and other improvements. Owners of commercial property could face far larger tabs.
The goal: to spur $650 million in private investment in efficiencies over the next three years.
"Everyone needs to do something," says Councilman Matthew Appelbaum.
Unless the city does it for them. Recognizing that, as Mr. Appelbaum puts it, "it's a real pain to do all that work," Boulder plans to spend about $1.5 million in city funds and $370,000 in federal stimulus money to hire contractors to do basic upgrades for residents.
Some grumble about Big Brother: "It's like, 'We're going to find a way to make sure you do this the way we want you to,' " says Robert Greenlee, a former mayor. >>>
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