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Survey shows Boulder voters support creation of a city-owned electric utility by a wide margin
Aug 1st
Seventy-one percent of City of Boulder voters indicated that they either strongly support or support municipalization, according to the results of a statistically valid telephone survey conducted last month. The results were made public by the city today in advance of an important council meeting tomorrow night.
Other key findings include:
Seventy-one percent of those surveyed said the city would be better at offering renewable sources of energy and reducing carbon emissions than Xcel Energy.
A smaller, but majority, percentage (57 percent) thought the city could do a better job at finding innovative solutions to energy problems than Xcel Energy.
Xcel Energy, on the other hand, scored higher (67 percent) in providing reliable energy and (52 percent) in keeping monthly energy bills stable.
Reliability, service, control, energy sources and cost all received high marks as community priorities. Three of these were weighted against each other – low cost, increased renewable sources and having a say in utility decisions. Increasing renewable sources of energy were considered the prevailing priority among these by a majority of residents.
Sixty-five percent of those surveyed indicated they support the issuance of bonds to purchase Xcel’s system. Seventy-seven percent said they would either strongly support or somewhat support the extension/expansion of either the Climate Action Plan or Utility Occupation Tax to cover interim legal and engineering expenses necessary to determine final acquisition and start-up costs.
Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said they would support an increase of between 5 percent to “as much as it takes” in their monthly electric bills to reduce carbon emissions and/or increase renewable sources of energy.
Voters were even more likely to support the creation of a city-owned electric utility if there was a possibility of spending limits, a re-evaluation of final costs before a decision is made about whether to issue bonds and rates within 10 percent of those offered by Xcel Energy. Education about the existence of the 29 other locally-owned utilities in Colorado also made a positive difference.
“The decision our community makes regarding our energy future will be a historic one. These results show that the City of Boulder has listened carefully to our community as we have set our objectives and studied our energy supply options,” City Manager Jane S. Brautigam said. “While we are on the track that many voters support, we also know that taking a measured and prudent approach to this analysis is crucial. We pledge to continue working responsibly and objectively to understand the potential impacts and benefits to all segments of our community.”
The survey, conducted by National Research Center Inc. in Boulder, reached 1,265 registered voters and resulted in 400 completed responses. The response rate of 32 percent was one of the biggest the survey firm has seen in recent years. The results have a margin of error of +/-4.5 percent. The survey occurred between July 6 and July 18.
Tomorrow night’s council meeting will begin at 5 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 2, in Council Chambers, 1777 Broadway. Elected officials are expected to hear a brief presentation about the survey findings and ask questions before discussing and then voting on ballot language related to how Boulder gets it energy in the future. There will be an opportunity for public input. The decisions council makes at this meeting are expected to form the basis for a third – and final – reading of ballot language on Tuesday, Aug. 16. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 1.
The complete survey report is available at http://www.boulderenergyfuture.com.
CU-BOULDER FACULTY, STUDENTS PART OF NASA’S JUNO MISSION TO JUPITER
Aug 1st
Several University of Colorado Boulder faculty and students are participating in NASA’s Juno Mission to Jupiter, now slated for launch Aug. 5 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center and which is expected to help steer scientists toward the right recipe for planet-making.
The primary goal of the mission is to understand the origin and evolution of the massive gas planet, said CU-Boulder Professor Fran Bagenal of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, a mission co-investigator. The data should reveal not only the conditions of the early solar system, but also help scientists to better understand the hundreds of planetary systems recently discovered around other stars, she said.
After the sun formed, Jupiter got the majority of the “leftovers,” said Juno Mission principal investigator Scott Bolton from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Since Jupiter has a larger mass than all of the other planets in the solar system combined, scientists believe it holds the keys to understanding how the planets formed and why some are rocky and others are gas giants, Bagenal said.
Once Juno reaches Jupiter orbit in 2016 after a 400-million-mile trip, the spacecraft will orbit the planet’s poles 33 times, skimming roughly 3,000 miles above the cloud tops in a region below Jupiter’s powerful radiation belts. While the spacecraft itself is about the size of a Volkswagen and encased in a protective radiation vault, its three solar panels that will unfurl in space will make the spinning spacecraft more than 65 feet in diameter.
Bagenal said scientists were continually surprised by the data beamed back from NASA’s Galileo mission to Jupiter, which arrived at the planet in 1995 and carried 16 instruments, including two developed by CU-Boulder’s LASP. Among other discoveries, Galileo scientists identified the global structure and dynamics of the planet’s magnetic activity, confirmed the presence of ammonia clouds in its atmosphere and discovered that one of its moons, Europa, has a global ocean beneath a thick crust of ice.
“One of the biggest questions left after the Galileo mission was how much water there is in Jupiter’s atmosphere,” said Bagenal. “The amount of water is key, because water played a huge role in the formation of the solar system.” Bagenal also is a professor in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department.
“Most of us know that water absorbs microwaves, because that is what happens when you put a cup of tea in your microwave oven,” said Bagenal. “We are going to be using a microwave detector and fly just over the clouds of Jupiter, looking down at different cloud depths to measure the amounts of water below. It’s a bit like doing a CT scan of Jupiter’s dense clouds.”
Bagenal’s role in the mission is to coordinate observations of Jupiter’s magnetosphere –the area of space around the planet that is controlled by its magnetic field. She and her collaborators are especially interested in understanding the processes that control auroral activity at the planet’s poles — its northern and southern lights — and assess the roles of the planet’s strong magnetic field on its surroundings.
In addition to collaborating closely with the Juno science team, Bagenal is working with CU-Boulder Professor Robert Ergun of LASP, who has extensively studied Earth’s magnetosphere and associated polar auroras. Ergun will use his expertise in auroral physics as part of the mission to compare the physical processes at Jupiter with those seen on Earth.
“This will be the first time anyone has flown over the poles of Jupiter to look directly down on the aurora,” said Bagenal. “We will be flying the spacecraft through regions where charged particles are accelerated to the point of bombarding the atmosphere of Jupiter hard enough to make it glow at the poles.”
Bagenal also is working with LASP Research Associate Peter Delomere on the Jovian magnetosphere studies and with physics department graduate student Mariel Desroche, who is modeling the outer region of Jupiter’s magnetosphere as part of the Juno effort.
CU-Boulder senior Dinesh Costlow of the astrophysical and planetary sciences department also is collaborating with Bagenal and the Juno science team by using computer models to simulate the trajectory of the spacecraft through all 33 individual orbits as it passes through Jupiter’s magnetosphere. “We are interested in finding the optimal places in orbit to point the spacecraft for our data collection,” he said.
Costlow, who is from Auburn, Maine, said he knew CU-Boulder had a good astronomy program before he ever set foot on campus. “Everything fell into place, and I feel very lucky to have an opportunity to work on this mission,” Costlow said. “I think graduate school may be my next step, and after that maybe I can make a career out of this kind of planetary research.”
By mapping Jupiter’s gravitational and magnetic fields, mission scientists should be able to see the planet’s interior structure and determine if it has a rocky iron core — a core that some scientists believe could be 15 or 20 times the size of Earth. But because of the immense pressure in the Jovian atmosphere, any spacecraft seeking the core would be crushed long before it neared the middle of the planet, much as the Galileo spacecraft was crushed after it was crashed into the planet’s clouds after the mission concluded in 2003.
“My biggest hope is that all of our predictions about Jupiter are wrong, and that we find something completely different than what we expect,” said Bagenal. “When our preconceived notions are off, it shows us we can never become complacent. New data from the solar system’s planets keeps us excited enough to re-visit them to learn more about the history and fate of our solar system.”
The Juno spacecraft is carrying 11 experiments to probe the planet’s mass, magnetic field, charged particles, auroras, plasma, radio waves, thermal and ultraviolet emissions, and includes a camera to provide images of the colorful Jovian cloud tops. The Juno Mission is being managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Denver built the spacecraft, which will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
-CU-
former city council women Angelique Espinoza Spin doctor for Boulder Chamber blogs and blabs:
Jul 29th
Hi, just a reminder that you’re receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in the Boulder Chamber’s policy and advocacy efforts. Don’t forget to add angelique.espinoza@boulderchamber.com to your address book so we’ll be sure to land in your inbox!
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We bring you the policy news you need on issues that impact Boulder businesses, with quick links to pertinent information on key issues, upcoming events, policy debates and more. If you value this information, please consider sponsoring the Boulder Business Insider. Contact me for sponsorship package details.
This month I have a lot to share with you on what’s happening with the potential ballot issue on forming a City owned power utility (municipalization). And I am particular proud to announce that we are the first Chamber of Commerce in the state to come out in support of the Bright Colorado Initiative for statewide education funding.
We are also excited to relaunch a couple of popular event series, the Global Business Forum, and the program “formerly known as” Climate Leaders. Check out our upcoming online naming contest!
Your membership helps the Boulder Chamber engage on your behalf to ensure a strong local economy. Don’t hesitate to contact me with any ideas, concerns and suggestions to help make Boulder the best place to do business.
Sincerely,
Angelique Espinoza
Public Affairs Manager
Boulder Chamber
303-442-1044 xt 122
In This Issue
BBI Sponsorship Opportunities
Municipal Power Utility Closer to Ballot
Chamber Endorses Bright Colorado Initiative for Education
City Council Race, On Your Marks…
Quick Links To Ongoing Issues
CITY OF BOULDER:
Floodplain Ordinance(Critical Fac. and Mobile Pop.)Planning Board Meeting August 4th
Capital Improvements Plan
Affordable Housing Task Force
Other Hot Topics
BOULDER COUNTY:
Energy Smart for Business
Join Our Mailing List
The Boulder Business Insider
Issues, Decisions and Events Affecting the Boulder Area Business Community
July 28, 2011
Boulder’s Energy Future is Your Business’s Future: What You’ll See On the Ballot
Correction: In June’s issue I jumped the gun by saying we would see two competing items on November’s ballot. Since then, an Xcel franchise with an innovative wind purchase agreement has come on and off the table. Council is still considering amendments to the proposed ballot language which, if voters approve, would authorize the City to pursue forming a municipal power utility to replace Xcel. Whatever happens, the results will determine your future energy rates.
The Chamber convened a small policy working group of business people, both supportive and skeptical of municipalization, to provide specific recommendations for the proposed ballot language. Main themes were proportional representation of ratepayers on a depoliticized governing board with decision-making power, competitive regional rate parity, a cap on bonding authority, and specific “off-ramp” triggers.
Council was mixed in their response to these recommendations and will vote on these and other details at the August 2nd Council Meeting, which begins at 5 pm and will be televised on Channel 8 in Boulder. If you have something to say to Council on this, you can sign up from 4-5 pm at the Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway, or during the public hearing on the item. Get up to speed with materials and videos available at www.boulderenergyfuture.com. Businesses constitute over two-thirds of Boulder’s energy users and the Chamber will continue to advocate on their behalf.
Boulder Chamber First in State to Endorse Bright Colorado Initiative for Statewide Education Funding
When the Boulder Chamber Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the Bright Colorado Initiative 25, which would provide five years of increased funding for K-12 and Higher Education in Colorado it became the first Chamber of Commerce in the state to do so. “Boulder has been somewhat less impacted by statewide cuts in education,” said CEO Susan Graf. “But our neighboring communities have suffered a lot. We felt it was important to support this stopgap measure to protect the economic vitality of the whole state.”
“Our board had concerns about the tax impact and expressed the need for more education reform” added the Chamber’s Public Affairs Manager, Angelique Espinoza. “With [Senate Bill] 191 passing last year, though, we agreed progress was occurring and that a five-year return to 1999 tax levels was a worthy investment. It fit with our policy agenda statement that supports education as fundamental to our mission.”
Boulder’s State Senator Rollie Heath proposed Initiative 25, and said he did so because he believes Colorado’s recent cuts to education funding are unacceptable. “It’s short-changing our most important resource for the future – our kids and young adults,” said Heath. “Also, you can’t separate education and economic development, especially in today’s knowledge-based economy. We think it’s worth it, and we are thrilled that the Boulder Chamber thinks so too. We really appreciate their support on this important issue.” For more information on the Initiative, visit www.brightcolorado.org
Relaunch of Two Popular Event Series Last evening we relaunched our popular Global Business Forum series with a visit from the Global Business Team from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. They gave us some great information about upcoming grant opportunities for companies looking to open new export markets for their products. A Big Thanks to Caplan & Earnest for sponsoring this series. If you’d like to get on the mailing list for upcoming monthly events, please send me an email with Global Business Forum in the subject.
In August we’ll also be relaunching a series formerly known as Climate Leaders. The new series continues our partnership with the City of Boulder’s EnergySmart program to offer businesses tips and best practices for energy and cost efficiency. The new focus will be to address the specific needs of particular business sectors. Check for details, coming soon on the Chamber website. Don’t miss out on the naming contest for the program!
Boulder City Council Race Almost Underway From August 2nd to August 22nd, aspiring City Council candidates will be garnering the 25 Boulder voter signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. Five Council Members are up for reelection, Crystal Gray, George Karakehian, Lisa Morzel, Susan Osborne, and Ken Wilson. It seems likely that one or two may choose not to run. This means we may see a crowded field vying for the “open” positions and to unseat the incumbents. Check with your favorite Council Member or potential candidate to see if they are having a “signing party” at the Municipal Building in August.
The City is offering three trainings for potential candidates and committees. Check here for details. For many years aspiring local candidates for public office have come to the Chamber for its College of Political Knowledge series to learn about the realities, best practices and legal requirements of running a successful campaign. An archive of invaluable takeaways is available to anyone interested in becoming a candidate or campaign manager. Contact Angelique Espinoza at 303-442-1044 xt 122 for details.
