City wants the public’s input on energy plans
Aug 2nd
Boulder’s Energy Future news
Public input requested; help evaluate the work plan
The City of Boulder is asking for the public’s help in reviewing the draft work plan created to help guide the exploration of potentially forming a municipal electric utility. The city is strongly committed to ensuring a high level of community awareness and engagement throughout this important process, and is looking for effective ways to include community feedback.
The goal of the work plan is to guide the major tasks and activities that must be accomplished in order to deliver a recommended municipalization strategy to City Council.
The draft work plan is available on the Energy Future project website – www.BoulderEnergyFuture.com. Comments are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7. To provide input on the plan, use the project’s online comment form or send an e-mail to energyfuture@bouldercolorado.gov.
The draft work plan with community feedback incorporated will be presented to City Council at a Study Session on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
The city values our community’s perspectives and welcomes all feedback on the plan and project.
New edition of Energy Future newsletter available
The latest edition of Boulder’s Energy Future Today newsletter is now available online at www.BoulderEnergyFuture.com. Printed versions are available at various city buildings around town, including all libraries, recreation and senior centers, and the Municipal Building Lobby – 1777 Broadway. Articles in this edition include:
- A proposed strategy for enhanced Climate Action Plan (CAP) programs beginning in 2013
- Municipalization exploration update
- Your CAP tax dollars at work, specifically a finding by consultants about how the money has been spent to date
- An update on the Commercial Energy Efficiency Strategy
- Energy saving tips
Monthly newsletters will be created and distributed throughout the duration of the project. Sign up for the project e-mail list atwww.BoulderEnergyFuture.com to receive an electronic version of the newsletter and frequent project updates.
Second reading of the CAP tax renewal ballot language Aug. 7
City Council will hear the second reading of the proposed Climate Action Plan (CAP) tax renewal ballot language at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7, in City Council Chambers, 1777 Broadway. Public feedback will be heard at this meeting.
The current CAP tax, set to expire in March 2013, has been used to fund energy efficiency and conservation programs and services for residential, commercial and industrial electrical customers in Boulder for the past five years. These programs include EnergySmart and 10 for Change.
The city, with the help of consultants and the community, recently recommended a set of packages and programs that could be funded if the tax were renewed. Information on the recommended package and a historical analysis of CAP tax funds is available in the May 22 and July 24 information packets presented to City Council. Both packets and all consultant reports are available at www.BoulderEnergyFuture.com.
–CITY–
Six puppies test positive for Parvovirus in Boulder
Aug 1st
Animal Control offers prevention tips
The Boulder Police Department’s Animal Control Unit is notifying dog owners about potential Parvovirus (also called Parvo) among some dogs in the city.
At least six puppies have tested positive for the virus, and one has died. The others are undergoing veterinary treatment. The infected dogs were in the area of 9th and Canyon, near the library and municipal building.
Boulder’s Animal Control Unit says vaccinated dogs are at a very low risk of contracting the disease. If your dog is not current on vaccinations, there is a higher risk of exposure. Talk to your veterinarian if you have concerns or questions about whether your pet is current on shots.
Parvovirus is a serious viral disease. It is extremely contagious and the risk of exposure is a year-round issue. Parvo is most often an intestinal disease, but the virus can also infect the heart muscles. Sometimes an infected dog doesn’t show any symptoms of the virus, although it generally presents itself quickly (sometimes as soon as 12 hours) after a dog has been exposed.
Signs of intestinal Parvo include:
- Lethargy
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhea (usually bloody and foul-smelling
- Fever
- Intussusception– this is when a section of the animal’s intestinal tract telescopes into itself. This is an emergency which requires immediate veterinary attention.
There is no cure for Parvovirus. Veterinarians can give fluids orally if the infection is mild, or subcutaneously (under the skin) if dehydration is more extreme. Anti-vomiting medications, antibiotics and blood/plasma transfusions are also used in treatment.
Parvo is spread by dog-to-dog contact and contact with contaminated feces. People can carry the virus on their hands and clothes if they pet an infected dog or touch the leash or collar of an infected dog. The virus can also be carried on the bottoms of shoes if a person steps on feces or contaminated dirt, and can be transmitted from shoes to homes, workplaces and other areas.
The virus can remain “live” for up to seven months, so it’s important to properly disinfect areas which may have been exposed to the virus. Household bleach is the best disinfectant for surfaces like countertops and floors, or the bottoms of shoes. The dilution formula is one part bleach to 30 parts water. (Be careful with fabrics). Never, ever use the bleach solution on an animal. For people who are sensitive to the smell of bleach, there are commercially-available Parvovirus disinfectants which don’t smell as strong.
The best way to prevent your dog from becoming infected with Parvovirus is to vaccinate against the disease. Talk to your veterinarian if you have questions or need recommendations for your pet.
Population growth unsustainable, says CU prof, and the end will not be pretty
Jul 31st
“You cannot sustain population growth. It’s not debatable,” says University of Colorado Boulder Professor Emeritus Al Bartlett. “It’s based on arithmetic. It’s not debatable unless you want to debate arithmetic.”
In an educational video entitled “Population, Consumption, and Climate: A Conversation with Al Bartlett,” the professor reprises themes from his notorious talk on population. Bartlett came to CU-Boulder in 1950 to join the Department of Physics. In the 1950s and today, he notes society and governments view steady growth as the centerpiece of the global economy.
“I got to thinking about the fact that people didn’t really understand the arithmetic of steady growth,” he said. “So I put together a talk. I first gave it in September of 1969 on the arithmetic of growth.”
Bartlett has since delivered that well-known lecture more than 1,700 times to audiences worldwide. He often cites an analogy of human population growth and multiplying bacteria. Using an animation that shows bacteria doubling over a fixed period of time, the video illustrates the arithmetic of steady growth and how quickly resources are depleted as growth continues.
“There will be limits,” cautions Bartlett.
The world population topped 7 billion in March 2012, according to the United States Census Bureau. Bartlett explains that despite the fact that population growth rates in developing countries may be 3-4 times higher than the U.S. rates, a significant problem with population resides in the United States because of high per capita demand for energy and resources.
“The average child born in the United States will have, over its lifetime, 10-20 times the impact on world resources as a child born in an underdeveloped nation,” he says. “So we’ve got to address the problem at home.”
In addition to the strain on the earth’s natural resources, excessive consumption contributes to climate change because resource extraction, manufacturing, and transportation produce a great deal of carbon dioxide. And, according to Bartlett, “if any fraction of global warming can be attributed to the actions of humans, that’s all the proof you need to say the human population today is greater than the carrying capacity of the earth.”
Population, Consumption, and Climate: A Conversation with Al Bartlett is part of a video series viewable at Learn More About Climate, produced by CU-Boulder’s Office for University Outreach and Landlocked Films.
The Learn More About Climate initiative brings climate change-related information to communities across the state.The website is an online outreach tool that localizes climate change through interviews with leading scientists and everyday Coloradans to explain how climate change is affecting our state. The site also offers resources for teachers, students, policy makers, and community members who want to learn more about this critical issue.
