Headwaters will be a featured exhibitor at this year’s GEO conference at the Colorado Convention Center. Drop by to learn how we can help you access a variety of new state and federal programs to support local government sustainability programs. We will be sharing space with Placematters, an exciting local nonprofit that provides computer modeling and other tools for community land use decision making.

Hope to see you there!

In the months following the selection of Denver as the host city for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I worked to lay the groundwork for it to be the greenest convention ever - supporting Mayor Hickenlooper’s early greening pitch to DNCC chair Howard Dean and organizing a group of advocates and supporters to get the effort underway. Since leaving my role as Greenprint Denver founding Director in June of 2007, life has been relatively quiet. I’ve enjoyed building a new business, being in the private sector, walking to work, supporting local and national clients with sustainability strategy needs and working on a book contract.

But next week the Democratic National Convention comes to Denver, and it’s impossible not to get caught up in the transformation in the city as it prepares for 30,000 guests, and the wild proliferation of “green” events and opportunities related to this historic event.  Read more »

One of the more insidious aspects of the recent “green” p.r. rush is the frequent description of “green” attributes as luxury goods and the related sense that somehow, environmental health and leadership are amenities available only to those who can pay for them. That being green requires having green.

While it’s true that green buildings sometimes cost more up front, the premium paid for related benefits is generally recouped through reduced energy bills and increased productivity in 2-4 years, after which the savings represent a significant net gain to owners and residents.

For this reason, there is strong and growing interest by both public and private sectors in the benefits of “green” affordable housing: units that are built in order to minimize monthly energy costs and maximize indoor air quality. Those who stand to benefit the most from reduced monthly energy bills are, of course those with the lowest monthly incomes.  Read more »

Where has spring gone?  Read more »

One of the challenges faced by businesses and governments as we move toward a post-carbon society is that the rules and standards seem to keep changing. As with the organics industry in the early 1980s, it is difficult to identify what “sustainable business” really means, how it is best measured, and how to compare the actions of one company with those of another with any kind of similar yardstick.

There are a handful of widely recognized products (ISO 14001, GRI, Six Sigma) that track, analyze and allow apples-to-apples reporting on company operations practices, but for most consumer products no single standard has yet prevailed. This leaves room in the current “green rush” for misleading marketing, and for brand competition as companies position themselves to fill the void.  Read more »

If a picture is worth more than a thousand words, then these videos focusing on global warming and energy conservation should hit their mark in this era of YouTube, viral marketing, and multimedia messaging. But are they effective at changing individual behavior? You be the judge:  Read more »

My grandfather Julian Conover was a mining lobbyist in the glory days of the mining industry. Old photographs show him on a cruise ship in the 1940s standing with FDR’s Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (the father of the Clinton appointee of the same name), no doubt convincing him of the merits of the 1872 mining law that has caused environmentalists so many problems.He was also a member of something called The Old Timers Club, formed in 1938, the written purpose of which was to “perpetuate friendships formed within the coal industry and to promote worthy activities directed toward the betterment of coal mining.”

Grandpa was a geologist in an era when mining was big business in the US, and protecting the interests of coal (and other mineral) mines was his job. That meant keeping regulation to a minimum. Colorado was built, in part, on that extractive industry. Today, Colorado is leading the way in the mitigation of the carbon emissions produced by burning coal and other fossil fuels. Mitigating carbon emissions, whether voluntarily or by regulatory requirement (as in California) , has become a major concern for companies around the world, and a major business enterprise at home.

Coal is still relatively plentiful, as you know if you’ve ever had to wait for a coal train to pass a road crossing in Colorado. And yet, as a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, conventional coal is facing increasing regulatory and financial pressure. Utilities, the primary users of coal for electricity, are canceling or delaying plans for new coal-powered plants, instead seeking greater efficiencies in existing plants, and encouraging conservation among their customers to lower demand. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the fact that banks are now putting a price on carbon emissions when assessing financing for coal plants and other high emission investments - a new risk factor for lending, and one that business can’t afford to ignore.

What’s it all mean to you and me and the carbon produced between us?  Read more »