Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Environmental Quality

Imagine it is 10 years from today. You have been Prime Minister of the Environment for 10 years. What have you accomplished? What partners have you worked with to achieve your goals? Have you tried to make Aspen a national or international model? Has that worked? What are you most proud of?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

In 20 years, Aspen would have dark night skies where the milky way can be seen clearly in all parts of town, while meeting safety and character goals.

Anonymous said...

in 20 years, aspen will be self sufficient and make all of its own energy. There will be fresh air everywhere, regardless of where you are in our valley and people will come here to enjoy the environment that you can't find anywhere else.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much aspen city planners for coming to our class today. It was a great experience and an even better feeling to know that we have a voice in our community.
We were told that aspen was recently tested and our air is some of the most polluted of all the small countries in the US. This information was not only disturbing but also disgusting. And I fear that if we do not take drastic measures, Aspen will no longer be the town we know and love. I think that we should try and create some limitations on the private jet use, since that seems to be a large contributer to our environmental issues. But I do think that initiatives such as the hybrid buses are a step in the right direction, and I would like to see more of the same kind.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much aspen city planners for coming to our class today. It was a great experience and an even better feeling to know that we have a voice in our community.
We were told that aspen was recently tested and our air is some of the most polluted of all the small countries in the US. This information was not only disturbing but also disgusting. And I fear that if we do not take drastic measures, Aspen will no longer be the town we know and love. I think that we should try and create some limitations on the private jet use, since that seems to be a large contributer to our environmental issues. But I do think that initiatives such as the hybrid buses are a step in the right direction, and I would like to see more of the same kind.

Anonymous said...

Ten years from now, if I was in charge, Aspen would be 100% renewable. There would be solar panels on every building; wind turbines on top of all the ski resorts. Everybody would take the bus. That would be perfect. I don't want to lose the snow!! It was really fun talking to you guys in civics class!!

Anonymous said...

Pd. 3 Civics

This past week I was able to meet with city planners with my class and discuss issues that matter to us. One of the groups I participated in was focused on the enviormental quality of Aspen in the future.
To my group a pedestiran oriented city was the idealized vision for the future. To spread on the mentality of an ecologically progressive city my group envisioned the towns future geared towards a pedestrian oriented place. By restricting the amount of private vehicles in the town itself we would be able to reduce traffic and our carbon footprint. As a small city with large ideals and an international reputation Aspen would set an example for changing lifestyles.
In order to make Aspen accessible to our large population of commuting work force we proposed an electric train similar to the light rail or magnetized trains in Asia and Europe. Not only would this reduce traffic but it would also reduce the commuting time and carbon emissions of the town.

Anonymous said...

I believe that the environment is the most precious thing we have in Aspen, it makes Aspen...Aspen. We need to prevent further damage to our community and by working together as we did in class, I believe we can achieve such goals.

Anonymous said...

I hope that in the coming years, Aspen will be able to get renewable energy for 100% of it usage. This could be possible by taxing planes or cars and using those funds to invest in energy. The air will still be clear and pristine, and the skies will still be unpolluted. Also, transportation from downvalley would be improved, making less exhaust be in the air.

Anonymous said...

I hope that in the coming years, Aspen will be able to get renewable energy for 100% of it usage. This could be possible by taxing planes or cars and using those funds to invest in energy. The air will still be clear and pristine, and the skies will still be unpolluted. Also, transportation from downvalley would be improved, making less exhaust be in the air.

Anonymous said...

I hope that in the next few years, Aspen will become more envornomentally oriented. Things like lightrail mass transit from the intercept lot could help drastically. Also the implementation of more wind energy on top of the mountains will help. Other things like geothermal and solar energy could reduce the need for fossil fuels since pure electricity is not currently used to hear homes. Finally, a tax on vacant secont homes would create an incentive to save energy. Soon, I hope, Aspen will be powered off of 100% renewable energy.

Anonymous said...

In the coming years I hope that Aspen will become 100% reliant on alternative energies such as wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal. Perhaps to achieve this, the city could give some sort of incentive for people and businesses to "go green". In the meantime (and to help with the transition to alternative energy), I think that there should be carbon emission restrictions for households and businesses.