The Telluride Watch
Published: 6/2/06
By Peter Kenworthy
In 2005, for the first time, more than half of the world’s
population lived in cities. Hyperurbanization, as it is called,
puts unprecedented stress on community and global resources
ranging from environmental impacts to strains on social and
economic systems. Unlike ever before, the sustainability of
those resources, worldwide, is at risk.
It was in 2005, as well, that the first steps were taken here
in San Miguel County to develop a baseline report on the state
of our region’s sustainability. With funding provided
by the Telluride, Mountain Village, and county governments,
as well as by the Telluride Foundation and the San Miguel Watershed
Coalition, the consulting company ICLEI – Local Governments
for Sustainability, began work last March on creating a sustainability
inventory – a comprehensive profile of the environmental,
economic, and social issues we face and the practices we have
in place relating to them. Based on that overview, which is
currently approaching finalization, both short-term and long-term
initiatives will be derived to help conserve natural resources
and preserve the region’s quality of life.
Nina Kothe, executive assistant to the Telluride town manager,
and one of the local sustainability project managers, said
the project, thus far, has proved to be “one of the most
rewarding” that she has ever worked on. She also considers
it one of the most comprehensive and multidisciplinary projects
ever undertaken here.
In addition to researching and soliciting information at the
governmental level, “visioning meetings” were held
with community leaders representing businesses, nonprofit organizations,
the schools, and the general public. From all the input gained,
196 research questions were developed to evaluate what “positive
strides in sustainability” we have taken as a community,
and what “challenges or barriers” stand in the
way of achieving sustainability. The areas of focus for the
questions ranged far and wide, from the obvious, such as affordable
housing, employment statistics and solid waste recycling, to
the more obscure, like three-year reviews of the causes
of death in the county and crime statistics.
In the introduction to its draft final report, the ICLEI consultants
define a sustainable community as “one where the integrity
of its natural resources is maintained over the long term,
the economy is prosperous, and residents enjoy a high quality
of life.”
As a report card, the sustainability inventory indicates,
essentially, that our region is a bright student, endowed with
abundant natural advantage and potential, but with a certain
bias toward underachievement. In some areas, such as air pollution,
cut by half during a period of rapid population growth and
a corresponding increase in traffic volume, we rank extremely
high in our class. In others, like housing costs and affordability,
we founder toward the class bottom.
Citing a 274 percent increase in the cost of an average single-family
home here since 1999, a price that now represents seven times
the average earning potential for area jobs, it is affordable
housing that ICLEI specifies “will continue to be the
largest sustainability issue in San Miguel County.”
That should come as no surprise and it is well documented
as a leading concern of citizens and public officials, alike.
There are several other areas, however, especially relating
to resource conservation, where our region faces significant
obstacles and that are not, generally, given the attention
and focus of housing. Other than the green building codes adopted
by Telluride and the county, for example, there are no incentive
programs in place to encourage households or businesses to
use alternative energy sources. Apart from some very limited
examples of solar or photovoltaic energy sources for residential
use, alternative energy is virtually unutilized with no examples
at all of commercial businesses that use hydro, geothermal,
wind or biomass sources.
Sustainable procurement – including the purchase and
promotion of environmentally sound goods and services, supporting
local businesses, to help the local economy while reducing
transportation costs and related fuel use and pollution, and
favoring alternative fuels and vehicles in procurement practices – is
not mandated by written policies or procedures by any of the
local governments.
In all, the ICLEI report itemizes a dozen priority concerns
in addition to housing and divides them between social, economic
and environmental headings. They include increasing preschools
and child care centers, better integrating the Hispanic community,
diversifying our tourist economy and retail businesses, setting
target reduction goals for greenhouse emissions, and developing
improved regional recycling. Individually, the challenges are
each significant. Taken as a whole, they are nothing less than
daunting.
Rube Felicelli, a Mountain Village councilmember and candidate
for county commissioner, is a declared proponent of sustainability.
He readily admits, however, that the scope of effort required
to achieve it can seem overwhelming and advocates approaching
sustainability in manageable increments.
“We as a community will have to look at small things
that we can bite off,” Felicelli said. “We need
to start small in order to have successes and then build on
them.”
County Commissioner Art Goodtimes said that he initially had
doubts about the efficacy of an inventory report but now believes
the report will be “very beneficial for the community.” Goodtimes
predicts that sustainability will be one of our “most
important directions,” and the focus of “increased
energy from the entire region.”
According to Kris Holstrom, one of the three original sustainability
advisory committee members, the next step is to hire a coordinator
to work with all the local jurisdictions in implementing an
agreed action plan. The coordinator position is also a key
recommendation from ICLEI.
“There’s tons to do,” Holstrom commented but
said that simply meant there was “plenty of room for progress.” She
called the inventory report “a good baseline,” and
said that the help it would provide toward approaching sustainability
goals was “a good, good thing.”
