Get Big Pivots

 Pitkin County thinks about smaller things, too

Amid the really big ticket items that go along with being a place where a house can go for $120 million, where more than 100 billionaires own property, and the per-capita income is third highest in the country, Pitkin County is a place where county commissioners notice even the small stuff of greenhouse gas emissions.

For example, the gas-burning stoves found among those outdoor dining places. At a recent meeting, County Commissioner Greg Poschman reported that he had heard that one slope-side eatery goes through 20 bottles of gas a day. Perhaps, the idea of using electric radiant heaters, as are already used at bus stops, might be suggested.

He got agreement from another commissioner, Patti Clapper, who reported the gas-burning fireplaces being used around an ice-skating rink on a day of temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees. “Nobody was cold,” she said. “It’s just an amenity like a pond at your house up Castle Creek.”

And in a similar vein, Poschman reported noticing how many hotels had internal-combustion-engine vehicles idling, waiting to whisk their clientele to various places. Electric vehicles would be ideal, he suggested as they do well in short ranges, have plentiful charging opportunities, and have proven reliability. Poschman has experience in that as he owns an EV.

Allen Best
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