With1400 kilometers of bike paths in the metro area, Denver is among the mostbike-friendly cities in the United States.On inlate June, 35,000 Denverites road bikes to their jobs., who became mayor of Denver five years ago,was one of them.
Hickenlooperis among 850 mayors from across the United States who have pledged to addressthe impact of .
Lastyear, he initiated "," a 5-year citywide plan to reduce global warming emissions by 20 percent.
"Wehave got to stay focused and make sure that we are not wasting energy," hesays,"Greenprint Denver is [aplan] to get all the city agencies working together to make sure that we areaddressing everything the most efficient way possible."
"Theyare doing that through renewable energy programs, water conservation, greeninghomes and businesses, expanding recycling, planting a million trees andbuilding green, "says Michele Weingarden, who heads the program.
Shesays Greenprint Denver did an inventory of the city's that helped identify special projects to lower the city's carbon footprint.
Peoplein the metro area not only understand the problem of climate change, they arecommitted to solving it.Recently,citizens voted to raise taxes to pay for a 200-kilometer extension in Denver's.
Hickenloopersays 32 mayors in the metropolitan area supported the extension."Republicans and Democrats, from little tinytowns and big cities, every mayor supported it because we realized we are herefor a quality of life."
In aformer warehouse in Denver's historic district ,John Powers runs the. "The intention was to create a hub fornon-profits," he says."Wealso wanted to make it a healthy building.So that is why we made it green."
Usingoff-the-shelf technologies, the Alliance has turned its 1906 building into amodel for 21st century energy efficiency.Power says electric use is down 40 percent and water consumption down 90percent."That is prettyamazing," he says."When youconsider that there are double the number of people working in the buildingbefore we got it and easily ten times the number of visitors."
In abuilding tour, Powers points out strategically placed signs in the corridors,in the bathrooms and offices that explain the technologies being usedhere.He says it's an effort to getconsumers to make some changes."Thefeatures are wonderful and important to show people what they can do in theirown lives, but actually we use them like honey to attract bees to show peoplethe value and importance of collaboration in a healthy environment andsetting."
DemocraticNational Convention organizers expect to put on the , one that will set the standard for future such events.City officials are hoping that visitors anddelegates will take home some green ideas ? from the flower planters, recyclebins and bike paths to the transit system, solar arrays and sustainablebuildings ? so Denver's green solutions will flourish across the country.