Springs ranked low on green scale

We need to green up our act in Colorado Springs.

A nationwide study by environmental group SustainLane ranked Colorado Springs 43rd out of the 50 most populous U.S. cities for sustainability in a report issued Monday. Denver ranked 11th.

SustainLane looked at 16 areas, from traffic congestion to bus ridership to water and air quality to local climate change policy. Colorado Springs received few high marks.

We were 47th in mass transit ridership. Recycling, 48th. Energy and climate change policy, 31st. City innovation, 42nd.

In 2006, the year of the group's last report, Colorado Springs was 26th nationwide. Only Las Vegas had a bigger drop from 2006.

"Colorado Springs needs to address a few key sustainability concerns," states the report. "It can start by working to get its near 80 percent of drive-alone work-commuters out of their cars and onto public transit, and by increasing the availability of local nutritious food for its residents."

The report also cited Colorado Springs' heavy reliance on coal for electricity - nearly 70 percent of Colorado Springs Utilities' power comes from coal. Another factor hurting Colorado Springs was the addition of a water supply criteria. Colorado Springs, which gets much of its water from reservoirs high in the mountains, was ranked 43rd. Distance from water supply, reliance on snowpack, vulnerability to drought and high population growth were considered negative factors.

Reports were based on statistics and federal reporting, as well as interviews with residents and local officials and SustainLane staff analyses of local programs.

"There's not a lot going on in terms of innovation in the city," said James Elsen, president and CEO of San Francisco-based SustainLane.

The report noted some steps toward sustainability. City Council this year added promoting "sustainable policies and practices" to its strategic plan. The city launched a greenhouse-gas inventory. The city-owned Colorado Springs Utilities is on the path toward generating 10 percent of power from renewable sources by 2020, as required by state law. Not mentioned in the report were a greater reliance on ethanol in city vehicles, more than 100, and the fact trash haulers are increasing curbside recycling programs here.

City planners are drawing up a sustainability plan, and the city has formed a "Green Team," which hosted a well-attended community sustainability fair this month, said Craig Blewitt, comprehensive planning manager.

"I can tell you there's a commitment in this community, in this organization, to be smart with our resources," Blewitt said.

Elsen said many other cities are beyond the planning stages, with full-time sustainability coordinators.

"Colorado Springs could actually have improved in certain areas, but fell overall because other cities on the list are moving more quickly than Colorado Springs," Elsen said.

Steve Saint is facilitator of the Green Cities Coalition, a group of 125 organizations and individuals who have been meeting for a year to brainstorm ways to make Colorado Springs more environmentally friendly.

"It looks like a lot of other cities are doing a lot more, and we could be doing a lot more and we'd get our ranking back," Saint said after reading the report. "I'm seeing progress, but it's been a little slow and some of us are getting a little impatient."

Expanding the opportunities for mass transit is one of their primary goals.

"We've got to go from a transit system that's there for those poor devils who don't have a car to a transit system that helps people get out of their cars," Saint said. "If you want to get out of your car today, you would be hard pressed to in Colorado Springs."

The only criteria for which Colorado Springs was ranked among the best was in vulnerability to natural disasters. We came in seventh.

Drought was not considered a natural disaster for the study.

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CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-1605 or srappold@gazette.com


U.S. CITIES RANKED BY SUSTAINABILITY

THE TOP 10
1. Portland, Ore.
2. San Francisco
3. Seattle
4. Chicago
5. New York
6. Boston
7. Minneapolis
8. Philadelphia
9. Oakland, Calif.
10. Baltimore

THE BOTTOM 10
41. Arlington, Texas
42. Long Beach, Calif.
43. Colorado Springs
44. Indianapolis
45. Virginia Beach, Va.
46. Memphis, Tenn.
47. Las Vegas
48. Tulsa, Okla.
49. Oklahoma City
50. Mesa, Ariz.