OCTOBER 2019
Back in September, children around the world skipped school to attend their local strike against climate inaction. These strikes aimed to bring attention to the lack of impactful climate policies across the world in order to take steps toward climate mitigation and adaptation. Lead by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, this quickly became one of the largest environmental protests in history. The strike drew attention worldwide, and even led some countries to make commitments to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions more quickly than previously pledged.
Here at Lotus, we’re committed to working with communities to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions and develop strategies for tangible and impactful reductions in these emissions. We specialize in working directly with our clients to understand their communities and create plans that are tailored to their needs and capacity. And we’re not just focused on Colorado; we’re currently working across state lines with the City of Las Cruces, New Mexico to help complete a greenhouse gas inventory and develop greenhouse gas reduction strategies. Continue reading to learn more about this exciting project!
Project Highlight - Las Cruces, NM Aims to Understand, Reduce the City’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Las Cruces, New Mexico, located in southwest New Mexico, is the state’s second largest city and home to New Mexico State University. Lotus is working to complete a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the City, and also to develop greenhouse gas reduction targets and strategies. This work will help the City understand its carbon footprint, identify and implement ways to reduce its carbon footprint, gain community buy-in, and inform future policy and programs. Throughout the process of identifying emission reduction strategies, a Task Force of local experts and leaders in sustainability will provide guidance and feedback on the development of the strategies. We will also work with a broader group of community stakeholders to vet these strategies and identify the steps towards implementation.
One of the first and most important steps in the process of understanding what strategies are most relevant for the community is identifying the community’s values and determining how emission reduction strategies may have an impact on equity. In Las Cruces, a diverse community that sits close to the border with Mexico, ensuring that emission mitigation has the dual impact of improving the quality of life for every community member is a strong value that will help guide the process of identifying relevant emission reduction strategies. Based on information in the emissions inventory, the biggest share of community emissions comes from the transportation sector, and specifically from gasoline-powered vehicles. By considering strategies that reduce single occupancy vehicle use, make it easier for the community to move around in people-powered forms of transportation, and improve access to public transportation, the community can realize both emission reductions, while also reducing the cost of transportation, improving access to multi-modal options, and improving air quality, particularly near major roadways.
We are thrilled to be supporting this work and, while in the early stages of strategy development, are very excited to see how climate mitigation can also enhance equity and improve quality of life in the community.
Lotus Blog - Equity vs. Equality Parts 1 & 2, What does it all Mean?
Equity and equality are terms sometimes used in the same context in our society. In a general sense, they both suggest the idea of everything being fair or even; however, they mean different things. Our most recent blog posts help to give an understanding of the difference between the terms equity and equality, and how those terms are used in the sustainability realm and in the evaluation of emission reductions and climate adaptation strategies. Discover the link between Equity and Equality in the Blogs section of our website!
Lotus is Growing!
Lotus welcomed Rachel Meier to the team in September! Rachel brings expertise in spatial analysis, data visualization and sustainability planning to the Lotus team. Prior to joining Lotus, Rachel completed her Masters of the Environment (MENV) degree at the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2017 and spent time with The Nature Conservancy in New Mexico working on projects related to electric vehicle charging station planning, urban heat island mitigation, and post-wildfire reforestation. When she’s not crunching numbers in Excel or drafting infographics in Illustrator, you can find Rachel on the trails hiking, out on a paddleboard, trying to stay upright while skiing down the slopes, or listening to live music somewhere along the Front Range.
Lotus in the Community
Don’t miss out on Denver’s 2019 Sustainability Summit on December 5 at the Colorado Convention Center! Come see some of the incredible work happening across the Front Range and statewide, and say hi to Julia and Rachel from the Lotus team!
Inspiring or Noteworthy News
We’ve seen hurricanes create wide swaths of devastation in the Southeast and in the Bahamas, and we set a record for the hottest September on record here in Colorado. There has also been an increased emphasis on climate policies both at the local level and in the Democratic presidential debates. Please see below for just some of the many articles with sustainability and climate action at the forefront that we found interesting.
Local News
Colorado recently voted to adopt California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program, mandating five percent of the state’s vehicle sales to be zero- or low-emission vehicles by 2023.
The City and County of Denver is taking steps to address climate change, announce new Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency.
WalletHub releases its Greenest Cities in America list, ranking Denver at #29.
A new water pipeline, planned to transfer water from the San Luis Valley to Douglas County in the Front Range, is being met with opposition from local farmers.
Advertising push for Proposition DD aims to clarify how tax on sports betting will fund Colorado’s Water Plan.
National News
A new report from the Urban Land Institute outlines how extreme heat will impact the real estate industry in the US and the key role that the industry plays in creating heat-resilient cities.
Cities across the country are adopting more stringent building codes in order to address and reduce energy use in buildings.
Here’s a look at 5 energy companies that are changing the face of renewables in 2019.
The US now has its first all-electric fuel station.
Honolulu is preparing for sea level rise and mitigation as the most recent UN report shows that communities like it will be greatly impacted by the changing climate.
The weekly Energy Gang podcast devoted a recent episode to exploring how batteries are becoming a new normal for grid operators to enhance resiliency, flexibility, and energy storage.
Despite a wet winter in 2018/19, Lake Mead is projected to fall below 1,090 ft by January 1, 2020 and will trigger water cutbacks for Arizona and Nevada in 2020.
Axios gives an overview of CNN’s marathon Climate Town Hall from September 4.
According to new polling from the group Climate Nexus, 7 in 10 American voters support government action to address climate change.
Carbon Brief explores the use of net-zero emission targets, and the need for separate targets for emissions reductions and emissions capture in order to ensure that we focus on near-term opportunities to reduce emissions first.
A new report from ACEEE shows that energy efficiency alone has the potential to cut US energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050.
ACEEE has also released a new policy brief detailing the problem of affordable energy in the US, and some policy options to solve this issue.
Global News
Greenland’s ice sheet has melted a record amount this year.
The Lower Darling River in New South Wales, Australia is on the brink of environmental collapse as the government orders relocation of the river’s native fish population.
Hurricane Dorian devastates the Bahamas, 70,000 Bahamians require assistance.
Meet some of the other inspiring young climate activists from around the world.
The recent UN Climate Summit resulted in commitments from several small countries, a moving speech from a young climate activist, but little movement from the world’s biggest polluters.
Budweiser UK/Ireland is spending big money to eliminate plastic rings on beer cans by 2020.
We always appreciate your feedback, and any opportunity to support your work on climate action and sustainability. Please reach out to us with questions or comments. Also, if you have an interesting article that you think is worth sharing, please send it to us and we may include it in a future newsletter. Thank you!