Boulder’s initative to cut greenhouse gasses has a fabulous-looking public face in the ClimateSmart web site launched last September. Only trouble is, behind the handsomely designed and info-rich site, it appears there’s virtually no “community” in this community effort!

We here at Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker certainly understand that problem. Cultivating a vibrant online community is a real beast. You may have noticed that we’ve been having a hard time with that ourselves. Still, it’s a beast that must be tamed if educational programs like Climate Smart that rely on participation and buy-in from local citizens are to truly succeed.

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Today’s Daily Camera features two editorials by associate editor Clint Talbott on Boulder’s latest greenhouse gas emissions inventory.

In Open that Database!, Talbott supports and amplifies my earlier request for the complete emission inventory database from the city. (Thanks!) Regarding the city’s claim that this database is proprietary, he wrote:

“In diplomatic terms, Gahran objected to the denial, arguing that the full inventory is a public document. She is right. The data upon which the city will measure the progress of its tax-funded emissions program is clearly a matter of public concern. It should be treated as a matter of public record.”

As I noted this morning, we seem to be making progress toward getting access to that inventory — not direct access at this point, but the city is will to supply data in answer to specific questions. That’s a start, and it’s my impression that the city intends to work with us on that in good faith.

However, I still intend to push for direct access to the database. I explained that in a comment I posted to Talbott’s first editorial… (more…)

Salt Lake City temple at dusk

Public radio station KCPW in Salt Lake City gave over a live, 20-minute midday interview segment yesterday, June 29, to our Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker project. Blair Feulner, station president and host of the KCPW’s Midday Utah segment, interviewed me about the project, with a focus on Boulder’s global warming initiative and the journalistic challenges of covering it, as well as the basic ideas behind citizen journalism.

Feulner described the project nicely in his intro as a “new way to combine digital journalism and community interaction. … the web-based project is meant to keep the focus on this single community issue, and add to the dialogue a variety of opinions from many sources, including the public, professionals, and city government. The idea is to go beyond the spotty media coverage important community concerns often get.”

Hear the full interview.

mediainfo.com

Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker just received high praise from a major news-industry magazine. Thanks!

Editor & Publisher, a leading publication about the newspaper industry, just published a thoughtful and very positive column about Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker. See: Knight People To Help Build Digital Communities, by veteran new-media analyst Steve Outing.

The best part about this column is that Outing managed to articulate a larger aim and potential application of this project, which Adam Glenn and I haven’t really articulated well. Here’s what Outing said, in part…

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