The Colorado Carbon Fund, brainchild of the Governor’s Energy Office, seemed to become a more tangible, richer thing at the University of Colorado last week when CU pledged to spend about $50,000 on carbon offsets from the Fund. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter was even on hand to talk about it.

But what is it? Well, it’s an idea.

The Colorado Carbon Fund was started by the Governor’s Energy Office as a localized alternative to Renewable Energy Credits that would help Colorado make strides toward more voluntary environmentally-sound practices on a large scale.

Credits, which can be bought from middlemen like Community Energy, CU’s dealer over the past, function kind of like retroactive investments in renewable energy. For example, the credits that CU had been buying helped alleviate, in part, the startup costs of a wind farm in southeastern Colorado, according to Susan Innis, program manager of the Colorado Carbon Fund.

The new Carbon Fund functions differently. It’s designed to enable local entities like CU to help pay for local carbon offset projects. Innis gave the example of improving insulation in homes in Colorado to help preserve energy that would heat them.

“We obtain those carbon offsets from those projects and we would sell them to you,” Innis said. The functions of Renewable Energy Credits and the carbon offsets offered by the Colorado Carbon Fund are quite similar, in that they both provide money and encouragement for carbon-cutting measures, but the Colorado Carbon Fund would focus its efforts on local projects.

The CU Environmental Center learned about the Carbon Fund’s plans and opted not to renew their contract with Community Energy.

“We’re looking at a number of different certification standards and protocols for measuring,” Innis said. “There are some widely accepted methodologies for calculating greenhouse gas emissions.”

An advisory board that the Governor’s Energy Office will soon assemble will decide which standards to use, but three well-known programs they’re already looking at include the Gold Standard, the Voluntary Carbon Standard and the Green E Climate, she said.

More soon, as we talk to Dave Newport, director of the Environmental Center at CU.

ChicagoEye, via Flickr (CC License)

Anyone can think more like a reporter, without necessarily having to look like one!

A community journalism project is, by definition, a collective venture. To truly succeed, knowledge gained by some has to find its way across to the whole group.

That’s why we, the founders of Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker, want to share with you some of our perspective about journalistic practice, along with guidelines for contributors to this group effort.

Over time, with your help, we hope to improve and expand on these key points, and add more.

Read on, and please share your own thoughts and questions…

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FBZ, via Flickr (CC license)

Despite what you read in the papers, news doesn’t really arrive all wrapped up with a bow. Technorati Profile

Since Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker is a community journalism project, we’ll sometimes do things here quite differently from what you’d see in traditional news outlets.

Contrary to what you often experience when reading a newspaper, news and information almost never arrives in a neat, complete package. In traditional journalism, the stories you read usually are the result of a great deal of research, consultation with sources, and back-and-forth between writers and editors. Generally the finished product reveals only the results of that process.

In contrast, this site’s coverage and discussion of the unfolding issue of how Boulder is spending (and what we’re getting for) our carbon tax dollars will lay the process of journalism bare… (more…)

Amy Gahran

Buses idling in downtown Boulder.

Sometimes, environmental issues literally hit you in the face. Even so, they may not always be exactly what they seem. This is why “digging” is a crucial part of citizen journalism.

A couple of weeks ago I was having lunch with local science writer Catherine Dold at an outdoor table of the South Side Walnut Cafe. While we sat there, a large delivery truck pulled up in front of the restaurant. While the driver got out to make the delivery, that truck sat idling — emitting considerable noise and smelly fumes — for about 20 minutes. No kidding.

This annoyed us, and it got us wondering what impact lengthy bus and truck idling has on local air pollution — including, of course, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

Then last week, as I sat at a Denver airport bus stop waiting for a Skyride back to Boulder after a long flight home, I chatted with an older gentleman who was also waiting for a bus. As we sat there, RTD bus after RTD bus would pull up and sit idling for anywhere from three to 12 minutes. He started coughing and grumbled, “You know, we’re paying for all that diesel fuel they’re burning up just sitting there.”

Fumes from large idling diesel vehicles are something you can’t help but notice, even in Boulder — especially if you use mass transit regularly. They’re an attention-getting annoyance. But how much do they really contribute to local greenhouse gas emissions?

I’m just starting to look into this angle, but I’d like to share my digging process with you. Here’s what I’ve learned so far…

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