Denver going green

Gary Gerhardt, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 12, 2006 at midnight

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Mayor John Hickenlooper this morning unveiled an ambitious environmental program, called "Greenprint Denver," that calls for hybrid fuel cars for the city fleet, converting diesel powered vehicles to bio-diesel fuels, planting a million trees in the next 20 years, and making Denver one of the most water-conservative cities in the nation.

In his third State of the City address, the mayor said there is a real danger this generation runs the risk of passing environmental problems to the next generation that are so great they can’t be solved.

To ensure it doesn’t happen, he said Greenprint Denver includes city, business, and citizen support.

Hickenlooper, who was a successful restaurateur before his election three years ago, said the environmental agenda could be accomplished in a strong business environment.

"It’s no longer just about white collar jobs and blue collar jobs, we’re talking about green collar jobs," the mayor said.

He said water conservation is the key to making it work and Denver Water will work with the city to cut use by 22 percent so there will be no need for new reservoirs.

Increasing the city's tree canopy is part of the plan, increasing the cover from 6 percent to 18 percent -- a million new trees planted in the next 20 years.

The completion of TREX and light rail projects will make riding bicycles, buses and rail an alternative to driving automobiles, Hickenlooper said.

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