5 questions

for climate adviser Heidi VanGenderen

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 7, 2007 at midnight

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In April, Gov. Bill Ritter installed Heidi VanGenderen as his "climate czarina," with the formal title of senior policy adviser on climate change and energy. It's the first such position in Colorado. VanGenderen has worked in natural resources for more than 20 years, most recently as senior associate to the Wirth Chair in Environmental and Community Development Policy at the University of Colorado.

1 What will you be doing in your new job?

The charge for me is to essentially coordinate the creation, and oversee the implementation, of an effective climate action plan for the state of Colorado. The good news is the (key to) a good climate plan is a sound energy strategy, and the governor has more than demon- strated his commitment to a new energy economy in Colorado. It was an outstanding (legislative) session in terms of good energy policy.

2 Why should we sacrifice in a small state like Colorado if a massive country like China isn't going to make changes as well?

I guess I'm of the mind that while I may not have huge control over what China does, I do have the ability to affect what happens in my backyard. We should tend to our own house before casting stones across the ocean at China. In the global economy, the U.S. is going to fare well if it takes the opportunity of helping China leapfrog the fossil- fuel era.

3 What do you say to those who remain skeptical of global warming?

The science of climate change will never be able to predict (future climate) with 100 percent certainty. My question for skeptics is, do they really want to take the chance? Change is very hard for most people. This clearly represents change, and change is inevitable. The question is, are we going to seize the opportunity to help guide the change, or let it happen to us?

4 One of your recent roles has been deputy director of the Presidential Climate Action Project, with a primary focus on presenting an agenda to the next U.S. president. Is that to say you've given up on President Bush?

(The project) is aimed at the expectation that there will be a new occupant of the White House in January 2009. A lot of the action on climate change has come from the state and local levels over the last eight years in the absence of effective action at the federal level. What you see is an emerging international community coming around on this, but you've got the United States as the primary culprit, with 5 percent of the world's population contributing 25 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The United States has a particular opportunity and responsibility to act on this, given the role that we play.

5 What kind of adjustments have you made in your life?

I try to practice a lot of ecological awareness in my own life and my family's life. It ranges from the clothesline in the backyard to the hybrid vehicle, to thinking very carefully about my own transportation options when I need to get somewhere, to composting, to the purchase of organic material, to the fact the house is 100 percent renewable (energy) powered through (Xcel's wind energy program). Pretty much anything I can think of or be aware of we try to act on.

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