Boulder County is an environmental leader on Open Space and an innovator on mass transit incentives and bike paths. Yet, challenges persist related to population growth and a rapidly changing climate.
Here in Boulder County, we are just a little ahead of the curve when it comes to conserving water. Estimates of per-capita water use in the United States range between 80 and 100 gallons per capita per day.
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Those who live in Boulder, where most of the county’s jobs are, don’t own as many cars on average as others, who are more likely to commute to work.
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Xcel Energy has incrementally reduced the state’s energy supplied from coal, and continues to increase the amount of energy supplied by renewables. Progress in the shift of the Colorado energy supply must continue however in order to achieve 2020 projections and goals of a more renewable future.
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Since the early 2000s, about 65% of commuters from Boulder County have driven to work alone. The lack of affordable housing makes it harder to find convenient commuting alternatives.
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High housing prices where their jobs are located often make it difficult for Boulder County residents to live and work in the same city.
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More than two-thirds of Boulder County’s workforce lives in Boulder County. However, intra-county commuting creates significant traffic jams at rush hour for those commuting to Boulder.
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Nearly four in five Boulder County adult residents stay in Boulder County to work. The most popular commuting destinations outside the county are Broomfield and Denver.
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If you feel like your travel time is taking longer, that’s because it is. Our drive times continue to creep up from half an hour to up to an hour or in some cases longer.
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The vast majority of Eco-Pass holders in Boulder County receive their free rides thanks to their status as either CU students or employees of companies that sponsor them.
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Commercial buildings, followed by on road transportation are the biggest sectors that produce greenhouse gas emissions in the city of Boulder.
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The number of extreme heat days dipped significantly in 2014 and 2015, but started to climb again in 2016.
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In the city of Boulder, electricity generation (which primarily comes from burning fossil fuels), followed by stationary fuels are the two top sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
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While many Boulder County residents and businesses are making conscious choices to move toward zero waste, a little over half of our county's solid waste is still landfill.
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