This
document is a student project created in connection with a course at The Colorado
College. It has not been altered in any form from the original document submitted
by the student and is here on the web for STUDENT USE ONLY. No parts of this
document may be used or reproduced in any form without written permission
of the instructor, Sharon Hall. To email Dr. Hall, click here
Measuring Sustainability in Colorado Springs, CO
Bridget Sullivan-Stevens
November 20, 2001
Measuring Sustainability in Colorado Springs
Bridget Sullivan-Stevens
Abstract
Over the past fifteen years Colorado Springs has
experienced a dramatic growth in population. The development that has occurred along with this growth has
not always occurred in a sustainable manner threatening the wealth of
ecological and natural treasures present in Colorado Springs. To ensure the protection of valuable
resources for the present and future generations projects and work is needed to
make Colorado Springs a sustainable city.
Essential to work concerning making and maintaining sustainability in
the city is the development and use of sustainable indicators.
Sustainable
indicators are different from traditional indicators in that they recognize the
complex link between society, economy and the environment. I have picked sustainable indicators
that are directly related to the projects created by my fellow classmates. These indicators address their overall
themes of education, agriculture, waste management, water use, energy,
transportation and community. I
gathered data for many of these indicators, but due to time constraints and
lack of data I was not able to gather information on all of the
indicators. The data that I
gathered on specific indicators paints a picture of the current state of
sustainability in Colorado Springs.
The information shows that Colorado Springs is doing moderately well in
regards to sustainability but there are many areas in which the city can
improve.
Colorado Springs, CO is a unique city that posses
a wealth of ecological treasures.
In resent years the city has experienced dramatic growth in both
population and development. The
Clean Air Campaign of Colorado Springs has compiled a significant amount of
information regarding the current state of Colorado Springs in regards to
resent growth rates and development.
The Springs population has grown over the past ten years at an average
annual rate of 2.8%, three times the national average.[1] As a result urban area of the city is
increasing one square mile a year and an average of 3,000 homes are built
annually severely altering the natural state of the land and habitats.[2] Places of employment and commercial
sectors continue to be highly separated from places of residents creating an
overall pattern of low-density use.[3]
The large infrastructure system (roads, schools, parks and other amenities)
needed to support this growth has not been able to keep pace and the backlog is
estimated at $800 million dollars.[4]
Hand in hand with Colorado Springs population
growth comes an increased demand for electricity. Between 1990 and 2000 the amount of coal burned in Colorado
Springs increased by 150,000 tons.[5] In 2000 the gasoline and diesel fuel
use increased 4.1% and enough was burned to fill 75% of the Empire State
Building.[6] Currently every person in Colorado
Springs on average uses 31 barrels of crude oil per year. Fundamental studies conducted by the
Clean Air Campaign concluded that the current lifestyles of the cities citizens
would require an additional 39 barrels of crude oil annually per person.[7]
Annually half a billion dollars, that could be used to improve the Colorado Springs
community if energy efficiency was improved, is spent to purchase non-renewable
energy from non-local suppliers.
The growth that Colorado Springs is experiencing
is not sustainable. In order to
insure that that the ecological treasures, natural beauty and health of
Colorado Springs environment and citizens is preserved for todays as well as
future generations, a sustainable development plan must be implemented. In this
course we have examined specific aspects of the Colorado Springs community, and
what projects could be implemented in order to make the city more
sustainable. These projects
encompass seven main categories: sustainable education, urban agriculture,
waste management, water use, energy, transportation and community
involvement. This paper will
examine sustainable indicators specifically related to each of these seven
categories. For each of these
seven categories I have identified economic, social and environmental
indicators but many of the indicators overlap into more than one of these
areas. An indicators placement
within a given category is not of dramatic significance but what it tells us
about our community is, and it only emphasis the interconnectedness of the
categories. I have compiled data
for the indicators when it was available to me, but for many of the indicators
that are of significant importance there is currently no data available. As a result I will also provide
suggestions as to how this data could be gathered.
What is Sustainable Development?
There are numerous definitions of sustainable
development but they all posses similar elements. It is important to understand that sustainable development
is not purely and “environmental” movement, but a community movement.[8] Sustainable development is a process of
continually improving the way we live so that we respect the reality of limits,
whether those limits are imposed by nature or embraced voluntarily by people
living together in cooperation and democracy.[9] The concept recognizes humans as
a part of the ecosystem, and that we need to learn to integrate our economic
and social lives into the environment in a way that not only maintains but
enhances the environment for current and future generations.[10]
The Commission on Sustainability established five key concepts of sustainability:
(1) the needs of the future must not be sacrificed to the demands of the
present, (2) the present worlds system is not sustainable, and that we must
make changes now to meet our current needs, (3) humanity’s economic future is
linked to the integrity of natural systems, (4) we must act to preserve as many
options as possible for future generations since they have the right to
determine for themselves their own needs, (5) protecting the environment is
impossible unless we improve the economic prospects of the poor.[11] Underlining all efforts to create a
sustainable community is the notion that it requires the maintenance and
enhancement of all three interconnected facets of community: economy, society,
the environment.[12]
Why Use Sustainable Indicators?
Achieving
a sustainable community is not an easy task, but there are tools and strategies
that when implemented will make achieving sustainability in Colorado Springs
less difficult. One of these is
the creation and use of sustainable indicators.
Over the past ten years there has been a
large increase in the use of sustainable indicators. Traditional indicators such as the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) are not good measures of sustainability because they do not consider the
link among a community’s environment, society and economy.[13] The GDP measures the amount of money
being spent in a community and is reported as measure of a countries
well-being. But the GDP, because
it only measures economic activity, often rises when the overall health of a community
and country declines.[14] In contrast community sustainable indicators
highlight areas that the economy, environment and society interconnect and
provide imfromation regarding these three areas in an understandable way (see
figure 1).[15]
Figure
1
There
are seven key principles regarding what makes a good sustainable community
indicator. The first is that the
indicators should be guided by a clear vision of a sustainable community and
that the goal of community should be guided by that vision. The indicators developed in response to
this vision should take a holistic perspective that reviews the entire system
as well as the parts. This
requires the consideration of economic, environmental and social systems, their
state and the direction and rate of change and the interaction between the
three segments.[16] Indicators should also consider both
the positive and negative consequences of human and ecological systems, in
financial and non-financial terms.[17]
Secondly
indicators of a sustainable community should consider the inequality and
equality within the community’s population and between present and future
generations. In doing this
the indicators should concern resource use, over-consumption and poverty, human
rights and access to services.
Indicators should also consider the condition of the ecosystem on which
all life depends as well as the economic development and other non-market
activities that contribute to human and social well-being.[18]
Measurements
of sustainable community should have a sufficient scope. This scope, the third requirement,
should not purely be limited to the human time scale, but should also include
the longer ecosystem time scale.
This will help to ensure that the needs of the future generations are
addressed while responding to the present short-term decision making
requirements.[19]
The
amount of indicators is endless and adopting to many will lead to confusion and
uncertainty as to which indicators should receive higher priority and the fourth
requiment address this.
Consequently a limited number of indicators reflecting key issues should
by adopted to provide a clear signal of progress. These focused indicator results should then be compared to
targets, ranges, and direction of trends. To acquire a picture as to where the
community stands in regards to others in the nation the values should, when
appropriate, be compared to other communities.
To
achieve sustainability and to help to insure that the design and implementation
of solutions do not become more difficult than it needs to be, a wide and
diverse involvement of people in the sustainable indicator project is
needed. Having more than one
person work on a particular sustainable indicator issue is essential due to the
complexity and scale of many of the indicators. A broad base of participants is also essential to accurately
reflect the diverse values, beliefs and concerns held by members of the
community. Involving all segments
of society in the process is also vital for promoting sustainability because
once a participant recognizes their role in the problem they are more likely to
assume responsibility and act in a manner that promotes sustainability.[20]
At
the core of what makes a good indicator is that it allows for repeated
measurements. This enables a
community to determine trends and track progress in creating and maintaining
sustainability. Gathering data
over time develops confidence and credibility as to the results of given
indicator. And it is only through
continued measurement that the successes of a corrective measure can be
evaluated and, if need be, altered.[21]
This
process of repeated measurements and data and information collection requires a
continuation of resources. In
short an agency or institution devoted to focusing on sustainable indicators
and their constituent elements of assessment and reporting is needed.
So?
Many
communities across the Nation have developed comprehensive sustainable
indicator projects in order to gauge their progress towards achieving a
sustainable community. These communities, such as Santa Monica CA, Settle WA,
Jacksonville FL and Austin TX have found the use of sustainable indicators to
be extremely valuable in creating and maintaining a higher quality of live in
their communities. Comparing the results of cities indicators with another city
provides a means whereby to asses how a community is doing compared to others
across the nation.
Indicators
are vital for Colorado Springs to achieve a sustainable community. They will
aid the city in defining and describing the magnitude of environmental, social
and economic problems, provide the basis for setting goals, track its progress
towards achievement of goals, engage citizens in an on-going dialog (by
providing the essential information), and asses the condition of the valued
resources of the community as well as evaluate the statues and trends of
factors that effect the long-term health of these resources.
However
there are two predominant barriers that prevent Colorado Springs from reaping
the benefits of sustainable indicators.
The first being that the large time commitment and effort associated
with a comprehensive sustainable indicator project requires an organized group
or agency to steer-head the project.
This brings us to the second barrier in that the establishment and
running of such an origination requires a consistent source of funding.
Indicators for Colorado Springs
The
following section will discus why it is important to examine sustainable
indicators related to each of the six areas of focus that originated in this
class, highlight the sustainable indicators I established for each of the
areas, and where appropriate provide information regarding those information or
possible means of gathering such information.
Underling
the need for sustainability projects related to education, agriculture, waste
management, water use, energy, transportation and community is population
growth. Over the past fifteen
years the population of El Paso County has grown by almost two hundred thousand
(Appendix 1). The use of an
indicator related to population growth is imperative to asses the cities impact
on the natural environment, changes in resource use and waste production and to
ensure that the growth in population is paired with growth in economic,
societal and community resources.
Education
Education
is linked to all facets of our society and economy and is extremely important
in working towards the goal of making Colorado Springs a sustainable city. A sustainable community requires that
its citizens be able to work together to create and maintain a sustainable
community. To achieve this
citizens must be provided with common information and tools on which to base
their actions and decisions.
Education further promotes sustainability by making people aware of the
effects of their behavior and how they can minimize their personal use of
natural resources and ecological services.[22]
Educating students about nature and the environment as well as to how
environmental, social and economic issues related to sustainability increases
the probability that they will make sustainable decisions today and tomorrow.[23]
Measuring
education is important to establish the result of efforts to heighten the
skill, knowledge and abilities of those who work in the community and to
measure the valuable resource potential of community members. Education is also important because it
provides people with the knowledge and skills to tackle problems that relate to
sustainability.
I
have established six sustainable indicators that I believe are of particular
value: student drop out rates compared to state drop out rate, drop out rates
compared to other cities, student teacher ration, ethnic and gender diversity
of the teaching staff, the percent of schools with environmental education
programs and the percent of Colorado Springs residents who know what sustainable
development is.
Measuring
the drop out rate of students is important to establish if students are being
provided with the adequate tools to be valuable members of the community. The indicator also identifies other
weakness in our community such as drug use, crime, lack of parental
involvement; poor teaching and inadequate funding that are possibly
contributing to the problem.
Student/teacher
ratio is similar in that it shows if our students are receiving the tools that
they need to succeed in our society.
It also measures the value that our city is currently placing on
education. The ethnicity and
gender of our teaching staff is important to measure for it shows to what
extent different groups in the community are actively involved in the community.[24]
Measuring
the percentages of schools with environmental programs is extremely important
for insuring that the future active members in society have a respect for the
natural environment and an understanding of, and the need for, sustainability. Similarly measuring the percentage of
people who know what sustainability is depicts the level of community
awareness, involvement, and education.
This indicator also points out if there is a need to educate the public
about sustainability so as to aid the effort of creating and maintaining
sustainability in Colorado Springs.
Attached are the results of three of the
five education indicators (see Appendix 1). There is currently no data available as to the percentages
of schools with environmental education programs or for the percentage of
Colorado Springs residents who know what sustainable development is. To gather
data as to the percentages of schools with environmental programs each school
should be contacted directly and polled as to whether they have an
environmental education program.
To establish the percentage of residents who know what sustainable
development is a survey should be conducted.
Agriculture
Sustainable
indicators regarding the current state of agriculture and its related subjects
are important for measuring the cities sustainability level. These indicators often measure the rate
of resource extraction to the rate of renewal. These indicators are valuable for assessing the cities
dependence on non-local recourses for its subsistence, finances spent out of
the community, its contribution air pollution (due to transportation of food)
and the cities impact on other communities.[25]
Three sustainable
indicators directly related to agriculture are important for assessing
sustainability in Colorado Springs.
These include: the number of food bearing gardens in Colorado Springs,
the number of community gardens in Colorado Springs compared to other cities
and the percentage of food that comes from local sources. Local production of food lowers
the energy cost and use associated with transporting it from other states or
continents. Local production of
food also reduces dependency on distant and often undependable foreign sources.
Information
regarding all three of these indicators is currently not available. Presently there are two community
gardens in Colorado Springs, but there is no easily accessible database at the
number in other cities. To gather
this information a contact in other cities that can provide this information
should be created. To establish
the number of food bearing gardens in Colorado Springs an extensive survey of
the land should be conducted. The
percentage of food from local sources could be determined by contacting the
heads of all local food distributors and sellers.
Waste
Our current
patterns of waste generation and disposal contribute significantly to
environmental, economic and public health problems. Therefore it is important
to asses, with the use of indicators, waste management practice in Colorado
Springs. Waste production provides
an indication of the resources that Colorado Springs residents consume and how
efficiently those resources are used.
Waste reduction and recycling provide a sustainable solution to the
problems associated with solid waste disposal. These indicators show what areas of waste management we need
to improve and how the city is progressing towards sustainability. Trends in waste also point out
potential problem areas that should be addressed before a serious problem
occurs.
I have identified
six indicators that are important to measure regarding waste in Colorado
Springs. Two of the indicators:
the price to recycle one ton of material compared to price of disposing the
waste in a landfill and current incentives and policies regarding recycling and
waste are both important for identifying the barriers to sustainability. Due to the time constraints of this
project I was unable to gather the data for these two indicators. The data could be found by contacting
the solid waste and recycling companies in the city. Information regarding current policies and incentives could
be gathered from the appropriate city agencies.
The remaining
indicators measure trends, where we are now in regards to sustainability and
what areas need more work. These include: the percent of waste recycled in
Colorado Springs compared to the national average, amount of waste water that
is re-used for a benefited use, average annual amount of solid waste generated
by each person and the average annual amount generated by industry and
business. Attached are graphs depicting the data that I collected regarding the
percent of waste recycled in Colorado Springs compared to the national average
and the amount of water reused for a beneficial use (see Appendix 1). To gather information regarding the
amount of waste generated by the business and industrial sectors the waste
disposal companies in Colorado Springs should be contacted. The average annual
amount of solid and water waste generated by residential user is 1545.6 pounds.
Energy
As a community we
are completely dependant on energy.
Energy is incorporated into all areas of our lives and as a result we
use a significant amount of it.
But the use of energy sources is also a large source of environmental
degradation and most of the worlds current energy production is unsustainable.[26] The burning of non-renewable energy
sources such as coal, depletes the non-renewable resource and releases
pollutants that contribute to smog, acid rain and global climate changed.[27] To achieve a sustainable energy
production a shift to renewable sources is required, but simple energy
reduction measures can significantly help to reduce the impacts associated with
energy production.[28]
I have chosen
four sustainable indicators related to energy use which are central to
assessing where we are in regards to energy and sustainability. These include: the average amount
of energy used per person and its change over time, what our energy sources
are, percent reduction in the use of non-renewable energy sources, and the
price of energy in Colorado Springs compared to other city.
I was unable to
gather data as to the change of personal energy use over time, percent
reduction in the use of non-renewable energy sources and the price of energy in
other cities. But attached you
will find graphs regarding our energy sources (see Appendix 1).
Water
Humanity and all
life depends on water for its continued existence. The supplies of clean fresh water are decreasing worldwide
due to population growth and un-stable land use practices.[29] The growth of Colorado Springs with its
semi-arid climate increases the demand for water and contributes to
contamination of it with toxic chemicals and bacteria. For these reasons, as well as numerous
others, it is important that we conserve water to help safeguard the needs of
future generations and the environment.
There are many
possible sustainable indicators that relate to water use and water issues. I have picked five indicators that help
to paint the picture as to where Colorado springs is in regards to water and
sustainability: the average daily per person use of water compared to other cities, change in water
consumption per person, price of water in Colorado Springs compared to other
cities and the current incentives and policies regarding water conservation and
water use.
I was able to
collect information on the amount of water used per person per day compared to
other cities and the change in water consumption per person (see Appendix
1). To asses the possible barriers
to water conservation in Colorado Springs a close examination of the other two
indicators should be conducted.
Transportation
Transportation
affects allareas of our lives.
When developed unsustainably it stifles alternative means of travel,
raises energy use, leads to air, water and soil pollution and traffic
congestion and danger. Colorado
Springs is a city that is completely dependant on cars for mobility, a highly
unsustainable factor. Therefore
measuring transportation related issues and trends are extremely important for
assessing sustainability in Colorado Springs.
There are seven
sustainable transportation indicators that I feel are important examine when
assessing sustainability in Colorado Springs. The present of houses and
business a º mile from public transportation, the percent of the population who
can walk or bike to work, school and shopping, the amount of tax money spent on
subsidizing the car versus pubic transportation compared to another cities, the
percent of streets with adequate biking and pedestrian pathways, percent of
commuters living fifteen minutes from work, the percent of land devoted to car
habitat compared to bike or pedestrians, air quality levels and vehicle
accidents per capita compared to other cities.
Currently there
is no data available for any of these indicators except for air quality and
vehicle accidents per capita compared to other cities (see Appendix 1).
Community
When discussing
sustainability community issues not directly related to the health of the
natural environment community issues are often over looked. Sustainable indicators related to
community involve issues such as employment, access to public land and
facilities, poverty levels and environmental justice issues.[30] It is important to examine these
elements because they significantly contribute to the cities sense of community
and quality of life.
As with
transportation there are numerous sustainable indicators related to the issue
of community. But I have picked
eight that I feel are very valuable. They include the percent the population over eighteen who can name
two city council members, the
diversity of elected officials, attendance rates at city council and planning
meetings, the percent of registered voters who vote in local elections, the
present of population involved in civic and volunteer activities, percent of
population living bellow the poverty line, who is subject to higher risk of
environmental hazards and health related problems and peoples general feelings
as to the state of the Colorado Springs community.
I
was only able to collect data as to the percent of registered voters who vote
in local elections, percent of population living bellow the poverty line and who
is subject to higher risk of environmental hazards and health related problems
(see Appendix 1). Given the time
and the correct contacts, information on the diversity of local officials and
the attendance rates at city council and planning meetings could be
gathered. For the reaming
indicators surveys should be conducted.
Conclusion
The
information that I gathered on many of these indicators provides a picture of
where Colorado Springs currently is regarding sustainability. In general the information shows that
Colorado Springs is doing moderately well, particularly in areas of education
compared to other cities and air quality standards. But there is significant need for improvement in areas of
education, waste management practices, water use, energy, transportation and
community. The projects designed
by my fellow classmates directly address these areas and in doing so further
the attainment and maintenance of Colorado Springs as a sustainable community.
Sustainable
indicators are a good tool to provide a snapshot of the current state of
sustainability in Colorado Springs but they really become valuable when a
specific agency or task force dedicates its self to working on sustainable
indicators. Colorado Springs needs
just such a task force or agency.
This organization should work with the community to establish the cities
goals regarding sustainability and develop a comprehensive list of indicators
related to those goals. The
organization should then gather both local and non-local data and information
for the selected indicators.
Gathering non-local data is extremely important for comparing the cities
progress in achieving sustainability compared to other cities across the nation
and the world. It is also
essential that this origination publish there findings annually and make the
publications available to both the public and the government in order to
educate members of the community as to the current state of sustainability in
Colorado Springs, how we have improved and what areas still need more work.
Endnotes