A guide to a new relationship between Westerners and their "mad romance with fossil fuels" was released today by the University of Colorado at Boulder's Center of the American West and the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project.
"What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation" explains in clear and lively prose what both individuals and organizations in the West can do to save energy.
"Energy efficiency and conservation are critical to economic vitality and quality of life in Colorado and other Western states," said Tom Plant, director of the Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation for the state of Colorado. "I urge policy-makers, businesses and citizens throughout the region to read this report."
The full-color, 66-page report was written chiefly by CU-Boulder history and environmental studies Professor Patty Limerick, board chair of the Center of the American West, and Howard Geller, executive director of SWEEP, also based in Boulder.
The report covers topics that include the ways Westerners use energy now; the enormous benefits of greater energy efficiency and conservation; practical recommendations for saving energy; profiles of exemplary Western citizens, businesses and governmental entities; the barriers to greater energy efficiency and how to overcome them; and actions that governments and utilities can take to promote greater energy efficiency.
"Energy efficiency and conservation are underappreciated but enormously valuable resources," Limerick noted. "They are appealing whether one is motivated by reason, pride or pleasure, or any combination of the three."
Boulder Mayor Mark Ruzzin, along with Jason Hanson and Claudia Puska of the Center of the American West, also contributed to the report.
The guide is available for free on the Web at or . Printed copies are available for $10 each from the CU-Boulder Center of the American West at (303) 492-4879.