Wyoming seeing green

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

By Jason Miller

Jackson Hole has always been a little bit greener than the rest of the state. Mostly because the Continental Divide Basin is a brownish-reddish desert and the semi-arid plains of eastern Wyoming only show shades of green for a few weeks per year. But now, at least in terms of environmental preferences, the rest of the state is starting to look a little more like Teton County.

Of course Teton County is also known to be green in the environmental sense. So it comes as a surprise to no one that Jackson residents have environmental concerns. Perhaps it’s guilt for having decimated a beautiful valley to turn it into a rich, commercial tourist mecca. But with its 2008 budget the Town Council will power the local government’s operations entirely by renewable energy.

This costs a little more, but I doubt they will hear any complaints. What is surprising is that other towns are following suit. The Wright Town Council, in charge of governing the state’s best-known coal town, is also switching to green energy for government operations.

The power companies have realized that there is consumer demand for green energy. If you’re willing to spend a few extra dollars (or a few extra taxpayers’ dollars, as the case may be), you can buy energy units produced from wind, solar and biomass sources. I assume that somebody watches the companies to make sure they really are getting this energy from green sources.

The decision for a town like Wright, with 1,600 people on the edge of the largest coal mines in the region, did shock some people. It seems like they’re using the money from the coal mines to buy power from coal’s competitors. But it seems like the program is going to stay.

Supposedly, the tradition in Wyoming started with solar-powered stock wells providing for the region’s cattle. It make sense that Wyoming, with much of the state known for near-constant sunshine and blustering winds, would be a great source for alternative energies, even with its fossil fuel supplies.

Leaders throughout the entire Rocky Mountain region are jumping on the green bandwagon. At their recent meeting, the Western Governor’s Association pushed an alternative energy agenda. About 25 percent of the new electrical generating capacity being added in the region is coming from clean energy sources and is expected to be about 20 percent of the region’s power supply by 2015, the governors were told.

Whether the western governors want renewable energy because they care about the environment or because they realize the climate here is ideally suited for generating and selling green power is hard to say. But we know exactly where Gov. Dave Freudenthal stands. He recently told reporters, “There really is not a great deal of serious debate any longer as to whether human activity contributes to climate change.” He’s carving out a niche for himself as a Western environmentalist.

Environmentalists are contesting a plan to open up more of the Bridger-Teton National Forest to oil and gas drilling. Gov. Freudenthal has questioned whether new leases should be issued. More than half of the 3.4 million-acre forest is open to drilling leases under the current forest plan. Right now 14 wells are operating, all west of Big Piney. And Gov. Dave is fighting expansion.

Gov. Dave made the news for negotiating a pollution control agreement with Montana. If the governor is fighting climate change and coal towns are buying green power, one has to wonder if the whole state is trying to look like Jackson Hole.

Probably not. Wyoming is still one of the most critical producers of fossil fuels in the country. Though this is one of the least polluted states, that mostly has to do with the sparse population. Wyoming residents tend to be high per capita users of fossil fuels and carbon producers.

Of course things can change. Prosperity is directly linked to environmental consciousness. As people accumulate more wealth, they start to care more about the environment and the long-term consequences of their actions. Maybe if the energy boom continues, consumer preferences, voter choices and people’s behavior will change. Someday, even people in Casper might stop littering.
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