Boulder City Council unanimously approved increasing the city’s
voter-approved carbon tax from its minimum to its maximum level
beginning Aug. 6, providing an additional $810,000 annually toward
meeting the city’s goal of reaching 95% of the Kyoto Protocol by 2013.
The tax is built into utility bills. The city must reduce its carbon
dioxide emissions by 400,000 metric tons by 2012 to meet its short-term
goals. Estimates show the city is on track to reduce emissions by
396,800 tons.
The city expects to use the new tax money in part to pilot a program
being called “two techs and a truck,” which would send out a trained
staff of clipboard-toting technicians to go door-to-door offering energy
use consultations.