As my wife and I look forward to reducing our carbon footprint in 2007, a look back on the news and events that shaped our New Year's resolution seems in order.

Boulder, Colorado voters approve carbon tax

On election day, Boulder became the first city in the U.S. to adopt a carbon tax. The ballot measure passed with 60% of voters in favor.

The tax will be based on the amount of energy Xcel Energy customers actually use, with estimates of an average of $33 per year for homeowners, $37 per year for businesses and $2,382 for industrial customers.

Jackson, Wyoming mayor signs U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement

On November 11, 2006, Jackson Mayor Mark Barron signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. In doing so, Barron joined 346 other mayors (and counting) from towns and cities across America that are taking local action to reduce global warming. The town's first project was to change all light bulbs in town buildings to compact fluorescents. Lower Valley Energy's response: a $13,000 rebate to town to help offset the costs.

Stay tuned for ongoing progress reports on Jackson's Green Team throughout 2007.

Word of the Year: Carbon Neutral

If An Inconvenient Truth inspired our New Year's pledge to become carbon neutral in 2007, Oxford University Press deserves full credit for pointing out the obvious title for this journal; the folks at The New Oxford American Dictionary picked carbon neutral as their "Word of the Year."

Al Gore, Tom Brokaw, Alanis Morissette & Keanu Reeves spread the word

Most folks have heard about An Inconvenient Truth, however, many refuse to see the movie because of Al Gore's politics. OK, but it's hard to ignore the facts he presents. If you really can't stand the messenger, how about Tom Brokaw? He teamed up with Discovery Channel to produce Global Warming: What you need to know. And, if Tom Brokaw isn't one of your favorites, how about Alanis Morissette & Keanu Reeves, who got together to narrate The Great Warming.

Bottom line: there's a message here that can't be ignored. We've all got to do what we can to stop warming.

Carbon Neutral Journal's news is brought to you by High Country Linen Service.

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