Telluride, CO

My base for the winter. I'm coaching 7-8 year olds skiing, but more importantly have chosen Telluride, because San Miguel County has recently passed a Green Building Code for all residential construction and renovations. The town of Telluride has embraced these codes, but is also looking for ways to make them better, with a rating system like LEED so that there isn't merely a minimum standard to be reached, but an incentive for even better. I"m also looking into open space environmental groups like the Sheep Mountain Alliance, and architects around town who are embracing the "green" attitude, or have been at the forefront of this movement. The town of Telluride is an old mining town, so it's very compact, small houses, and great public buses and a gondola to transport people to Mt. Village (where all the second homes are, and large hotels. . .NOT sustainable lifestyles just over the mountain ridge) The two entities of Telluride and Mt. Village are interesting contrasts to each other. The first night I was here I went to a "green" ski movie, about the fate of backcountry skiing etc. There was a short intro "mockumentary" about the Lost People of Mt. Village. It described the day when the people who live (well at least vacation) up there just disappeared. There isn't even a grocery store or a gas station in town. And the houses with 19 bathrooms became uninhabitable because of the excess of space and lack of community.

It's a very small town, but it's been great getting to know people, and talking with them about my passions. There is a strong "green" community, but the trick is how to balance healthy development (affordable housing as an example) with keeping open space and pristine areas. Most people who live in Telluride did not grow up here, a vivid example of how development will not just stop, so how can we do it in a healthy manner. So very intersting conflicts and solutions are taking root in this small growing community. I have commited to 5 months, and we shall see what happens at the end of that time. In the meantime I'm excited to be gaining a community around me, meeting new people who I will see again the next week, and diving right into town activities. (a Green Building Material forum is taking place in an hour)

I will upload pictures when I can, but the computers available to me have not been cooperating.