Environment and Partners
At the heart of CORE”s work in the built environment is a passion for the natural world. We are proud to be part of strong local, state, national and international networks developing and promoting environmental solutions. We invite you to click on each environmental protection topic that CORE addresses to see a listing of the hard-working local and regional partners who further those solutions.
As a nonprofit working on issues of energy and resource efficiency, CORE encourages individuals to become educated about the science and policy of global climate change. In short, human activities and fossil fuel energy consumption have already and are continuing to change the composition of the earth’s atmosphere such that it traps more heat and contributes to the overall warming of the planet. For information on the consensus among peer-reviewed scientists, please read this essay, from Science magazine.
The preservation of wild lands and ecosystems is a central motivator to CORE’s energy conservation work. By using less fossil fuel energy, society reduces its infringement on vital natural habitat.
CORE works directly to promote renewable energy in our valley, through policy work and incentives that promote solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, geothermal, microhydro and wind power. We do this for the benefits to human health, air quality, climate, water quality, land preservation and long-term affordability for businesses, individuals and governments. Also see CORE’s page with examples of Clean Energy.
CORE recognizes the potential threats to land, wildlife, water, air, human health and local economies, as well as the touted benefits, imposed by oil and gas development in our area. We remind all Western Colorado residents that we can effect the outcome on our public lands and in our communities through personal behavior choices; efficiency improvements at home and at work; engagement in policy and decision processes; and keeping ourselves and our neighbors educated and engaged.
Did you know that wastewater treatment is often a municipality’s highest energy use? And that low-flow appliances — such as faucet aerators, showerheads and toilets — conserve energy by reducing water treatment, decreasing pump volume and minimizing heating demand?
Did you also know that water quality damage and watershed disruption are some of the major impacts of extractive, non-renewable energy sources? CORE seeks to protect the integrity of watersheds in our valley and beyond for humans and wildlife by pursuing clean, responsible energy choices, including solar, geothermal, wind and micro hydroelectric generation.
CORE works closely with local, sustainable farmers and ranchers and food advocacy groups in the Roaring Fork Valley to increase the proportion of diets that come from sources that protect soil, air, water, health and climate.
Environmental protection relies on self-sufficient economies, efficient allocation of resources and materials, and strong leadership.
A central part of protecting all the facets of our environment is establishing ecological and energy literacy in people young and old. CORE hosts workshops, speakers and events for professionals and the general public on an array of environmental topics related to energy. We’re also proud of our longstanding partnership with the valley’s leader in environmental education: Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. See?
Climate Change Partners
The Canary Initiative is the City of Aspen’s office dedicated to tackling climate change .
350 Aspen is a collaboration that supports the national 350.org.
Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) is an independent nonprofit dedicated to furthering the scientific understanding of Earth systems and global environmental change.
CLEER works to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, increase our energy independence and reduce our contributions to climate change. CLEER is a for-impact organization that manages and implements the Garfield Clean Energy programs, which provides energy coaching, technical assistance, financing solutions for families, businesses and building managers throughout Garfield County.
Other resources:
- Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- NASA Climate Change Evidence
Wild Lands Partners:
Wilderness Workshop is the conservation watchdog of the White River National Forest and adjacent federal public lands.
The nonprofit Sonoran Institute works across the rapidly changing West to conserve and restore natural and cultural assets and to promote better management of growth and change. The Institute’s community-based approach emphasizes collaboration, civil dialogue, sound
information, local knowledge, practical solutions, and big-picture thinking.
The mission of the Thompson Divide Coalition is to secure permanent protection from oil and gas development on Federal lands in the Thompson Divide Area including the Thompson Creek and Four Mile Creek watersheds, as well as portions of the Muddy Basin, Coal Basin and the headwaters of East Divide Creek. Thompson Divide stretches from McLure Pass in the south to Sunlight Ski Area in the North; Silt in the west to Carbondale in the east.
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Renewable Energy Partners:
American Renewable Energy Day is an annual renewable energy conference held in Aspen. Its mission is to promote education and awareness of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies as practical solutions to global warming.
Colorado Geo Energy Heat Pump Association (CoGEHPA) is a member-based organization. Our mission is to promote a better understanding of geoexchange technology and foster its wider use throughout the state.
CoSEIA represents the solar industry in Colorado. Its membership includes solar installation, manufacturing, and educational organizations. CoSEIA’s goal is to promote the use of solar energy that best serves the public interest.
The Colorado Energy Office is the state agency formerly known as the Governor’s Energy Office. Their mission is to promote sustainable economic development in Colorado through advancing the State’s energy market and industry to create jobs, increase energy security, lower long-term consumer costs and protect our environment. The GEO, created by former Governor Bill Ritter, had the mission to lead Colorado to a New Energy Economy by advancing energy efficiency and renewable, clean energy resources.
Rocky Mountain Institute is an independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit think-and-do tank. RMI envisages a world thriving, verdant, and secure, for all, for ever. To that end, RMI’s mission is to drive the efficient and restorative use of resources.
SEI has been providing hands-on workshops and online courses in renewable energy and sustainable building technologies since 1991. Through their outreach programs, SEI works with grassroots and development organizations to promote sustainability and improve quality of life around the world.
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Oil & Gas
The mission of Citizens for a Healthy Community is to protect people and their environment from irresponsible oil and gas development in the Delta County region.
Grand Valley Citizens Alliance is a nonprofit community organization established in 1997 in Garfield County Colorado in response to landowner concern about increasing well-pad density.
Western Colorado Congress (WCC) is a grassroots, democratic organization dedicated to challenging injustice by organizing people to increase their power over decisions that affect their lives. WCC’s community groups and members work together to create healthy, sustainable communities, social and economic justice, environmental stewardship and a truly democratic society.
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Water Partners:
Roaring Fork Conservancy is the watershed conservation organization in the Roaring Fork Valley that brings people together to protect our rivers. RFC’s mission is to inspire people to explore, value, an protect the Roaring Fork watershed.
The CWCB is Colorado’s most comprehensive water information resource. The agency maintains expertise in a broad range of programs and provides technical assistance to further the utilization of Colorado’s waters. CWCB’s responsibilities range from protecting Colorado’s streams and lakes to water conservation, flood mitigation, watershed protection, stream restoration, drought planning, water supply planning and water project financing.
Agriculture Partners:
Aspen T.R.E.E. (“Together Regenerating the Environment through Education”) has a mission to support and encourage creative, sustainable, and regenerative education and living practices in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond through practical demonstration.
CRMPI is a high-altitude forest garden demonstration site and permaculture instruction facility. CRMPI is one of the oldest permaculture demonstration facilities in North America.
Roaring Fork Food Policy Council, launched in early 2012, works to establish food security through sustainable agriculture. For more information, please contact Dawne Vrabel.
Sustainable Settings is a farm and learning center for the research, design, and demonstration of whole-systems strategies in sustainable agriculture, green development, micro-entrerprise, land stewardship, and art.
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Community Leadership
Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley builds simple, decent, affordable homes in partnership with those in need. Families purchase the houses at cost, with a zero interest mortgage and they are required to complete hundreds of hours of ‘sweat equity’ working alongside volunteers to build their homes.
ICLEI is an association of over 1100 local governments from 67 countries who are committed to sustainable development.
sion is to engage the next generation of Roaring Fork Valley environmental advocates. Our mission is to amplify our peers’ awareness, involvement, and leadership in existing local conservation, ecological, and sustainability campaigns through purposeful social events.
The Sopris Foundation embraces the traditional Western ethics of self-reliance, hard work, and thrift. They believe that working landscapes beside well-designed, living towns make vibrant communities.
Spring Board is a group of involved, dedicated young adults who want to invest their skills, time and enthusiasm into the Roaring Fork Valley community, and and encourage their peers to do the same.
Education
ACES’ mission is to inspire a life-long commitment to the earth by educating for environmental responsibility, conserving and restoring the balance of natural communities, and advancing the ethic that the earth must be respected and nurtured.
