Forget Boulder, we are the world
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 4/19/19
I'm not sure what got into Boulder city and county government, but they appear to have decided that the time is right to move off of the small stage of political theatre and step on to the world stage.
No more, or at least not now, does Boulder government wish to spend its time and energy addressing the little things troubling our fair town. Dealing with homeless people and housing prices that only rich old baby boomers can afford are challenging problems with no clear answers. Rather than struggle with these local issues, a town of Boulder's stature should focus our big thinkers on big problems.
Recognizing this moral imperative, our City Council members spent the past month submerged in two problems that our national and international leaders have struggled with for years — gun control and climate change.
Finding a better balance between the rights granted by the Second Amendment and protecting our citizens from the ravages of random gun violence made more destructive by military-grade weapons is a hard problem that most Americans agree needs a better solution. We Boulderites, this columnist included, lean more towards protecting our citizens' lives than protecting gun owners' rights.
So, we all enjoyed the spectacle of the City Council's proposal to ban gun thingies with scary names like "bump stocks" and "automatic weapons." What's not to love? Council members got to make speeches about the insanity of it all and We the People joined them in the dance by speaking at the public hearings.
But, it appears that the very public Boulder city debate a few weeks ago wasn't enough since council member Sam Weaver has proposed putting a Boulder gun control initiative on the ballot this November. Why resolve a problem quickly when you can continue the parade for a few months more?
Surely, if we do all that and overwhelmingly show our support for gun control, the rest of Colorado and America will come to their senses and do the same. While they're catching up, anybody who wants to buy a Boulder-banned gun can pick one up in Louisville or Longmont where they'll still be legal.
But, when it comes to thinking big, climate change is still our favorite.
This week, Boulder City Council and the Boulder County commissioners announced that they were suing Exxon and Suncor for "reckless actions and damages" in helping to cause global climate change. OK, Boulder's not the first in this game since other states and municipalities along the coasts have already filed similar lawsuits in federal courts (and are, by the way, now being counter-sued by Exxon). But Boulder city and county, along with San Miguel County, are going to be the first inland places to file this sort of lawsuit. That matters, I'm sure.
This is a big-time lawsuit against some of the richest companies in the world that are still providing us all with fossil fuel products that we use regularly. But, I'm sure none of our council members nor commissioners drive gasoline-powered cars nor heat their houses with gas or electricity, so they hold strong moral high ground. While it may cost us to put up a respectable fight against these corporate rogues, we have to do it. Who else but Boulder will get them to shut down the gas pumps and turn off the heat?
Plus, we have some amends to make since our last shot at making a climate statement — municipalization — has, to date, led to a larger Boulder carbon footprint, not less. This lawsuit will right the ship.
These kinds of problems are what The Spirits are demanding that Boulder solve. We are lucky to have a local government that divines Boulder's true purpose in the universe.
Besides, Boulder's homelessness and housing affordability crises are really hard problems, especially when the City Council thinks that the solution involves chasing businesses out of town with higher "affordable housing linkage fees." No commercial developer in their right mind will ever build commercial property in Boulder with far more affordable and business-friendly towns sitting right on our border. Besides, we don't need money for affordable housing — we need housing. The current council's habit of slow-walking and then turning down every proposal put before them that might actually increase available housing in Boulder just makes the problem worse.
So, people who need places to live in Boulder will just have to wait. There's a world we need to fix first.
I'm not sure what got into Boulder city and county government, but they appear to have decided that the time is right to move off of the small stage of political theatre and step on to the world stage.
No more, or at least not now, does Boulder government wish to spend its time and energy addressing the little things troubling our fair town. Dealing with homeless people and housing prices that only rich old baby boomers can afford are challenging problems with no clear answers. Rather than struggle with these local issues, a town of Boulder's stature should focus our big thinkers on big problems.
Recognizing this moral imperative, our City Council members spent the past month submerged in two problems that our national and international leaders have struggled with for years — gun control and climate change.
Finding a better balance between the rights granted by the Second Amendment and protecting our citizens from the ravages of random gun violence made more destructive by military-grade weapons is a hard problem that most Americans agree needs a better solution. We Boulderites, this columnist included, lean more towards protecting our citizens' lives than protecting gun owners' rights.
So, we all enjoyed the spectacle of the City Council's proposal to ban gun thingies with scary names like "bump stocks" and "automatic weapons." What's not to love? Council members got to make speeches about the insanity of it all and We the People joined them in the dance by speaking at the public hearings.
But, it appears that the very public Boulder city debate a few weeks ago wasn't enough since council member Sam Weaver has proposed putting a Boulder gun control initiative on the ballot this November. Why resolve a problem quickly when you can continue the parade for a few months more?
Surely, if we do all that and overwhelmingly show our support for gun control, the rest of Colorado and America will come to their senses and do the same. While they're catching up, anybody who wants to buy a Boulder-banned gun can pick one up in Louisville or Longmont where they'll still be legal.
But, when it comes to thinking big, climate change is still our favorite.
This week, Boulder City Council and the Boulder County commissioners announced that they were suing Exxon and Suncor for "reckless actions and damages" in helping to cause global climate change. OK, Boulder's not the first in this game since other states and municipalities along the coasts have already filed similar lawsuits in federal courts (and are, by the way, now being counter-sued by Exxon). But Boulder city and county, along with San Miguel County, are going to be the first inland places to file this sort of lawsuit. That matters, I'm sure.
This is a big-time lawsuit against some of the richest companies in the world that are still providing us all with fossil fuel products that we use regularly. But, I'm sure none of our council members nor commissioners drive gasoline-powered cars nor heat their houses with gas or electricity, so they hold strong moral high ground. While it may cost us to put up a respectable fight against these corporate rogues, we have to do it. Who else but Boulder will get them to shut down the gas pumps and turn off the heat?
Plus, we have some amends to make since our last shot at making a climate statement — municipalization — has, to date, led to a larger Boulder carbon footprint, not less. This lawsuit will right the ship.
These kinds of problems are what The Spirits are demanding that Boulder solve. We are lucky to have a local government that divines Boulder's true purpose in the universe.
Besides, Boulder's homelessness and housing affordability crises are really hard problems, especially when the City Council thinks that the solution involves chasing businesses out of town with higher "affordable housing linkage fees." No commercial developer in their right mind will ever build commercial property in Boulder with far more affordable and business-friendly towns sitting right on our border. Besides, we don't need money for affordable housing — we need housing. The current council's habit of slow-walking and then turning down every proposal put before them that might actually increase available housing in Boulder just makes the problem worse.
So, people who need places to live in Boulder will just have to wait. There's a world we need to fix first.
