Far Off

photo by Nathan Abels

For my few loyal readers, you may have noticed my recent interest in the "Peak Oil" problem and environmental/human habitat problems that come with it. Last Thursday I took a hike up to Loch Lomond which is outside of the town of Elizabeth, not far from Idaho Springs. We got lost trying to find the trail-head, and probably went down every dirt road in Elizabeth (which thankfully is not many). As we toured this small mountain town, we noticed that most of the town is for sale. After a while it was strange to see so many places for sale. If I had to guess I would say that approximately 75% of the properties in Elizabeth were for sale - this may be a high estimate, but it was definitely the majority of the town. I checked out the town website, which states "Many residents commute to Denver and its southern suburbs to work and shop. The Town’s future is, therefore, closely tied to the growth potentials of Colorado’s Front Range communities." With what I have read about Peak Oil, the suburban or far-off commuting town model is not sustainable without cheap fossil fuels (which are in shorter supply by the day). Then, while reading c-monster this morning, I came across this headline from the NY Times - "Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs" - and the article starts out in ...Elizabeth, Colorado of all places. Worth a read.