City advisor on sustainable practices
Resource protection critical to society and government
Sustainability means more than recycling and not driving, says Jerry Tinianow, Denver’s Sustainability Officer. He quickly adds that he sees his role as an advisor or coach, not a boss or commander.
“Sustainability means insuring that basic resources on which our economy and quality of life depend are available, affordable, and equitably distributed now and in the future,” Tinianow explains in an interview for Greater Park Hill News. “My role is assisting city agencies in taking action that has a beneficial effect on the environment.”
Tinianow has just completed his first year in the new position. From his third floor windowless office, across the hall from Mayor Hancock, in the City and County Building, the affable Tinianow is reluctant to point to individual achievements. “Sustainability is not an individual objective,” he explains.
Tinianow’s primary task to now has been to complete the city’s 2020 Goals. According to a city statement, the 2020 Goals identify measurable steps the city, businesses, and residents can take to help achieve sustainability. “I’m pleased to look at Denver today and see more food options, more transportation, more renewable energy, water conservation, and greater awareness,” says Tinianow. “All of these things are happening at the same time.
“Setting goals isn’t the achievement, but now we have a compass point to guide the way,” he adds. In Denver, Tinianow says residents look at sustainability a little differently. “Here people say, ‘I save energy.’ Where I came from in Ohio, people spoke mostly about participation in recycling.”
Tinianow says community partnership is essential in achieving sustainability: “We’re not trying to mandate a lifestyle. We want to insure that people have choices, and the information they need to make good choices.”
If he fervently disagreed with Hancock, Tinianow says he would be comfortable saying so. But he doesn’t foresee much disagreement because Hancock’s “instincts are good.” He says not everyone expects the same answer all the time.
Tinianow also doesn’t see a conflict between sustainability and free market enterprise. He explains that “a (successful) free market depends on resources and it is in the best interests of the market to make good choices.” According to Tinianow, the biggest problems in achieving sustainability occur in economies driven by socialism. He also disagrees with the anthropological theory that humankind differs from other species because humans deliberately destroy their environment.
“I think the public knows almost nothing about me,” says Tinianow. “I walk the walk. I lived in Denver for two months without a car before taking the job. I track my habits and purchases, and the differences are significant. I would not recommend lifestyle choices that I haven’t made myself. I’m at the pinnacle of my career. I love my job.”
Tinianow and his wife live in West Washington Park. He says they got rid of their second car when they moved to Denver. They now have only one older Japanese compact car. Unlike Mayor Hancock, who is driven in a large gas-powered SUV, Tinianow says he only drives to work about 40 percent of the time, while riding his bike or using public transportation the rest of the time.
Dave Felice can be reached at gelato321@aol.com.