Humans love to predict the future. Few succeed. Those who come closest do so by
understanding the trends that are driving change. In a meeting of experts convened to
create a “Green Print” to guide the City of Denver, this author stated that there exist
global forces that will drive change that cities must be aware of. As these begin to
impact cities like Denver, they could dramatically shift the metrics by which a Mayor
judges whether a program to save energy is cost effective or not. Mayor John
Hickenlooper answered by recounting his visit to New Orleans a year following
Hurricane Katrina. “It is an awesome experience,” he stated, “for a big city Mayor to
drive for blocks and see no one living in a city. We lost a major American city. The
unthinkable is no longer unthinkable.”