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Show Sat/Sun/Mon, December 28-30, 2019 The Park Record A-5 County Seat COUNTY EDITOR: ALEXANDER CRAMER 649–9014 EXT. 15712 | Countynews@parkrecord.com New data analyst crunches climate change numbers Darcy Glenn aims to cut the county’s carbon footprint ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record Darcy Glenn’s big request for Christmas was heavy fabric so she could hang drapes in her house. Glenn is the newest member of Summit County’s sustainability office and she says it’s surprising how much drapes can do to stop heat escaping in the winter. “Insulating your house is — it’s not sexy, but it’s one of the best things you can do,” she said. Glenn works as an energy and data analyst trying to find ways to reduce the county’s greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and energy costs by doing things like studying how many miles vehicles travel and finding ways to build sustainability into future plans. “I’m the one who gets to crunch all the numbers,” she said. She started the full-time position in September after a little more than a year doing similar work for Park City. She said the position’s cost might be offset by her first big project, conducting a vehicle fleet utilization study and finding ways to reduce costs for things like fuel and maintenance. “If you could make all vehicles (electric) and pair that with 100% renewable electricity, that would be the easiest way,” she said. “However, currently there’s a lack in the market for EV (electric vehicles) we need. They don’t have EV versions of bulldozers. They don’t have economical versions of trucks. It’s a pretty big roadblock.” Glenn, 28, majored in phys- ALEXANDER CRAMER/PARK RECORD Darcy Glenn, Summit County’s new energy and data analyst, stands in her office in front of a whiteboard displaying some of the county’s sustainability goals. Her first project is a vehicle fleet utilization study, the cost benefits of which might partially offset the new position’s cost. ics and math at the University of Vermont and received a master’s degree in climate change from University College London which, she jokes, “turns out is a real school, not something trying to sound like a school.” Her office at the Summit County Health Department building in Round Valley has big windows and she uses its three screens to display the data she analyzes. A whiteboard on one wall has the months of the year written across the top with color-coded projects in big boxes, sometimes spanning a few months each, like “greenhouse gas inventory” and “strategic plan.” Big energy goals are written on the left-hand side, with reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80% countywide (by 2050) at the top and reducing the government’s greenhouse gas emissions by the same percentage 10 years earlier underneath. The county is also working toward 100% renewable energy use by 2030 and, according to its sustainability website, another goal is to transition 50% of fleet vehicles to alternative fuels, hybrid or electric vehicles by 2022. Glenn breaks down the county’s greenhouse gas sources into three categories: scope one, which is anything burned on site like natural gas to heat a building or diesel fuel to power a vehicle; Please see Data, A-6 Let’s Welcome our visitors to Park City with this Wildlife Overpass!! AND NOT have visitors see this when they use our public transportation JOIN SAVE PEOPLE SAVE WILDLIFE Together let’s advocate to Park City and Summit County Councils along with UDOT for a Wildlife Overpass on SR Highway 224 to help prevent wildlife vehicle collisions Sign our petition on change.org: https://www.change.org/p/utah-department-of-transportation-safe-roads-for-people-and-wildlife-in-park-city-utah www.savepeoplesavewildlife.org This Holiday Season your Park Record comes early. Due to Christmas and New Years being on our normal Wednesday publication dates, please expect a newpaper on Tuesday December 24th and Tuesday December 31st. For any questions, please contact Lacy at 435-649-9014 |