For all their idealism, someone needs to give the City of Boulder a quick lesson in...reality.

More on that in a moment on the Face The State Radio Minute.

With all the economic pressures on Colorado families, the last thing we need is expensive new energy mandates.

But that’s exactly what leaders in the City of Boulder are about to do, if the Orwellian-sounding Office of Environmental Affairs has its way. The proposal is to force Xcel Energy, which serves the city, into providing only “renewable” or “carbon-free” energy to residents, businesses and government.

As we’ve discussed previously on this program, coal is king when it comes to producing electricity.

I’m not much of a scientist, but last time I checked, one electron coming down the power line is just the same as any other, no matter where it was produced. And the city shouldn’t force any electric consumer to pay higher prices so government bureaucrats can feel like they’re helping Mother Earth.

For FaceTheState.com, I’m Brad Jones.