Mansion report: Let’s live within our planet’s means

Re: “Lifestyles of the orange and famous,” Aug. 25 features story

I read the story about the Broncos version of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” with some disdain. No, it doesn’t surprise me that Bo Nix has a 6,551 square-foot home, that Von Miller has a 19,000 square-foot home, or that the Walton Family is spending $50 million to “build a luxury compound.”

Why would a couple with no kids need 6,000-plus square feet of living space? I know from experience that a family of four can live very luxuriously in a house with 2,000 square feet of space, or even much less.

My disdain comes from the American belief that more is better. Just because you can afford it does not mean that you should do it, or buy it. This is the time of global warming when we should all be doing what we can to lessen our impact on the earth. Having a huge house means that a large amount of energy must be expended just to heat and cool the building. There’s also the big impact of all the materials needed to build and furnish it.

I suggest that these millionaires take responsibility for their exponentially high environmental impact. They could at least install high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, such as ground-coupled heat pumps. They could also cover their roofs and lawns with solar collectors with battery storage.

Instead of spending millions on their trophy homes, they could donate millions to environmental groups that are working hard to mitigate the impact of global warming, which is primarily affecting the world’s poor. The rich can afford to buy their way out of the problem.

Richard Phillips, Denver

Back to the drawing board, Mr. Mayor

Re: “Denverites will vote on largest dedicated sales tax in city’s history,” Aug. 20 news story