2. NWF President Larry Schweiger 2003-2007 Temperature Predicted CO Temperature Rise
3. Jack - Age 12 Sunlight Mtn. Ski Team The Issues in Colorado Animals Pine Beetle Recreation Transmission Lines Water Impacts
4. Word Association what’s the first word that comes to mind When I say Colorado? Frigin’ Gorgeous Economic Impacts of Recreation in Colorado Mountains Skiing
5. It’s all about the Benjamins Colorado: #1 Ski & snowboard state in the country = $1.92 billion in 2007 100-105 days of skiing = 6.5-7% profit margin 1% decrease in tourism = loss of over $375 million & loss of 4,500 jobs Pine Beetles and Ski Resorts - Vail: 2000 trees at a cost of $200,000 in 2008
7. Water Water Everywhere? “ Changes in the quantity and quality of water may occur due to warming even in the absence of precipitation changes.” - Colorado Climate Report “ Between 1978 and 2004, the spring pulse in Colorado has shifted earlier by two weeks.” For the Upper Colorado River Basin, models are projecting a decrease in runoff anywhere from 6-45%. Projected Loss in snow pack by 2085 County Percentage Ski Resort Affected San Miguel 82% Telluride Eagle 57% Vail & Beaver Creek Grand 54% Winter Park Summit 50% Breckenridge & Copper
8. Water issues 2000-2004 First instance of five consecutive years of below average flow since 1992 Snow pack below average 8 of the last 10 years Colorado river temperatures are 2.2 degrees F warmer than 20th century averages and 2.9 degrees F warmer than 100 years ago
9. The Side 41 wilderness areas may see an increase in spring, summer and fall tourism
10. Mountain pine beetles killed 1.2 million trees in 2004 and 1.5 million lodgepole pines from 1996-2005 Source: Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland “2008 Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Colorado” & University of Colorado Environmental Center The total amount of pine beetle kill as of 2008 covered 1.5 million football fields. “You’d have to run from Colorado clear out to California...” Pine beetles infected roughly 500,000 acres in 2007 Pine Beetle Impacts
11. Fabulous Furniture Medicine Wolf Log Furniture Company Denver Or how about a pine beetle inspired remodel? Courtesy of Whispering Wind Design - Nederland, CO (Jerry Naro) Solutions: What can you do with pine beetle kill?
12. You Tube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVJuRgil0wQ Grayson, Donald K. (2005). "A brief history of Great Basin pikas". Journal of Biogeography Article by Mike Stark on physorg.com: http://www.physorg.com/news158049546.html Issues: Loss of suitable habitat and available food resources Suffering heat exhaustion & starvation Considered for endangered species list since 2005 For More Information: Pika or Pica Ochotona Princeps
13. As the world turns Drama in the San Louis Valley Louis Bacon - British Hedge Fund Manager Billionaire The “bad guy” The Setting The beautiful San Luis Valley The Plot: Xcel Energy wants to run transmission lines through 14-18 miles of Mr. Bacon’s 171,000 acres. He refuses, and Xcel will not be able to meet their 2007 renewable energy goals. A spokesperson for the ranch is blaming Xcel. According to the web site “Big Time Listings”, the Steve Forbes family said they were happy to sell it to him because of his “track record of preservation”. Makes for great ratings!
17. GEO Governors ENergy Office Climate Action Plan Greenhouse Emissions Goals By 2020: 20% below 2005 By 2050: 80% below 2005 Explore agricultural carbon sequestering solutions Major electric utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 Research clean coal technology i.e. integrated gasification combined cycle Waste Diversion Goal: 75% by 2020 Phase in mandatory emissions reporting State government energy consumption: 20% by 2012 Use performance contract financing to audit and make improvements to state buildings and K-12 schools. Increase E-85 fueling stations statewide If Congress and the President fail to agree on carbon trading program, join Western Climate Initiative Partner with K-12 educators to develop and teach sustainability curricula
20. Colorado’s top 10 Climate Field Trips Because who doesn’t love a good field trip 10) Toxic Tour produced by Cross Community Coalition - Denver 9) Eco-Cycle - 13 cities around Colorado 8) New Belgium Brewing Company - Fort Collins 7) University of Colorado at Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs 6) Rocky Mountain National Park Trail Ridge Road - Estes Park
21. Colorado’s Top 10 climate field Trips 5) DIA (Denver International Airport) - Denver 4) NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)/Earth System Research Laboratory) - Boulder 3) B Cycle - Downtown Denver Various Locations 2) NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research)/UCAR - Boulder Colorado 1) National Ice Core Laboratory - Lakewood
22. Sustainable Bike Tour of Boulder Bridget’s Mom’s Curbside Compost Casey Middle School Solar & Geothermal Bike Lanes, Bike Paths, Bike-Through Bank Pearl Street Downtown Pedestrian Mall
23. For Further Research (Sources) www.cdphe.state.co.us/ic/ coloradoclimate action plan .pdf www.cier.umd.edu/ climate adaptation/ Colorado %20Economic%20 Impacts %20of%20 Climate ... - http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy Colorado Climate Action Plan (Developed by Governor Ritter’s Office) University of Colorado Environmental Center Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Colorado Produced by the Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland Colorado Climate Report Colorado Water Conservation Board http://cwcb.state.co.us/Home/ClimateChange/
*Cross Community Coalition- works with the communities and families that reside in this neighborhood and also provide a toxic tour to inform people of what is going on. Two schools in community and elementary school and a junior high school that serves 6-12th graders. Most students are bussed to other schools The Junior high is 20 feet away from 1-70 and their playground has been reduced to meet this 20 feet standard to meet safety precautions of falling debris. The puppy chow factory is two blocks from the local elementary school There are no grocery stores in this neighborhood and the local restaurants include McDonalds and Berger King. The public health survey showed that health issues in this community are 3 to 4 times more common then the rest of denver. Rare cancers are also more common in this area.
The State Capitol building was the first capitol building to met the architecture 2030 challeng e to reduce fossil-fuel and GHG-emitting consumption by 50% by 2010, incrementally increasing the reduction for new buildings to carbon neutral by 2030. The 2030 Challenge has been widely adopted throughout the building industry, and incorporated into city, state and federal legislation. On D ecember 19th, 2007, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, requiring that all new and renovated federal buildings meet the 2030 Challenge targets *Bike Share On April 22, the program launched with 500 B-cycles at 50 B-stations around the city, offering a green alternative to cars for short commutes and errands * The National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Is the Nations primary lab for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development *Denver’s Green Fleet - total fleet of 3,533 vehicles. Alternatively fueled or powered vehicles currently make up 43 percent of the city’s total fleet. Every vehicle purchased by the City is either a hybrid or the most fuel efficient vehicle for the job. Here’s the breakdown to date of alternative fuels and technologies being used: Hybrids: 138 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): 136 Gasoline/CNG Dual Fuel: 103 B20 Biodiesel: 1,041 Propane: 29 Electric: 74 Traffic lights - The City of Denver has one of the largest light-emitting diode traffic light inventories in the country. In the late 1990s, the city’s Traffic Operations Division began an ongoing retrofit program to convert its traffic signals from incandescent lamps to LED bulbs. Since then, more than 48,000 red, yellow and green traffic and pedestrian signals have been converted to LED, which saves the city more than $800,000 per year in energy, labor and material costs.
