Tensions rise as mines close

By: Olivia Dicks NORTH FORK VALLEY—Younger and middle generations working in industries that are harming and increasing our climate warming are being affected much more as the concern for the climate change increases in the North Fork Valley. In the West Elk Coal Mine, “we’re running out of coal, we’ll be done with this panel…

Last Mine Standing

By Rainy Adkins Recently a small group of student journalists drove seven miles under the earth through narrow tunnels and low ceilings to the only long-wall mining site at the West Elk coal mine. The headlights of the pick-up reflected off walls of coal dusted with limestone. Each turn looked exactly like the last. This…

The Case Against Coal—and Those Who Object

By Rachel Colchete The mining towns of the North Fork Valley have had a long and reliant relationship with coal, so as America pulls away from the controversial industry, their population feels the direct aftermath. The West Elk Mine, which stands just east of Paonia in the small mining community of Somerset, is the last…

The difficult switch from coal to solar

By Johnna Geick Descending into the West Elk Coal Mine is like entering a new world: Lightless, filled with the buzz of machinery and occasional rumble of large vehicles. Underground, almost everything seems like a grayscale image. Heaps of crushed limestone dust coat the floor, flying up each time a heavy boot comes down. There…

Will climate change help or hurt Crested Butte’s future?

By Auguste Voss CRESTED BUTTE—The resort town of Crested Butte in mountainous western Colorado has long relied on the ski industry to drive the local economy.  But greenhouse gas emissions and increasing global temperatures are taking a toll. Beyond Crested Butte, millions are expected to be displaced. Sea levels are rising. Large chunks of the…

Living in isolation, but staying in the know

By Carly Valerious Billy Barr is a mountain man living alone in Gothic Colorado, a place only accessible by skiing or snowshoeing, and he has accumulated data that has progressed the study of climate change. Many documentaries in multiple countries have been made about Billy’s life. For example, The Snow Guardian. This short film is…