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…
By Auguste Voss OLD SNOWMASS—Tucked away in the mountain foothills along Colorado’s Roaring Fork River, scientist Amory Lovins lives in an energy-efficient house with his wife, Judy, and a collection of stuffed orangutans. He tugged at one of the orangutans’ toes, grinning playfully as he held court recently with a group of Colorado College student…
By Auguste Voss SAN LUIS VALLEY—Sitting by the fireplace on a frigid afternoon in Crestone, activist Christine Canaly talked about the impacts of climate change. Canaly founded the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, and has worked for more than three decades trying to protect water resources and thousands of acres of public land. She is…
By Auguste Voss SAN LUIS VALLEY—A sign along the main north-south road where drivers whiz through Colorado’s golden-brown San Luis Valley reflects rising political concerns about climate change impacts—which increasingly threaten the agriculture that remains the economic mainstay for people. “Our home needs our care,” the sign says, showing a blue-green planet earth. But farmers…
By Auguste Voss COLORADO SPRINGS—As corporations and communities across the United States begin to heed the advice of activists and scientists stressing the importance of switching to renewables, the impacts of a changing industry affect more than just the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. People whose careers are entwined with fossil fuels are…
By Auguste Voss As reports on the rapid acceleration of climate change continue to dominate the headlines, young people are grappling with the realization that they’ve inherited a broken planet – and they aren’t happy about it. Reactions to rising temperatures vary, along with approaches to dealing with the problem. But some young people increasingly…
