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Climate
change
 At
the High Country Conservation Center we believe that “climate
change” is at the point where debate about its existence,
or potential, is no longer relevant. Even if you disagree
with the consensus of the scientific community, there is
something called the Precautionary Principle that dictates
that action even without 100% certainty is prudent.
Take Action Against Climate Change
Why Idling "Gets You Nowhere"
How Compost is One Solution to Climate Change
350 is the Most Important Number on the Planet
The Carbon Diet: How to Lose 5000 Pounds
More Resources
In our mountain community, climate change or global warming
or whatever you call it, is a local issue. Why?
 Quite
simply – we depend on our winter for our economy.
Perhaps even more importantly is a regional issue: in the
West, our precious and often scarce water comes from our
winter snow.
Instead of focusing on the facts and reports of what climate
change may have in store for our region (there are ample
resources at the end of this page), we instead provide some
tips for ACTION to reduce your personal carbon dioxide emissions.
For a perspective on how much we are underestimating the
global warming problem, read the essay "Think
Again: Climate Change" by author, environmentalist
Bill McKibben.
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Take
Action
 Replace
seven 100 watt bulbs with 15-watt compact fluorescent
bulbs to
have 1 ton of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars annually.
 Convert
from electric to solar hot water at home to save 1 ton
annually for a 3-person household.
Use a clothesline instead of a dryer to save 1 ton for
a typical household.
 Recycle
500 pounds of paper to save 1 ton.
 Bike
to work three days per week to save 1 ton annually.
 Take
the Summit Stage or your local bus one in three trips
to save 1 ton annually.
Recycle 2500 aluminum cans to save 1 ton.
 Trade
in your SUV for a fuel-efficient hybrid to save 5 tons
annually (switching from a Jeep Cherokee to a Toyota Prius
will save 1 pound per mile!)
 Install
a photovoltaic system for home electricity to save over
7.5 tons for average family use per year.
Plant 40 trees – they will absorb 1 ton of carbon
dioxide!
|| Car
Idling  for
climate change?
We're sticking by our guns and siding with
"Idling
Gets You Nowhere," so why do it? Some
facts:
As much as 3.8 million gallons of gasoline are wasted in
one day from voluntary idling by everyone in the United
States. This numbers also reflects as much as 40,000 tons
of carbon emissions.
If you are idling longer than 10 seconds, both you and the
engine are better – off, turning – off…
and restarting when you’re ready to drive. So that
means you should turn your engine off when you drop off
your recyclables, when you run into the post office, when
you wait at the drive-through at the bank… The best way to warm up your car is to drive
your car! Modern engines don’t need more than a couple
of seconds of idling time before they are ready to go. When
you start your drive, you warm up the engine!
For those really cold Summit County days like 25 degrees
or below, you only need to warm up the engine for about
thirty seconds. And for 10 degrees or below, a minute at
the most.
There is absolutely no need to leave your
car idling for 5 minutes let alone 10! In fact, if you decrease
your idling by only 5 minutes per day, in a year’s
time you can save yourself 10 gallons in a small engine
and even 20 gallons in a larger engine. Think of the financial
savings! Not only that, you’ll decrease your carbon
footprint by reducing the amount of carbon emissions coming
from your car. Think of the environmental savings!
Having a hard time believing Eartha's Angels? Here's some
background info for you...
Car
Talk
Car
Talk's Guide to Better Fuel Economy
The
Facts About Car Idling
Back to the top of
the page
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Compost
Combats Climate Change
 According
to COOL 2012, an
action campaign to get compostable organics out of landfills
by 2012, "landfiling our food and paper is heating
the planet."
They go on to state, "As communities
work to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, the first place
to look is in the garbage can. Every day, communities across
the U.S. send tens of thousands of trucks to bury biodegradable
materials such as paper products, food scraps and yard trimmings.
These materials amount to half of our discarded resources.
When buried in a landfill, those lettuce heads, grass clippings
and paper boxes don’t just break down as they would
in nature or in a compost pile. They decompose anaerobically,
without oxygen, and in the process become the number one
source of human-caused methane and a major player in climate
change."
Read more about it and solutions on HC3's
composting page or visit COOL
2012.
Click here for COOL 2012's PowerPoint on Compost and Climate
Change
Download GrassRoots Recycling Networks handout on "Burying
Organics Stinks: The Compost Solution"
Download EPA's "Cover Up with Compost" Fact Sheet
SOLUTION - COOL 2012's
4 Steps to be COOL by 2012
Seize the Paper: Commit to
recycling a minimum of 75% of all paper and composting the
rest by 2012. Paper is the largest share of biodegradable
materials in a landfill, so recycling and composting paper
products will take the largest bite out of your community’s
methane emissions.
 Source
Separate: Require source separation of residential
and business waste into three streams: compostables, recyclables
and residuals. Source separation is pivotal to maximizing
the environmental and economic potential of these resources.
Feed Local Soils: Support
local farmers and sustainable food production with community
composting infrastructure. The benefits of amending soils
with composted organics are well-proven to increase long-term
soil productivity, reduce irrigation needs and use of petroleum-based
synthetic fertilizers, and increase water infiltration from
today’s frequent and intense storm events.
 Stop
Creating Methane Now: No matter how the waste industry
“greenwashes” its “new and improved landfills,”
there is only one proven method to truly prevent methane
emissions — keep compostable organics out of landfills.
Public policy needs to first support the elimination of
methane by requiring source separation of compostables and
recyclables, then mitigate methane from existing sources
where organics have already been buried.
You can read more about the COOL
2012 campaign here.
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the page
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350
is the Most Important # on the Planet
Read about 350.org's
solution to climate change and why "350 is the red
line for human beings, the most important number on the
planet. " 
Back
to the top of the page
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The
Carbon Diet: How to Lose 5,000 Pounds in One Month!
 Become
part of the global warming solution. Go on a Low Carbon
Diet! This “30
Day Program to Lose 5000 Pounds” is a fun, accessible,
easy to use guide that will show you, step-by-step, how
to dramatically reduce your CO2 output in just a month’s
time.
Grounded in over two decades of environmental
behavior change research, this illustrated workbook offers
much more than a list of eco-friendly actions. It walks
you through every step of the process, from calculating
your current CO2 “footprint” to tracking your
progress.
By making simple changes to actions you take
every day, you’ll learn how to reduce your annual
household CO2 output by at least 15%. And, for those who
are more ambitious, you’ll discover how you can help
your workplace, local schools, and community do the same.
You can find the Low Carbon Diet workbook
for $12.95 at Eartha's Green Shop, located at 518 E. Main
Street. Keep an eye out for a Low Carbon Diet Workshop during
HC3's 2009 Green Living Workshops. Let us know if you
are interested in the Low Carbon Diet program, call 668-5703
or email info@highcountryconservation.org.
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the page
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More
resources:
 
Climate
Action Network
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