{"id":800490,"date":"2019-10-18T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T17:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=373182"},"modified":"2019-10-18T11:30:33","modified_gmt":"2019-10-18T17:30:33","slug":"ask-eartha-vote-with-climate-change-in-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/ask-eartha-vote-with-climate-change-in-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask Eartha: Vote with climate change in mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Dear Eartha, <\/em><\/p>\n

I am so
\noverwhelmed and discouraged by all the climate change news but also feel
\ninspired by the action that is being taken. How much impact can one person really
\nmake to such a big issue?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Madeline, Blue
\nRiver <\/em><\/p>\n

I get overwhelmed and discouraged sometimes, too. Climate
\nchange is here and unfortunately the news of its impact will continue. There is
\nno sugar coating \u2014 its effects are big, complex and right outside our front
\ndoor. While it might feel like your actions have little effect, it is helpful
\nto remember you are not one but rather one of many. And as one of many you
\neffect real change. Here\u2019s why one person matters and a few things to keep in
\nmind to forge ahead.<\/p>\n

Vote for a livable future <\/strong><\/p>\n

Another election is just a few weeks away, and while there
\nare many issues that will impact our community\u2019s future, voting for individuals
\nthat share the urgency on climate change should be a top consideration. It\u2019s
\nnot just a vote for the environment but a vote for the health of our economy, way
\nof life and livable future. Election season is not the only time your voice is
\nneeded. All the large municipalities in Summit County have signed the Climate
\nAction Plan, and this a great step forward. But they need your support to put
\nthat commitment into bold action. Let your town council representatives know
\nyou support projects that will make a significant impact on reducing carbon
\npollution.<\/p>\n

You are an influencer <\/strong><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to have 200K Instagram followers or be the
\nmost popular ski instructor to influence your peers. You\u2019re actually doing it
\nalready in what you wear, say and do. Whether you\u2019re a zero waste warrior or a
\nsustainable food crusader, you influence those around you in fundamental ways.
\nMaybe you were the first of your friends to start collecting your food scraps
\nor the first in your neighborhood to put solar on your home. Or simply the one
\nwho always remembers your reusable coffee mug when meeting up with friends. Soon
\nenough, no one in your group would be caught dead with one of those
\nlandfill-clogging coffee cups. Seeing our peers do their part to live
\nsustainability and decrease their carbon footprints makes doing those things
\nourselves more achievable, especially when there are real benefits to doing
\nthem, like saving money and having less stuff.<\/p>\n

Something to talk about<\/strong><\/p>\n

Climate change might be on your holiday do-not-discuss list,
\nbut it\u2019s time to take it off because we cannot afford not to talk about it.
\nIt\u2019s happening, and we have to talk about it if we are going to build a culture
\nof action to address it. Talking about it doesn\u2019t mean lecturing, but rather sharing
\nthe reality that our climate is changing and how you are reducing your own
\ncarbon footprint. There are also exciting things happening around the world. People
\ngalvanized to reverse climate change are creating new sustainable systems and new
\nbusinesses opportunities without the negatively impacting the environment. When
\nyou share ideas and actions, you might find yourself inspired and among more
\nallies than you think, which makes taking on climate change less daunting.<\/p>\n

It might seem easier to convince ourselves there is little we can do to bring positive impacts to our communities, but that\u2019s true only if we\u2019re lazy. Are we not a community of competitors, adventurers, creators, risk-takers, dreamers, doers and game-changers? We rise to challenges, not duck and run from them.<\/p>\n

In a recent talk in Frisco given by Colorado State University climate and water scientist Brad Udall, he gave us some hard facts on the changes happening in our Colorado neighborhood. But he also was hopeful and encouraged the audience that it is not too late to take action because every one-tenth of a degree is important. This means there is no time to lose in choosing the path of a secure, livable future not only for ourselves, but also for future generations and the planet with which we\u2019ve been entrusted. So be bold in how you vote, act and speak because you can make a difference.<\/p>\n

Ask Eartha Steward is written by the staff at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation. Submit questions to Eartha at info@highcountryconservation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Eartha, I am so overwhelmed and discouraged by all the climate change news but also feel inspired by the action that is being taken. How much impact can one person really make to such a big issue? \u2014 Madeline, Blue River I get overwhelmed and discouraged sometimes, too. Climate change is here and unfortunately […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-800490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 06:43:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800490\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}