Environmental News
Environmental News from Boulder, Colorado
Boulder County cropland policy–GMOs?– meeting set
Nov 4th
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department will host a Cropland Policy open house on Monday at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Exhibit Building.
When: Monday, Nov. 7, 5-8 p.m.
Where: Exhibit Building, Boulder County Fairgrounds, Longmont
The event will include a short presentation on the Cropland Policy process at 6 p.m.
The open house will cover the policy proposed by the Cropland Policy Advisory Group, introduce some of the existing programs for promoting local food and growth in the agricultural economy, and highlight some of the work Parks and Open Space does with its farmer partners.
Cropland Policy
The effort to develop a management policy for county-owned croplands began in 2010 with public outreach, including farm tours, an open house, a Sustainable Agriculture Forum and a Farm and Ranch Panel Discussion.
In 2011, the Board of County Commissioners convened the Cropland Policy Advisory Group to formulate policy recommendations, which are available atwww.BoulderCountyOpenSpace.org/croplandpolicy.
For more information about the policy, upcoming meetings and public involvement opportunities, visit www.BoulderCountyOpenSpace.org/croplandpolicyor contact Resource Planner Jesse Rounds at 303-678-6271 or croplandpolicy@bouldercounty.org.
CU scientists: CO2 emissions a HUGE problem
Nov 4th
New calculations showing the global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide gases jumped by the largest amount on record in 2010 is more evidence that society has made a choice to continue to accelerate climate change, say two University of Colorado Boulder experts.
The new figures calculated by the U.S. Department of Energy show the world pumped more than 560 additional tons of carbon into the atmosphere in 2010 than in 2009, an increase of 6 percent. There are currently 392 parts per million of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere, a rise of more than 100 since the Industrial Revolution, said CU-Boulder Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research Director Jim White.
The CO2 rise is driven primarily by growing industry in China and India — the two highest users of coal — as well as the United States, said White. “While the world population growth has slowed, the use of fossil fuels continues at a record pace,” he said. Studies have shown Earth’s land temperatures have increased by 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1950s.
“While it is good news that the global economy continues to grow, we clearly have not taken greenhouse gases and climate change seriously,” said White, an expert on ice cores and climate change. Only a substantial and rapid global move toward alternative energies can slow the growth of CO2 emissions, he said.
“We are rolling the dice here, which is not a good way to plan for the future,” said geography Professor Mark Serreze, director of CU-Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center and an expert on declining Arctic sea ice.
“The warning signs of climate change are all around us, and we have decided to ignore them,” said Serreze. “Humankind has made a choice to do nothing, and we can never go back to where we were again. As a consequence, we will have to adapt to change.”
For more information contact White at 303-492-2219 or james.white@colorado.edu, Serreze at 303-492 -2963 or serreze@kryos.colorado.edu or Jim Scott in the CU-Boulder media relations and news office at 303-492-3114.
Pachyderm Power
Oct 29th
We speak with a volunteer for Pachyderm Power an organization that travels the world to help keep elephants safe in the wild and protect them from poachers.