Jumping Cliffs to Copenhagen

Editor’s Note: Alison Gannett travels the world as a consultant and on ski expeditions, but Crested Butte is her home. She recently attended the climate change conference in Copenhagen. Here are some of her thoughts…

A journey to save our snow

Walking 250 very flat miles with skis on your back through England, Holland, and Belgium is not a stunt I’d recommend, and certainly heaps harder than jumping off a 50-foot cliff. But, if you want to draw attention to the fact that snow is turning to rain in unprecedented amounts, that our kids will not be skiing like we do today, or that snow and ice account for almost 50 percent of the world’s drinking water, then doing something stupid like carrying your skis on your back through three flat countries and onto the climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark is a stupendous idea. 

I had two goals: first, to draw media attention to our snow crisis, and second, to meet with U.S. and world climate leaders to discuss a cost-effective business plan for climate change. I was concerned that maybe I had picked a Himalaya-scaled mountain to climb, but in this case COP15 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) outstripped even my high expectations.
I had to pinch myself, but by the first day, I had presented for the United Nations press conference, and had phenomenal discussions with the mayor of Denver, the president of Costa Rica, the leaders of Norway, climate delegates from Belize, Austria, Sudan, and Senegal, COP’s first president, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the Official U.S. Climate Envoy, and the U.S. Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Then there was the media circus—out of the 50,000 attendees, I was certainly the only person walking around with skis on my back and it generated press for the snow cause beyond my wildest dreams. I was interviewed by the official conference TV station, just before the COP16 Mexican president. Then there was the TV, video and print coverage all over the world—China, Indonesia, Denmark, Brazil, France, England, Scotland, India, Norway, Ireland, Canada, and even the New York Times. I’ve posted many of them on my Facebook page- http://www.facebook.com/alison.gannett.
What was most striking about the conference was the lack of any debate about science: 196 countries agreed on the IPCC reports and moved on, focusing attention on mitigation, adaptation, what amount of reduction cuts would occur, and who would pay for them. The small island nations are pushing for reduction amounts from the conservative IPCC report that would keep them above water—about a 1.5 degree increase which translates into a 80 percent to 90 percent reduction in emissions. The EU consensus was for a 40 percent reduction, while the U.S. is pushing for a paltry 1 percent to 2 percent reduction (Obama’s 18 percent pledge when translated into 1990 levels). Another real disconnect was the U.S. media’s representation of what was happening, as compared to what was actually happening—mostly concerning making China look bad and the U.S. look more saintly.
Youth delegates from around the world protested to save our snow and our water, with the strongest showing from China and India. China made impressive presentations on energy efficiency and alternative energy, poising itself to lead the world in this arena.
The Organization of Economic Development (OECD) has some sobering statistics on ski areas—a mere 2 degree rise in temperatures would raise freezing lines almost 3,000 feet, which would result in half of Europe’s ski areas unable to have reliable ski seasons. Presentations by NOAA showed the ice packs around the world melting 50 percent faster than predicted. No surprise to me as I have 10 years of photos of what extreme weather already happening around the world—glacial recession, ski area closures, snow turning to rain, islands already going underwater, and lack of drinking water for millions due to changes in snowfall patterns during my ski expeditions to Switzerland, France, Italy, India, South Africa, Bolivia, Pakistan, Bhutan, Argentina, United States and Canada.
As an eternal optimist, I look toward solutions, not doom-and-gloom. Since college and my degree in environmental science, I have worked on solutions to climate change. Not one to preach and not walk the talk, I have also devoted my life to showing personal measurable carbon footprint reductions.
As a solutions consultant, I have worked with many individuals, businesses, and governments to show how a 30 percent reduction in energy use/carbon footprint is not only possible, but profitable. In the United States, I believe that focusing our energy into a business plan for sustainability can redirect the ridiculous debate going on right now. Who doesn’t want a more profitable home, ski area, business, or government? Who doesn’t want economic growth while also improving job security, energy security, energy independence, and food security with the added bonus of reducing energy use/carbon footprint, while also helping to save our snow.
There is even more good news—I have been able to reduce my carbon footprint by 50 percent in the last seven years, with the first 30 percent of that being no-cost and low-cost solutions. If I take out travel to far-flung countries for my consulting and ski expeditions, my footprint has reached targets set by world leaders for 2050—an 80 percent reduction (goal of two tons per person). We don’t need to crawl into a cave to reach reduction targets, which is good news for the developing and developed world alike.
Start making a difference today by taking the first step—calculating your footprint at www.carbonfootprint.com. Call your senators to express your support for a new clean energy economy. As for me, I’ll be heading to Washington, D.C. in February to start training congress on these cost-effective carbon-effective reduction methods.
The Crested Butte News asked Alison what lessons she learned at the Copenhagen Summit that might be applied to Crested Butte. Her response follows:
“After countless meetings with U.S. delegates and climate envoys, I realize that the work that we have accomplished here in Gunnison County needs to be shown off to the world. With the facilitation of the Office for Resource Efficiency (ORE) and almost two years of hard work by all local governmental staff, elected officials, and countless volunteers, The Energy Action Plans (EAP’s) for each entity—town of Crested Butte, town of Gunnison, town of Mt. Crested Butte, and Gunnison County have now all been officially passed. This establishes a 2005 energy use (carbon footprint) for each entity, along with reduction goals prioritized by cost-effectiveness and carbon/energy reduction effectiveness. This methodology allows towns to not only reduce their energy use and carbon footprint, but also to realize a very quick return on investment and cost savings instead of expenditures.
 “ORE will now assist local governments, the county, local schools, local businesses and local residents with state and federal funding mechanisms to assist in reaching and measuring these energy/carbon footprint goals, along with an aggressive education program for businesses and residents on the excellent energy reduction programs available in the valley. From what we know, this effort by ORE is the first of its kind in the U.S. to involve so many jurisdictions, in a watershed type approach.
“I will bring this win-win energy/carbon excel spreadsheet model along with my other similar successful win-win business models (Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc.) to Washington, D.C. this February, spreading the message far and wide that we can increase economic development, create green jobs, create energy and food independence and security and decrease pollution, all while spending less money, when implemented correctly. By redirecting the issue away from climate change and towards non-political issues such as saving money, everyone wins.”