A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

WORDS

PHOTOS

ART

IAN THOMAS

KRISTEN HUNKAR KASIA KUCERA & LOGAN WAGNER

western colorado is fast becoming known for its vast recreation opportunities, the best peaches in the world and a vibrant, tight-knit community. We’ve withstood economic booms and busts, floods and dry years and have always regrouped, emerging stronger on the other side.

However, our greatest challenge yet is already here and will continue to unfold over the coming decades, testing the very foundation of our community. Climate change affects everyone indiscriminately, affecting water supply, snowpack, disease spread and even what it means to be a Coloradoan.

Agriculture in the Grand Valley has been a cornerstone of our economy since the first field was plowed in the late 1800s, drawing on irrigation from the Colorado River and fertile soils. Today, our vibrant agricultural community has an estimated yearly sales figure upwards of $150 million, employing an estimated 400 workers in Mesa County, according to the Grand Junction Economic Partnership. The mighty Colorado River not only provides the water for our growing agricultural industry, but also serves

around 40 million people in the western United States, according to Yale Environment 360. It’s the most managed river in the world, with more water promised to users than actually flows through its watershed.

From 2000-2014, the Colorado River saw a 19 percent drop in flow, the worst drought since 1904. If carbon emissions remain as is, water in the Colorado River is projected to drop as much as 40 percent by the end of the century. Without taking water use restrictions into account, this massive drop translates to 16 million people without reliable access to water, according to The Conversation — 16 million people is equivalent to the cities of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin without water by 2100. In a show of unity, the Colorado River Basin States, Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation signed completed Drought Contingency Plans into action in 2019, providing a comprehensive plan for the most vulnerable communities, including Grand Junction.

Solutions to a problem of this magnitude do not come easy, but difficulty has never been a barrier to our community. We are connected to our surrounding lands in more ways than purely economic, with a love of the outdoors pervasive throughout the state. Adventures in the North Desert, skiing on the Grand Mesa and wandering through the secluded canyons of the Colorado National Monument are all staples of life on the Western Slope.

Unfortunately, the environmental stability of these areas becomes more tenuous as more carbon enters the atmosphere. Heat and drought stressed forests are more susceptible to historic wildfires, with unprecedented fire conditions becoming more common. Several studies have found that climate change is “responsible for doubling the area burned since 1984,” according to a quote from Colorado Mesa University professor Deborah Kennard published in the Summit Daily. Water scarcity, expected to increase, strongly correlates to the flammability of our state's forests. As Coloradoans, we are proud of our state’s vast wilderness, untouched

peaks and remote valleys. Our collective Western identity, enshrined in wilderness, is going up in smoke.

For generations to come, the ability to find solace and meaning in the forests and mountains is at risk. A fundamental ideal of our country is that we leave a better place for our children, ensuring good health and opportunities for fulfillment, both spiritual and otherwise. If the wild places humans have retreated to for centuries fall ill, we lose that ability to commune with nature. The inspired ideas, philosophy and art flowing from the trees, rivers and mountains have a future as questionable as that of our agricultural communities.

Each threat from a changing climate is more real and terrifying than the last, be it a lack of water in an increasingly arid West, the ever-present threat of wildfire or the changes coming to the wild places we cherish. However, each of these threats can be prepared for and fought directly through a reduction in carbon emissions and forward-thinking management of public lands.

The economic viability of the clean energy industry continues to become stronger every day, with nearly 3.3 million employees in the clean energy industry. All but two of America’s over 3,000 counties are home to jobs in clean tech, providing almost triple the amount of jobs as the fossil fuel industry (3.26 million to 1.17 million), according to E2 Reports. Grand Junction is no stranger to the benefits of the clean energy industry, with more than 66,000 Coloradans currently employed in the clean energy industry, and 1,200 of those in Mesa County, according to the Grand Junction Economic Partnership. Colorado’s first solar company, Atlasta Solar, calls Mesa County its home, with work trucks seen buzzing around town all year long. The infrastructure for vast change is already present. Climate-friendly practices are no longer reserved for “tree huggers,” but are now open to everyone who wants to save money.

While climate change has the potential to change the very fabric of our global society, it is also providing the catalyst for enormous positive change. Investments in clean energy are creating an entirely new industry, creating high-paying, technical jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign (and domestic) oil and gas. This vast transformation is a manifestation of the American Dream itself. Not only is such a burgeoning industry providing opportunities for success and prosperity, but such massive investments are allowing workers to put their ideas into practice and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The efforts of those workers are helping to provide a livable climate for generations to come, as well as providing income to those who need it, and investing in the most vulnerable communities.

The American Dream has drawn millions to our shores, and will continue to do so, as long as it stays alive. The ability to improve your position through hard work, determination and our collective willpower is reflected in its entirety by the clean energy revolution. High-paying, technical jobs are beginning to flood the planet, just as low-paying menial jobs flooded the planet during the Industrial Revolution.

Right now, we have a choice that no previous human civilization has had to make. We have no reference for what may come, be it revolution or ruin. On one hand, we can listen to the brightest minds humanity has to offer, embrace our most advanced technologies and preserve our most cherished ways of life. On the other hand, we can live as we always have, at least for a decade. After that, it’s a roll of the dice. And I, for one, refuse to leave the future of humanity in the hands of a gambler. ▪