How the West Was Warmed: Responding to Climate Change in the Rockies

Melting glaciers. Pine beetle infestation. Drought. Carbon footprints. Green jobs and promises of a new energy economy. . . . When the venerable Aspen Skiing Company starts talking about the "death of snow," even the most determined deniers start to wonder, what is going on? This enlightening collection of essays develops a portrait of the wide range of responses to climate change in the Rocky Mountain West. For more than two decades, this region has been a leader in addressing climate change, and today it is a hub of solutions to this pressing global issue.Written by more than forty veteran journalists, scientists, businesspersons, and policy makers, these essays show us how climate change has and continues to affect the ways in which we live, work, and play. An alternative to the many dry scientific books and how-to greening manuals about global warming, How The West Was Warmed provides insight, hope, and a little dose of humor to inspire all Americans as we face the future.

Editor Beth Conover has worked for twenty-five years at the intersection of environmental protection and economic development. As policy advisor to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, she was the architect of Greenprint Denver, one of the nation’s earliest and largest urban sustainability programs, and helped lay the groundwork for the greening of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.