National Outdoor Leadership School - Index

National Outdoor Leadership School - Summer2008 - Index

ISSUE ROOM
The Changing
Faces of NOLS
Classrooms:
Effects of Climate Change
BY AARON BANNON, NOLS WILDERNESS
ADVOCACY COORDINATOR
Though there’s still much that can be done to alleviate
the most catastrophic effects of climate change, it
is now well known that some changes are inevitable.
This will undoubtedly have a noticeable effect on
NOLS courses around the globe. Each branch will face
unique challenges in coping with the localized effects of
a warming planet. What can NOLS anticipate at its
various branches in the years to come?
NOLS Rocky Mountain & Teton Valley
NOLS students in the mountains of Wyoming and
Idaho can expect to witness rapidly melting glaciers
and reduced snow cover. Hotter summers will lead to
more frequent forest fires and an increased vulnerability
in trees susceptible to sap-sucking insects such as
pine beetles. River courses in Utah and Idaho may notice
a shorter, earlier peak season, as warmer temperatures
produce earlier runoff.
NOLS Pacific Northwest
Over the 20th century, the climate in the Pacific Northwest
has been trending toward warmer, wetter seasons.
A noticeably warmer climate will likely lead to a substantial
dieback in Northwest forests, and an increase in
fire frequency and size. As we near the end of the 21st
century, the Columbia Basin snowpack on March 1
could look like the June 1 snowpack does today.
NOLS Patagonia
From coastal Chile to the Andes to the Amazon,
NOLS Patagonia could see a wide spectrum of rapidly
changing conditions. Warmer temperatures in South
America will be accompanied with glacial retreat and
decreased snowfall. Climate change will likely augment
manmade changes in Andean valleys and South American
steppes, leading to habitat fragmentation and a loss of
biodiversity. In the Amazon, up to 40% of the existing
forest could react dramatically to an even modest reduction
in rainfall. As a result, the entire ecosystem could change
very rapidly to another state.
NOLS Alaska & Yukon
In polar and sub-polar regions, the effects of climate
change will be pronounced. Already, per decade, there
has been a five- to six-day increase in the duration of
snow-free days for over thirty years as the permafrost
melts and releases methane gas, which has 20 times
the warming influence of carbon dioxide. Additionally,
reduced snowcover and glacial retreat is likely to lead
to a drying of ponds and wetlands in the polar regions,
affecting various migrating species.
NOLS Southwest
The Sonoran Desert has the highest relative productivity
of all North American deserts, and many perennial
plants in the area are susceptible to modest changes.
Predicted droughts, interrupted by sharp increases in
precipitation delivered through high-intensity storms,
will stress and kill many native plant species. This will
open the door to exotic plant invasions, which will be
predisposed to fire.
NOLS Mexico
The coastal ecology that is the pride of Baja California
will likely see noticeable changes over the coming
decades. Sea level rise could have negative impacts on the
coast, affecting storm cycles, leading to the salinization
of groundwater, and negatively impacting biodiversity.
By the year 2050, scientists predict a loss of
8% to 26% of mammal species, 5% to 8% of bird
species, and 7% to 19% of butterfly species in Mexico.
NOLS Australia & New Zealand
In the Land of Oz, climate change impacts include an
increase in the number of days of extreme heat, causing
heat stress on flora and fauna. Extreme rainfall events
are anticipated which will lead to increased flooding.
Warming seas will cause coral reefs to die off at an
increasing rate. In the mountains of New Zealand,
scientists anticipate a loss of plant and animal species,
an increase of shrubs at the expense of herb fields,
glacial retreat, and a loss of snow cover.
NOLS India
Glacial retreat has been witnessed across the Himalayan
regions of India. On average, glaciers in India have lost 23
percent of their volume over the past 37 years, according
to an eight-year-old study. A dangerous side effect of
glacial retreat is the formation of glacial lakes, and the
increased possibility of a glacial lake outburst flood,
which can have devastating impacts downstream, resulting
in human casualties, destruction of infrastructure,
and the devastation of fields and forests.
It is easy to become overwhelmed by the drastic predictions
associated with climate change. Some climate
change, however, is good—such as the political climate.
As concerned citizens around the world become
more aware of the impacts energy consumption is having
on the environment, they are demanding that
elected leaders take steps to develop renewable energy
sources and limit greenhouse gas emissions. NOLS students
and instructors are in a unique position to track
and report on the most noticeable changes in the backcountry
areas they frequent. Bringing attention to these
trends can help reinforce the positions of those working
for a more sustainable future and a cooler planet.
*Sources include the International Panel on Climate Change
and studies by Travis Huxman and Samjwal Bajarcharya.
SUMMER 2008
SUSTAINABILITY
UPDATE
BY JEN LAMB, NOLS PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR
The results of our schoolwide sustainability audit are
in! Pure Strategies, the consulting firm that performed
the assessment (www.purestrategies.com), visited
Lander in late February to present their results and recommendations
to help NOLS reduce its environmental
footprint around the globe.
CARBON EMISSIONS
A significant component of NOLS’ environmental
footprint is directly related to our use of fossil fuels
and the resulting carbon emissions. About 50 percent
of this is attributable to ground transportation,
30 percent is associated with electricity use, and the
balance is related to our use of natural gas, propane,
white gas, and heating oil.
Geographically, our emissions break down as
follows: 30% are generated by NOLS Rocky Mountain,
which makes sense when you consider that roughly 35
percent of our student days occur at that branch; 20%
are generated by Lander Headquarters; 11% by Alaska;
8% by the Pacific Northwest; 6% each by Mexico,
Patagonia, the Teton Valley and the Southwest; 3% by
the Yukon; and 2% each by Australia and New Zealand.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Pure Strategies’ recommendations range from making
energy efficiency improvements (including a number
of steps to help define our goals around energy),
to setting a climate protection goal, to establishing a
forest stewardship policy (to guide paper procurement),
to cleaning up mailing lists, to establishing internal
policies that will guide the procurement of
cleaning products, electronics, and gear (among other
things), to expanding recycling, to increasing our use
of locally grown and organic foods. Phew!
While the breadth of the recommendations is significant,
there are some interesting things to note.
• Refining our use of energy or paper can have
significant impacts.
• Many recommendations require little or no capital
expense. This means that we can make significant
progress without a significant impact on budget.
• Many of the recommendations also entail setting
internal policies or guidelines for smarter purchaing
decisions and operating procedures.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
With Pure Strategies’ recommendations in hand and
a good sense of where our biggest opportunities for
improvement lie, we will now set priorities. Where
will we start? What initiatives are already in the works
that we can support and encourage? What priorities
will need future budget planning? We will answer
these questions and more over time. If you have specific
questions, please send an email or phone me:
jen_lamb@nols.edu or (307) 335-2262.
WILDERNESS QUIZ
5
Fiord Land National Park is in what country?
A) Finland B) New Zealand
C) Norway D) New Guinea (Answer on page 12)