My local rag and the NYT both featured stories about the effects of climate change on local economies and what can be done to mitigate the damage. The paper of record was far more comprehensive in its coverage of the drought currently gripping the west coupled with triple digit heat in Phoenix and other areas in the southwest. The Press Republican was merely covering how the area's premier summer attraction, Ausable Chasm is coping with drought conditions.
For those of you who haven't heard of Ausable Chasm, it is a sort of mini Grand Canyon carved out of native rock by the Ausable river. It has been a tourist attraction since the 1870s and currently employs up to 60 people during the summer. Hiking, rock climbing, rafting and tubing are some of the activities offered.
The current manager of the attraction is an area native and has rarely seen the flow of the river as sluggish as it is right now. Neither he, nor the reporter mentioned climate change, but the elephant was still in the room.
Meanwhile, the American west must grapple with soaring temps, drought and a power grid which is buckling under our relentless desire for air conditioning. Local authorities in Phoenix warned people of the danger of third degree burns just from touching asphalt roads.
One climate expert says this is about as good as it gets if we don't begin reversing the effects of dumping millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
From my little local tourist attraction to a pretty large chunk of the American West, the challenge has been thrown down. We fail to meet it at our own and future generation's peril.
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