We work hard on the trails because we love Pikes Peak and the natural environment, but our actions do have an indirect environmental cost. When we drive to the work site our cars generate carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming.
Each car that travels from Colorado Springs to the Crags campground emits about 50lb of CO2 (based on figures from ‘Commuter Challenge’). We had a great volunteer turnout at The Crags this summer, with about 30 vehicles conveying workers to the trailhead. Some beautiful trail was constructed, but as a side effect our group was responsible for generating approximately 1500lbs of carbon dioxide.
I admit that I was quite shocked by this figure, and quite a lot of hand wringing ensued! What could be done to offset all that extra greenhouse gas that is generated every year by our work on Pikes Peak?
Carpooling is a very useful tool for reducing emissions. And, of course, trees are wonderfully efficient at soaking up carbon dioxide. Perhaps by planting some extra trees, the negative environmental side effect of our work could be reduced? The American Forests organization (www.AmericanForests.org) offers a tree-planing scheme designed to offset the effect of greenhouse gases on the environment. AF calculates that by planting three extra trees, those trees would absorb more than 1500lbs of CO2 during their lifetime.
Net CO2 impact = zero. Success!
So, perhaps Friends of the Peak should consider the overall environmental impact of our work, and target a zero impact. Maybe we should more actively encourage carpooling to FOTP workdays? Let me know if you agree — especially if you would be prepared to donate a couple of hours each month during the summer to help coordinate FOTP carpooling. We might also offset the remaining unavoidable carbon emissions by planting trees — either on Pikes Peak or at the cost of $1/tree through the American Forests organization.
Let’s give the environment an extra helping hand, and aim to make FOTP a ‘carbon-neutral’ organization!
Resources:
Climate Change Calculator
www.americanforests.org/resources/ccc
Commuter Challenge
www2.commuterchallenge.net
