Saturday, April 12, 2014

Tender Corp 5K Benefits Mt Eustis Renaissance

The cost of a ski ticket has - lately especially - made the sport of skiing out of reach for most New Hampshire folks. In addition to this, most ski areas have dropped their special rates for local citizens and especially students - an act that they will regret as climate change makes it more and more challenging to draw skiers. That's what makes this effort to revive the Mount Eustis community ski area important. 

New Hampshire was once dotted with these small community ski areas. After all, New Hampshire was the birthplace of skiing in the United States so it made sense that communities would make an effort to provide an opportunity for their citizens. But over the years, particularly when skiing was more affordable to the average citizen and ski areas had community discounts for locals, the number of these ski areas dwindled until there were almost none. 

Expect to see more of these efforts to revive old ski hills. You can learn more about NH's "lost" ski hills here.

You can help with the effort in many ways. I've donate sales of a beautiful image "Tamarack Tempest" taken within a few miles of Mt. Eustis.


image

To purchase this image on cards, posters as open edition or limited edition fine art prints, click here.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Preparing for Climate Change in New Hampshire and Militating the Damage

Preparing for Climate Change in New Hampshire and Militating the Damage

For those who missed it, Laura Knoy's edition of The Exchange today on NH Public Radio, featured a discussion about Climate change that was very interesting and disturbing. Two important points of the many made deserve our attention. The first is that, without naming the Northern Pass Project the two scientists stressed the need for decentralized renewable energy as the pathway to a healthier and safer energy future for New Hampshire. Centralized sources of power - like Northern Pass - are more likely to generate jobs elsewhere instead of here in NH and push NH in the direction of what they termed the "High Emissions Scenario" that will wreak economic and environmental havoc on NH. Centralized sources also make us much more vulnerable to acts of terrorism (my observation not part of the discussion). The second point is that what we can do as individuals matters a great deal. Every step we take to reduce our own personal dependence on carbon generating energy sources is a gift we give to the earth.

Knoy's guests, Cameron Wake from UNH's renowned Institute for Earth Oceans and Space, who co-authored UNH's Report on Climate Change in New Hampshire; and Michael Simpson, climate adaptation scientist and chair of the Environmental Studies Department at Antioch University New England, which just announced establishment of a new Climate Change Preparedness Center at Antioch.

The burial of the power lines of Northern Pass is often mentioned as the resolution of the problem but in truth burial of the power lines is a compromise that fails to tackle the most important policy questions with respect to New Hampshire's energy future. If we have to live with buried power lines, it will be a victory for our "view shed" but the fundamental flaws that should kill Northern Pass altogether will cast a pall on our future in many other ways.


Read: http://nhpr.org/post/adapting-climate-change-flood-insurance

Listen here

UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Spacehttp://www.eos.unh.edu

UNH’s report on climate change in New Hampshire.

Environmental Studies department at Antioch University New England

Antioch Center to study climate change preparedness


Washday, Alton, NH                          Cards & Posters                             Fine Art Prints