Earth In Crisis: The Future Is Scary
Here’s What You Can Do To Fight Global Warming In 2023
By Tracey MacDermott
For the GPHN

Welcome 2023! January is typically one of our coldest months of the year, second only to December. Unfortunately, we can bet this will be another year of record-breaking heat, drought, wildfires, flooding and lower crop yields.
In Colorado, a combination or all of these will affect tourism and public health. We have already experienced substantial warming, and forecasts show that average temperatures will further rise 2.5 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050. Yikes!
At the end of November, the Biden administration announced that two tribes in Alaska will receive $25 million each to head for higher ground, away from rising waters. Relocation of entire populations of people should make us all pause. Actions such as this will become part of our new normal. Climate-related disasters have tripled in the last 30 years, forcing 20 million people a year from their homes.
The New York Times has reported that 90 percent of the counties in the U.S. have recently experienced floods, hurricanes, wildfires or another serious climate-related event. None of us — no matter how rich or poor — can escape Mother Nature’s revenge. However, those who have contributed the least are usually the most impacted. Earth and equity are truly out of balance.
We may feel a bit immune here in Denver — at least to the worst of the disasters — but we are experiencing climate change right now. Last year Denver’s KMGH-TV reported that Colorado will likely experience 50-60 percent less snow by 2080 due to drier conditions resulting from climate change. The findings included a prediction that water will disappear from high elevations due to rising temperatures. Our state’s snowpack has been declining due to increasing year-round temperatures. Imagine our state with dwindling snow, and what the impacts on winter sports and recreation — a $1.2 billion industry — would do to our economy.
Here’s more bad news. Colorado is one of the fastest warming states in the country. The Center for Health Progress notes that our air quality will continue to decline in the Denver Metro area and the North Front Range.
I know many of us are feeling this prolonged drought, concerned about our trees and the increase of a wildfire season that begins earlier each year. Our ozone issues contribute to more than 800 deaths each year. The American Lung Association has given Denver a failing grade for high-ozone days and particulate pollution. This means that each of us continues to be at risk just for living in our beloved city.
Last year a study from the University of Colorado’s Journal of Ecology reported that tree mortality in the state’s subalpine forests tripled since the 1980s. Heat and drought are responsible for 70 percent of tree deaths in 13 areas of subalpine forest. The researchers noted that the findings were alarming.
Clearly, the impacts of global warming have smacked us, right here and right now. Any further waiting to step up our counteraction is not an option.
In 2023, what can we do — what will you do — to stop impending disaster? Here are a few suggestions:
• Demand our leaders prioritize combatting climate change.
• Demand an equitable transition for communities that bear a disproportionate burden.
• Green up your commute: walk, take public transportation, car-pool, ride your bike.
• Consume less.
• Reduce energy use.
• Support indigenous communities leading on climate.
• Invest in renewables.
• Green up your investment accounts.
• Act locally.
• Talk about it.
Our planet’s future is scary. The thought of what we can do seems overwhelming, but it is not impossible. Collectively we have the power to create change through our everyday actions. The time to act boldly is right now.
Tracey MacDermott is an at-large member of the board of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., and immediate past chair. She was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2017, and is currently the Statewide Co-Chair of the Climate Reality Project for the 100% Committed Campaign.