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Minturn Middle School letters

Vail Daily staff
Vail, CO, Colorado

Following are letters to the editor from writing teacher Kristen Morgan’s seventh- and eighth-grade classes at Minturn Middle School.

Climate worries

Climate change may seem like it’s not happening, but it really is. Have you noticed that you can’t run outside as long without overheating, or that you have 15 less days of skiing than five years before? The reason your life is being affected in a negative way is because climate change is happening, causing it to raise almost 1 degree higher every year and causing the mountain to close sooner.



Vail Resorts and other resorts are being affected by climate change. Each year the snowpack decreases, and by 2020 it has been estimated that the snowpack will decrease by 30 percent. Thats means there will be only a 58.4 inch snowpack at most and by 2050 the snowpack is estimated to decrease by 50 percent; that’s a 36 inch snowpack at most.

At this rate of decreasing snowpack Vail will close by 2090 because of a low snowpack level unless we stop climate change.

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Rising temperature will also mean the ski season will end sooner. Along with the rising temperature, there will also be a rise in the pine beetle population. Pine beetles are killing more trees than ever, causing more danger on the slopes of Vail.

How are these pine beetles causing more danger? Pine beetles carry a fungus on their backs called blue stain fungus, and this blue stain fungus causes trees to stop getting nutrients, then causing it to die.

As you have probably seen on Vail, there are many dead trees mostly from pine beettles and these dead trees have a high chance of falling on someone, and many skiers get hurt from fallen trees on the ground that are unseen.

All of Vail’s problems could be fixed, though, if we all part in and prevent climate change and not to mention climate change is also taking affect on the economy.

Along with the mountain struggling and having the potential to close, so will the Vail’s economy because Vail’s economy relies on the resorts that Vail Resorts owns.

Like I said, by 2020 our snowpack will only be 36 inches, and isn’t Vail known for our ski resorts and snow, what will happen if tourist stop coming because of this.

If tourists do stop coming, the economy will lower by 14 percent and hotels will go out of business because there will be no more tourists.

Not only will we make our economy worse, but we will also make the whole entire U.S. economy worse because there will be a lower snowpack, so there will be 10 percent less spring run off, so there wouldn’t enough water for the Southwest.

Then the United States will have to spend lots of money on finding a new way of getting water and that new way of getting water probably cost more than what we are using now as a water source.

We have to stop the rapidly increasing climate change before it gets worse.

Health is becoming a bigger and bigger issue every year, and climate change is helping health get worse. One of the ways climate change is affecting our health is by making us stay inside instead of exercising.

Admit it, none of us likes to get outside when it’s over 90 degrees, so what will make us go outside when it’s over 100 degrees because of climate change?

If the mountain does close then people in the Vail Valley will lack in exercise because lots of people in the Vail Valley get their exercise by biking, skiing, snowboarding, etc., on the mountain. Your health is in danger because of climate change, so help prevent it.

Did you know that we have 300 days of sun, which is more than average, so why not transfer the sun into energy that we could use in our everyday life?

Solar panels will transfer the sun into energy, and solar panels are a renewable resource, so it won’t make climate change worse. If you’re thinking solar panels are stupid because they don’t work at night and are too expensive, then you’re wrong. Solar panels save energy in something like a battery so you can use the stored energy at night and solar panels do come at a price. But in a couple of years, they will pay you back in your electrical savings. Solar is the way to go for everybody living in Colorado, and it will help prevent the rising climate.

People have thought of many great ideas to help climate change, but there are still many other renewable or cleaner resources out there that could be thought of.

We the people must think of other resources that could help climate change. If we do think of better resources, then we will have a way better chance of preventing climate change.

I have an idea: Why not attach generators to all four wheels of cars so you’re constantly making energy while you drive?

We must stop the climate from raising even 1 degree or else the mountain will close, the economy will get worse, and our health will get worse.

Mykah Huang Avon

Change needed

Watching the grass sway in the wind, visualizing the perfect powder day — what if that opportunity was gone? Imagine no skiing in Eagle County. That means no skiing on Vail Mountain. Could you imagine? Climate change is affecting the ski industry more and more each year.

Picture one morning you wake up, get cup of coffee, sit in your favorite chair, then you pick up the Vail Daily and the head line is “Vail Mountain Closing.” What would your first reaction be? My guess would be not very calm. This might be the result if we don’t make a change. C02 is the main cause of global warming, which is affecting skiing.

The more C02 we contribute, the less snow we get, or the faster it melts. The mountain will start opening later and closing earlier and eventually may even close.

Who’s to blame? Blame climate change. When more C02 is released, it creates a force field surrounding the globe, trapping fossil fuels inside. This is called the greenhouse effect. When this happens, the atmosphere will get hotter, causing climate change. Snowfall will decrease rapidly over the years.

If we want to prevent this problem, we need to make some changes –changes like turning off lights when they’re not being used, alternative transportation, switching to alternative energy, etc.

When you turn off a light that’s not being used, you are saving energy and money.

The reason why we have energy is from burning coal. The more coal we burn, the more carbon emissions are released into the atmosphere. When you are traveling somewhere, you can take the bus or car pool to decrease the levels of carbon emissions.

And for all the rich tourists who come to Vail and use their multi-million dollar houses twice a year, invest some money in solar panels, it takes more energy to power your house for a year then it does a bus station for two.

I’m a lazy teenager and I think these few things are easy.

If you want to keep skiing on powder days and doing 540s off of jumps, then we need to make a change. Do it for the ski mountain.

Sierra Trygg


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