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Tourism warned to adapt to climate

Allen BestVail, CO Colorado

DAVOS, Switzerland Tourism operators must adapt rapidly to climate change, according to a report adopted by a conference of 100 nations sponsored by the United Nations.A changing climate is the only certainty of the future, said Geoffrey Lipman, assistant secretary general of the U.N. World Tourism Organization. How it will change and how it will affect a nations tourism industry will depend on the location and offering, he told The New York Times. Some places may get new opportunities as a result of the warming climate, he added.The Whistler-Blackcomb ski area is building lifts higher on the mountain, in zones where snow is more reliable, Arthur DeJong, mountain planning and environment resource manager, told the newspaper. Ski lifts typically last 25 years, he said, and the company has done computer simulations to determine where the snow will likely be.Tourism is reliant on transportation, and the Davos conference concluded that the tourism trade is responsible for about 5 percent of the worlds carbon dioxide emissions.

SALIDA, Colorado – After many years of work, Bruce Salisbury has realized his dream of having a mountain peak named to memorize all U.S. soldiers killed in action (KIA) or missing in action (MIA).The new Mt. KIA-MIA is located on an 11,293-foot peak along the Continental Divide between Salida and Gunnison, explains Colorado Central Magazine.Salisbury, a retired military officer now living in Aztec, N.M., first proposed to rename Sheep Mountain near Telluride, one of 29 mountains in Colorado so-named, as Mt.Kiamia.Ute Indians of the region seemed to concur, but commissioners in San Miguel County, where the mountain is partly located, did not, and the idea went no further. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which has say-so, normally seeks consensus for new names from local authorities.Despite being on the Continental Divide, this new nomination is entirely within Saguache County, which agreed. The peak previously bore no name, although nearby is another peak named you guessed it Sheep Mountain.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. Mimi Met, a visiting expert in school language programs, says the mix of English- and Spanish-speaking students in Teton County makes for an ideal environment for dual-language education, reports the Jackson Hole News& Guide. The goal of dual-language education is to graduate students who are bilingual and biliterate. School officials who are pushing for dual immersion language instruction hope to get four Spanish-speaking teachers for the kindergarten and first-grade levels.


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