Mountain Biking: Rubber side down- Time for a TurnaroundWell, my friends, things are finally looking up, and good timing, too, since I’m sure you’re all sick of me bitching. Recent bike build, including wheels… fun! In what feels like a fairly short time, I’ve come from sitting around … Continue reading → […]
- This Raised My PulseHey, baby… wanna ride? I may be injured, but I’m not dead yet. I can still have racy thoughts. Here’s more info. In other news, UBI was an awesome success! I had a blast. I highly recommend it. Overhaul day…. … Continue reading → […]
- Time for a Turnaround
- Edgy Veggie
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Beetle woes to continue
Boulder residents are wondering if something good could come from this bitterly cold weather, namely a decrease in the pine beetles attacking lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees.Unfortunately, the answer is no. Despite highs of 12, 3 and 10 degrees for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, the beetles will return this summer.
“It’s very unlikely that these temperatures will be cold enough to significantly affect the pine beetles,” said Tom Veblen, professor of geography at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Data collected by D.A. Leatherman, I. Aguayo, and T.M. Mehall in their report, “Mountain Pine Beetle,” determined that temperatures of at least 30 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) must last for five days at the least in order for freezing temperatures to make an impact on the pine beetle population.
Yes, we hate you Mr. Beetle. Photo by Jeff Mitton.
Veblen explains that the cold’s duration is necessary because the beetles are in an extreme state of dormancy during the winter, offering them great protection. Also, the recorded temperatures are vastly different from what the beetles experience.
“The temperature at the weather station is likely to be quite a bit colder (than where the beetle is,) beneath the snow and beneath the bark,” he said.
To the dismay of many, the beetles will be back.
For more information about the recent cold spell, see “Temperatures in Boulder climb back towards normal.”
Go green(er), get funding
Here in Boulder, we’ve got people who care about animals, who protect plants, and who worry about rocks. We’ve got groups watching out for mammals, birds and rodents. We love our outdoor sports and work to take care of the environment in which we play.
In short, Boulder rocks at being green.
Yep. There are groups out there protecting little rat things like this. Photo by Jeff Mitton.
And so I have a proposal for all of you environmentally savvy individuals: Enter yourself or tell someone you admire to enter him/herself to be a winner in the Green Awards before March 6.
Mr. or Ms. first place winner gets $25,000 and a trip to Los Angeles for the Green Awards celebration (although why they’re hosting the bash in such a smog-filled city is beyond me).
So here’s the place to sign up: https://www.thegreenawards.com.
And please, get in touch with Courtney, Laura or Dave at the Daily Camera when you win. It’ll make a sweet story.
How do you take your coffee?
Cream? Sugar? Reusable coffee cup?
I’ve been miffed more than once by the thoughtless way a barista (or baristo … is that the term for a male cafe worker?) hands over a double non-fat triple shot no whip mocha latte.
Not so much by her technique, but by her lack of questioning. Whatever happened to “Is this for here or to go?”
Because if it’s for here, why not take your brew in big cozy mug? You’ll be saving a cup and one of those cardboard hand-scalding protector thingys from the landfill. AND, often times the person behind the counter will warm up the mug with hot water and THEN put coffee in the cup.
But maybe that leisurely lifestyle doesn’t apply to you. There’s no time to sit and read in a coffee shop; your boss expects you at work pronto! Why not consider investing in a reusable mug? There are bazillions of sweet designs and you’ll be helping to save the world. PLUS, your mug will make you more distinctive, likely upping your coffee-drinker prestige to one of those special individuals addressed by the barista by name.
Intrigued? Here’s more info from a rockin’ website Sustainability is Sexy about “The Basic Problem with Coffee Cups.”
Climate Change NOT mentioned in State of the Union Address: Why?
Boulder is a hotbed of environmentalists. How do we feel about Obama’s omission of the topic in his State of the Union address?
Do YOU agree with David Roberts, who writes the following:
“In his 2009 State of the Union-esque speech, Obama spoke of “saving our planet from the ravages of climate change.” In his 2010 SOTU, he affirmed the “overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change.” In 2011, fresh off the hottest year on record, Obama said … nothing about climate change. It didn’t come up. “
Read more of “Obama was wrong not to mention climate change in his State of the Union” at Grist.org.
If you have a minute, we’d love to hear what you have to say. Just drop us a message.
Human cheese: gag or brag?
Cheese procured from people, not goats, cows or some other hairy momma animal?
Does the thought pique your interest or stimulate your gag reflex?
“After the shock of imagining what it would be like to consume cheese made from human milk, the real question becomes: Why does it make us so uncomfortable?”
Read more of Danielle Gould’s fascinating interview at Grist.org: Care for some human cheese?
Bigger mountains worth the drive?
Photo Credit: Breckenridge Ski Resort/Liam Doran
Are you one of the weekend warriors who ritually escapes to the mountains for steep runs and deep powder? Have you ever wondered about your commuting statistics?
I found these numbers for a one-way trip rather interesting. Hope you do too.
So let’s say you’re starting on the corner of 10th and Pearl and heading up to the mountains …
Eldora Mountain Resort
Driving time: 30 minutes
Distance: 17 miles
Gas used: 0.68 gallons
Money spent on gas: $1.90
A Basin Ski Area
Driving time: 1 hour, 41 minutes
Distance: 75 miles
Gas used: 3 gallons
Money spent on gas: $8.38
Winter Park Resort
Driving time: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Distance: 77.5 miles
Gas used: 3.1 gallons
Money spent on gas: $8.65
Copper Mountain
Driving time: 1 hour, 56 minutes
Distance: 89 miles
Gas used: 3.56 gallons
Money spent on gas: $9.94
Breckenridge Ski Resort
Driving time: 2 hours, 3 minutes
Distance: 92 miles
Gas used: 3.69 gallons
Money spent on gas: $10.29
Vail Ski Resort
Driving time: 2 hours, 16 minutes
Distance: 109 miles
Gas used: 4.36 gallons
Money spent on gas: $12.16
Winter Bike to Work Day 2011 photos: before the snowstorm
OK, so the photos the official photo guys took are far better. Er, not that those people are better looking … just that … well …
I’m just going to stop while I’m ahead.
Here are a few more shots (obviously taken before yesterday’s snowstorm). Want more info on the event? Read more
Winter Bike to Work Day: Great Success
Did you read that title in your best Borat impersonation? Because that’s how I wrote it. If not, here’s the man himself.
So Winter Bike to Work Day was in fact, a great success. You see, people like to bike. They also like free food.
Michael White, 15, bikes to school each day with his dad, Mark. But the free food offered throughout Boulder on the city’s third annual Winter Bike to Work Day today added an extra incentive to commute on two wheels.
“Why can’t you guys do this every day?” Michael, a New Vista High School student, said as he ate a tamale from a food stall outside the Pedal to Properties real estate firm on Boulder’s Pearl Street. “Then I can stop having cold cereal in the morning.”
Check out “the rest of the story,” (that was supposed to be your attempt at Paul Harvey) at Hundreds participate in Boulder’s third Winter Bike to Work Day.
Free National Park days announced!
This is one of my favorite New Economic Landscape traditions — viva la depression! — the announcement of no-fee days at our country’s fine National Parks.
The 2011 fee-free dates will be the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 15-17), National Park Week (April 16-24), the first day of summer (June 21), National Public Lands Day (September 24), and the weekend of Veterans Day (November 11-13).
Hall Ranch is about to get bigger (open space tax passes)
Mike Overfelt, from Loveland, hikes up the trail at Hall Ranch just beyond Lyons in 2006 | Daily Camera
Hall Ranch is about to get bigger. The favorite hiking and biking destination southwest of Lyons will grow by 577 acres, the county commissioners decided Tuesday.
The property is just one of a bunch on the county’s wishlist — which until Tuesday, county staff weren’t sure they’d have the money to buy.
But it looks like voters have passed Issue 1B, a sales tax that will bring in more than $5 million a year for the next 20 years so the county can buy more land.
Read more about the tax and Hall Ranch’s expansion at DailyCamera.com.
