In a Western Colorado community, decades of drought have left lasting impacts on the surrounding forests, and extreme weather events frequently destroy local fruit crops.
In a Western Colorado community, decades of drought have left lasting impacts on the surrounding forests, and extreme weather events frequently destroy local fruit crops. Coal mines once supplied the region with abundant fuel, and recent natural gas discoveries in deep shale formations bring the promise of additional fossil fuel resources. However, stagnating oil prices and the recent closure of two of the three coal mines prompted one high school teacher to prepare his students for a different future.
With funding from the NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project, environmental science teacher Ben Graves set out to train his students in the burgeoning field of solar energy. Delta, Colorado, has one of the highest potentials for solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity in the state, and Graves saw this as an opportunity to help his community adapt to changing climate and economic conditions. “Reinvention starts with generating community awareness, changing attitudes, and providing opportunities to master new skills through hands-on technical training,” he said.
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Image via NOAA.
