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Curious Nature
Pikas are herbivores, meaning they eat the grasses and wildflowers found in the high alpine. Because they have few options for food during the colder months, they spend the summer and fall drying food for the winter.
Rolf Kopfle/Special to the Daily
I’m at almost 11,500 feet, hiking to our research sites in the Front Range when I hear chirping and turn to see a small mammal scurrying across the rocks. The large, rounded ears are a dead giveaway: I’m in the presence of an American pika and I very well might be the predator it’s attempting to warn the rest of its colony about.
Daily file photo
Here’s a phrase you’re going to start hearing more: “beneficial electrification.”
That phrase refers to goals of the Eagle County Climate Action Collaborative. That group, which includes members from Eagle County, local towns and nonprofit organizations, is working to by 2030 reduce the county’s greenhouse gas emissions 50% from 2014 levels.
Much of that work will involve electrifying transportation and the valley’s buildings.
Colorado is one of the states most quickly adopting electric vehicles. According to a 2018 study, electric vehicles’ market share increased more than 66% from 2017. Still, 2018 electric vehicle sales in Colorado accounted for just 2.6% of all vehicle sales.
Special to the Daily
A growing number of mobile home residents in Dotsero are reaping the benefits of fuel-switching to electrification, first and foremost because now they can actually heat their homes in the winter.
Eagle County government, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, Energy Smart Colorado, Walking Mountains Science Center, Colorado Energy Office and Holy Cross Energy are making great strides in helping these residents. The organizations are outfitting homes in the Dotsero Mobile Home Park with state-of-the-art weatherization and sustainable energy systems through the Beneficial Electrification for Eagle County Housing project.
The project launched in December, supplying three mobiles homes in Dotsero with brand new Air Source Heat Pump heating and cooling systems, induction ranges and customized energy efficiency and weatherization upgrades. Every dollar spent on the upgrade is designed to return at least a dollar savings on their utility bill. The upgrades will
Posted by Hannah Harn | Feb 15, 2021
Energy Smart Colorado will be coming to Chaffee County this year with the financial assistance of Chaffee County, the City of Salida, and the Sangre de Cristo Electric Association (SDCEA). Chaffee County Environmental Health Manager Wano Urbonas will be the lead contact and program facilitator.
Energy Smart Colorado’s (ESC) ten community partners serve 38 Colorado counties, with the addition of Chaffee County, working with rural communities’ non-profit groups, rural government agencies, and local utility providers to develop energy efficiency programs that help save residents money while encouraging local economic development and community-based goals for energy efficiency and climate action.