Kristopher Larsen, Nederland. It is hard to believe that it’s been almost two months (fifty-one days) since Nederland declared a local disaster emergency in the face of the growing Covid-19 crisis. In those seven weeks, we have seen Nederland at its finest. Volunteers selflessly giving of their time and skills to help neighbors. Businesses coming together to support the health of their employees and customers. Town staff going above and beyond to find resources and tools for everyone in town. It is because of everyone who calls Nederland home that I am convinced that we’re going to come out of this crisis successfully, as a community. 

Another anniversary passed, mostly unnoticed amidst the current crisis, last week. April 20th was the fiftieth anniversary of the first Earth Day. Last fall, as I was looking ahead to spring, I was thinking of this momentous day and how Nederland could celebrate the day, our planet, and look ahead to what we can do to mitigate the impact of what will still be the defining crisis of our time; The Climate Crisis. 

Nederland is already doing more than most cities. Last year we transitioned all town facilities to 100% solar power, purchasing all their electricity through a solar field in Weld County. This was the first step in meeting the ambitious goal we set as a Town to transition all our electrical usage to renewable by 2025, a goal that was ambitious when we set it in 2017 and which becomes more so as time passes. It also becomes more important that we meet that goal. 

On Earth Day this year, NOAA reported a new record concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a record that has already been broken several times since. While our attention is rightly focused on what we can do to address the current crisis, we can’t lose sight of the larger, slower one ahead. 

Meeting the goals Nederland has set is going to take all of us. Let’s take this time to look ahead to how we can move Nederland away from fossil fuels, first on our electrical grid and then everywhere else. I hope everyone who has an interest in moving Nederland to a more sustainable future will work with our town advisory boards and volunteers that are continuing to work on these goals. And, of course, if anyone has any creative or out-of-the-box ideas about how we can move our town away from a fossil fuel past into a sustainable future, please let me know at kristopherl@nederlandco.org or the entire Board of Trustees at bot@nederlandco.org. 

(Originally published in the May 7, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)