Lower is better in relation to carbon output. Routt County ranks second among the
Core Counties with 117 pounds of carbon output per
day generated by vehicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

The Team arrived at six final categories to measure:

Land Use,

Water Quality

Air Quality

Ambient Conditions

Solid Waste

Environmental Stewardship

As biodiversity
information becomes available, it will be added and tracked in the Index.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environmental Stewardship

carbon

6. Environmental Stewardship (weight: 25%)
What are we doing to manage energy consumption
in our mountain communities?
Basis: Global warming, carbon footprint, and energy conservation are often daily news topics nationwide. The Team raised the question: “what are we doing on a daily basis in our communities to improve our environmental livability?” The Team’s objective is to enhance the Environmental Stewardship section of this
report. The purpose of this index is to be a tracking tool to help affect change in Routt County. At this time the Team is using Carbon Output based on vehicle traffic to reflect energy consumption.

The Team will include additional categories to this section as specific data becomes available, particularly information pertaining to energy consumption and recycling, since these are measures that have a direct impact on Carbon Footprint, and are among those the community can influence.
Climate change is a significant concern, most particularly in communities where the economy is based on winter recreation. Two local climate data sets were selected to measure the potential effects of global climate change on Routt County’s climate:


1. Day of Peak Stream Flow / USGS Data on Stream Flow Data
2. Frost Free Days / National Weather Service Climate Data


The two identified data sets (Peak Runoff in the spring season and Frost-free Days in the fall season) are available for all Core Counties to monitor climate (and in future years) and compared to 20-year and 30-year averages. The analysis of these data sets shows that across all Core Counties, Peak Runoff occurred 6 earlier in 2007 than the 20-year average, and that there were 14 more Frost-Free Days in 2007 than the 30- year average.