Dear COOLER Community,

We hope you are enjoying long summer days, warm evenings outdoors, time with friends or family and that you are safe in a world that sometimes feels as though it moves faster with each passing day. While summer often evokes thoughts of mild days, we know that it can be punctuated by fierce storms fueled by a warming climate. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by devastating floods this summer. 

Texas. Illinois. North Carolina. New Mexico. We worry that by the time we publish this, there will be more places to add to this list.

Flash floods are common in the summer. Warm air holds a lot of moisture and summer storms tend to move slowly because the jet stream, which directs storms at other times of the year, is quite weak. Storms that stall out can dump several inches of rain in a few short hours. In urban areas, or in landscapes denuded by fires, that water can runoff quickly, leading to devastating flash flooding.

Climate change can exacerbate intense summer storms. Warmer temperatures lead to stronger evaporation. More water in warmer air means more energy for potential storms. (You can learn more about this extreme precipitation here.) 

All of this underscores the need to strengthen community resilience to these types of storms. Resilience is our ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to events and disturbances. While we may not be able to prevent these storms, we can prepare our communities by improving our communication systems to better allow us to respond before, during, and after severe weather events. Preparing our communities through education in severe weather hazards, and well-developed emergency action plans, can save lives.

Do you have a plan for what to do in a severe weather event, such as intense rainfall, large hail, or strong winds? How can you protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community? What support do you need to prepare? Share your thoughts with us at [email protected]. In future newsletters, we will highlight strategies and ideas that help keep us all safe. 

-Cindy, Genevieve, and Arika (COOLER Newsletter Editors)

Highlights in climate news:

Climate change is a heavy topic, even in the best of times. It is all too easy to get caught up in the daily struggle and forget to celebrate the progress being made—both at home and around the world. For those dedicated to climate resilience right now, these are challenging times. We would like to take a moment to share some much-needed climate wins.

A win close to home…

Elizabeth Black and Christopher Brown, a North Boulder couple and owners of Your Neighborhood Christmas Tree Farm, gave away 200 seedling trees over the weekend of June 7th, hoping to do their part to combat climate change. They have been giving away hundreds of trees like this on the first weekend of June for almost twenty years now—along with advice about how to look after them properly in Boulder's climate. “After viewing ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ Al Gore's moving film about global warming, we decided we had to do something to help combat climate change. Growing trees to give away seemed like something we could do to help the planet,” say the couple on their website.

In total, Black and Brown have given away over 10,000 native plants to their area. A beautiful local example of consistent effort adding up to true positive impact.

A win in the States…

In the midst of flooding across the US, some cities have been using the increased climate uncertainty as a call to action. Boston is one of the most vulnerable cities in terms of climate change, bearing the brunt of costal sea level rising on top of the city itself sinking. Combined, these factors make flooding a fact of life in Boston, as well as making climate change an undeniable, everyday reality Bostonians must contend with. This has poised Boston to lead by example through the city’s dedication to climate resilience, creating the US’s first dedicated Office of Climate Resilience (OCR). Boston has more than 100 climate resilience projects in the works between now and 2070, including climate resilient architecture and flood mitigation plans. Even federal budget cuts have done little to derail progress, with funding coming from city and state budgets. Addressing this problem, rather than ignoring it, is the only way forward for US cities like Boston. Read more in the Guardian’s article on the topic.

An international win…

The global shipping industry remains integral to transporting goods across the world, though it continues to be fueled by dirty fossil fuels—byproducts of oil refinement after cleaner fuels have been extracted for airplanes and cars. This makes shipping simultaneously vital for international economy and incredibly difficult to reduce emissions.

To combat this issue, the U.N. International Maritime Organization has struck a deal between its member states, aiming to drastically decrease global shipping pollution and continue to taper off emissions. Starting in 2028, international cargo ships will pay a fee if they exceed a certain amount of pollution. This allowed threshold will continue to decrease over time, hopefully pushing the industry towards more innovation around clean and cost-effective practices, setting the example for more global industries to follow suit. Read more about this issue in this article from the Environmental Defense Fund’s digital magazine.

A bit about our student team…

Now that the University of Northern Colorado’s academic year has come to a close, we must bid farewell to our graduating COOLER Student Team! We’d like to introduce you to the students who have supported us over the past year and share their aspirations for making the world a better (cooler) place. 

Meet Anna Dispirito!

Roles in COOLER: CLImates Cohort Manager for Students, Webpage designer, Social Media Manager

Anna Dispirito is a recently graduated Environmental Science major at UNCO. She says that the move from her home state of Ohio to Colorado had a big impact on her perspective about the impacts of climate change, ”Wildfires were never something I had to concern myself with, and so moving into a high desert environment from a humid continental one made me more keenly aware of what kind of natural disasters have become heightened with climate change, and that we need to work against it.” 

Anna says that what she enjoyed most about her role as the Community Manager for the Student COOLER CLImates cohort was the opportunity to work with people from many different backgrounds. She also enjoyed working on the COOLER website and managing social media for the team. Anna began her college career as a Studio Art major, and she says, “Being able to still connect with the artistic part of who I am while focusing on science is really special to me! I always want to keep a balance between my passions, and COOLER allows me to do that.”

Staying connected with nature is something that helps her stay positive about the changes we are seeing in our environment. “Taking the time to be outside and experience what our world has to offer is really important for me in this field. Remembering that Earth was not created FOR us, but for us to experience.”

She insists that everyone can make a difference when it comes to climate change, “People think that needing to fight climate change is about getting a degree in climate science and reading complicated research articles and being in a position of power. Well, you don't need to do any of that to make a change! Bring reusable bags to the grocery store, visit farmers' markets, use bar soap, compost, recycle, do what is best for your home and don't beat yourself up if you're not being a perfect climate stewardess. Making any change is a good change. We are all in this together, and every action counts.”

Meet Genevieve Hankins!

Roles in COOLER: CLImates Cohort Manager for Community-based organizations; Newsletter and AMA Video Editor; COOLER Calendar Manager

Genevieve Hankins has always been passionate about the environment. She has a memory of making flyers with a childhood friend to help “spread awareness about climate change” in her community. That passion has resulted in a degree focused in Environmental Science, and work as editor of this COOLER newsletter. As she moves on from college, Genevieve hopes to find work that allows her to integrate her interest in science and the outdoors. 

What she loved most about her work with COOLER: “I love the environment, I love science, and I love writing. Getting to combine all three for work is such a rare privilege. At a time when environmental issues are more overwhelming than ever, it’s very empowering to be able to harness my passion in some small act of rebellion against apathy—both the world’s and my own.”

She says she has also loved “how passionate and determined people can come together to actually accomplish goals and create real change. Many organizations aspire to this, but in practice, it’s so rare. The COOLER leadership and CLImates have really risen to the challenge, elevating the program far beyond my expectations. When each individual is so committed, the results are astounding. I’ve worked in groups that shy away from personal investment or hinge on a single motivated person to carry the weight. That’s not the case with COOLER and it’s been eye-opening to witness firsthand.”

Genevieve believes that focusing on community is something that helps her stay positive about the future of climate change, and that everyone has a role to play, “Climate change is not a black and white issue, it’s not all or nothing. I’ve fallen into the trap of believing you have to do every single thing “correctly,” buy all the right brands, never waste a drop of water, always recycle and compost. But the truth of the matter is no one person will ever be the perfect paragon of climate resilience. Something is better than nothing.”

She urges people to “celebrate victories and keep moving forward, however small the steps.”

2025 NOCO Climate Meetup: September 21st, 12pm-5pm

Join your fellow NOCO climate activists for an afternoon of networking and education! The 2025 NOCO Climate Meetup will be held on Sunday, September 21st in Centennial Park, Loveland at the Main Shelter. Sponsored by Climate Reality of NOCO and Citizens Climate Lobby Greeley, this event includes games, music, vegetarian food, and a wide variety of speakers—including our very own COOLER lead Cindy Shellito!

If planning to attend, please fill out this RSVP form!

Ask Me Anything (AMA) Events!

Check out our latest AMA where COOLER host Kyle Thoutt talks with one of our Community-based Organizations CLImates, Mike Weiland! Mike shares insights based on his meteorological background as well as his involvement with the Citizens Climate Lobby. Along with this, keep an eye out for the next AMA, an interview with CLImate Jessica Duke—coming out soon on the COOLER YouTube! In the meantime, click here or below to check out Mike’s recent AMA.

Backyard Biodiversity Workshop Series

Nelson Heider-Kuhn from Drylands Agroecology Research center is offering a series of workshops on backyard biodiversity. Hosted in Longmont, this series runs from early August through September 2025. Sign up for a single workshop or the whole series here! Payment plans and sliding scale payments are available.

“This 4-class hands-on series will guide you through the full process of transforming your backyard into a biodiverse habitat. You’ll explore how to read your land, test your soil, and map your space. You’ll learn which plants support which insects, how to design plant guilds for both food and habitat and how to plan for growth over time. You’ll build a pollinator box by hand, tour working examples of regenerative spaces in Longmont, and gain tools for navigating city codes, lawns, and HOA expectations.”

Meet the COOLER Team:

COOLER Directors and UNCO faculty: Cindy Shellito (Principal), Sharon Bywater-Reyes, Chelsie Romulo

COOLER Community Director: Arika Virapongse (Middle Path EcoSolutions)

COOLER Evaluation Director: Rupu Gupta (Rupu Gupta Consulting)

COOLER Community Managers & UNCO Student Team: Anna Dispirito, Kyle Thoutt, Genevieve Hankins (COOLER Newsletter Student Editor)