Protect Our Winters Announces Addition of Auden Schendler to Board

Protect Our Winters (POW) is proud to welcome Auden Schendler as the newest member of its Board of Directors. Schendler is the Vice-President of Sustainability at the Aspen Skiing Company and will be a major contributor to POW’s efforts to activate the winter sports community in the fight against climate change.

Previously a research associate in corporate sustainability at Rocky Mountain Institute, Auden has been a trailer insulator, burger flipper, ambulance medic, Outward Bound instructor, high school math and English teacher, freelance writer, and Forest Service goose nest island builder. An avid outdoorsman, Auden has climbed Denali, North America’s highest peak, and kayaked the Grand Canyon in winter. His writing has been published in Harvard Business Review, the L.A. Times, Scientific American and Salon.com, among other places, and his work has been covered in Businessweek, Fast Company, Travel and Leisure, Outside, and other media. Auden was named a global warming innovator by TIME magazine in 2006 and in 2007 he testified to Congress on the impact of climate change on public lands. He lives in Basalt, Colorado with his wife Ellen and their children Willa and Elias.

“Protect Our Winters has momentum. It’s cool. And it’s exactly the right idea: we’re going to solve climate change by mobilizing huge amounts of people who care. And skiers and riders care.” said Auden.

“We’re honored and and excited to have Auden be part of the Protect Our Winters leadership. We need the best and the brightest on our team to help us engage the winter sports community against climate change and without question, Auden is that guy.” said Chris Steinkamp, Executive Director of POW.

POW’s goal of uniting the winter sports community against climate change is reflected in its board membership. Schendler joins Matt McClain, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Surfrider Foundation, Strick Walker, former CMO at 1% For The Planet and currently the Business Development Lead at IDEO and Christina Thomure, Director of Sustainable Operations at Grand Targhee Resort.

Since 2008, Protect our Winters has invested over $150,000 in over 25 community-based grassroots organizations, partnered with The Sierra Club to fight dirty coal and produced “Generations”, in partnership with The North Face and Teton Gravity Research. “Generations” is a short-film about climate change, resulting in over 150,000 downloads and led to the “60 Days” campaign, an online activism effort urging US Senators to support clean energy legislation.

protectourwinters.org

Jeremy Jones' Protect Our Winters Announces "Sixty Days" Campaign

Protect Our Winters is proud to announce the launch of the "Sixty Days" campaign and website, www.60daysto.org.

Last fall, the American Clean Energy and Security Act was passed through the U.S. House of Representatives. This landmark legislation is now in danger of being held up in the Senate, and POW is calling on the winter sports community to share their voices with their respective Senators.

"While some see climate change as a scientific phenomenon, when we look at the cost of inaction, it's serious business," said POW founder Jeremy Jones. "To us, climate change is a threat to our local economies, our jobs and the vitality of our unique mountain communities that draw millions of tourists each year who shop in our stores, ride our lifts, eat in our restaurants and support thousands of other small businesses."

For example, snow-based recreation in the United States was recently estimated to contribute an estimated $66 billion to the US economy and support approximately 566,000 jobs. (OIF, 2006).

A vote needs to take place within the next sixty days, or the process runs a serious risk of stalling, with the result of loosing the ground gained, and producing a very different future for winter around the world.

The "Sixty Days" website offers an overview of the issues at stake, shows the current voting position of each Senator, and gives users an easy way to send an e-letter telling Senators why passing strong climate legislation is crucial to the economic and cultural well being of mountain communities. The campaign is also being supported by an op-ed piece written by Jones and delivered to mountain community newspapers across the US.

The campaign was inspired by a January visit to Capitol Hill by Jones and a snow sports coalition to screen "Generations", a short film about climate change and its effect on those who depend on winter for their livelihoods. After meeting with an overwhelmingly positive response to the film, and finding out that many Senators are still undecided, Jones recognized the unique and powerful voice the snow sports community could have in tipping this important legislation toward passing in the Senate.

"Winter fuels our passions, but also fuels the lives of thousands of individuals who depend on annual tourism and recreation for their livelihoods," said Jones. "It's important that we come together as skiers, snowboarders, and winter enthusiasts to let the Senators know in these mountain regions that we support strong climate legislation and the move towards a new, clean energy economy."

Go to www.60daysto.org ASAP and send an email to your Senator now!

Generations - A short film on winter sports culture and the affects of climate change

Teton Gravity Research is proud to release Generations, a short film on the consequences of Climate Change upon winter environments and snow culture. Presented by The North Face in partnership with the non-profit group Protect Our Winters (POW), Generations discusses climate change through the perspectives of those for whom snowy winters have a deeper personal significance. Going beyond charts and numbers, Generations humanizes the debate on climate change by exploring the delicateness of winter and the intrinsic value of snow to people across generations and cultures.

Generations was conceived when The North Face, the premiere supplier of authentic, innovative and technically advanced outdoor apparel, gear and footwear, reached out to TGR and POW to produce a more compelling call-to-action over the climate crisis.

“We wanted to produce something that went beyond the traditional climate change speech. Generations takes the conversation a step further by relating global warming to real consequences and personal affection,” said Letitia Webster, Director of Corporate Sustainability and Strategic Marketing, The North Face.

Generations has already earned acclaim; in its first public debut the film won “Best Environmental Message” from the Backcountry Film Festival and “Best Environmental Film” at Rossland Mountain Film Festival. The film will continue an ambitious tour schedule through universities, film festivals and schoolroom environmental education programs. In addition, the full film is available to watch online and download for free at TetonGravity.com/generations, TheNorthFace.com/generations and Protectourwinters.org.