I'm writing this week's entry from the snowy slopes of Steamboat Springs Colorado!

I'm not here to ski, although there is a good chance the fresh powder will eventually get the best of me and I'll soon find myself barreling downhill, but rather to participate in the 19th annual Weather Summit.

This year one of the major topics of discussion is 'Climate Change.' Certainly, this has been a topic of interest for some time, but it's a whole different story when you put together some of the sharpest minds in climate research and dissect the subject even further. I've already heard from one of the leading experts in hurricane forecasting and research: Dr. Steve Lyons whom you may know from The Weather Channel.

Obviously, Colorado isn't a place where you'll find people getting too concerned about hurricanes, but there's no question in my mind we've all become more aware, and to an extent hyper-sensitive to catastrophic weather since Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. There's also been a heated discussion amongst scientists and meteorologists whether or not Global Warming has contributed to an increase in Atlantic hurricane activity.

Although Dr. Lyons doesn't believe there's a direct correlation between the two, he did talk in detail about seasonal hurricane forecasts and how the naming of tropical storms has changed over the past couple of decades. He emphasized a good point, that it is the responsibility of broadcast meteorologists like myself to make the viewer (that's you) aware of the danger--but not to exaggerate it. As he put it "Prepare, not scare."

Now let's localize things a little bit more. Jim White is probably a name you've not heard of, and most of us wouldn't recognize him if he passed us on the street, but the research he's involved with plays an integral part in 'Climate Change'. Jim is with CU's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. He showed us some alarming statistics on the concentration of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere. Just in case you didn't know this yet, there is strong evidence that an increased level of CO2 equates to an increase in global temperature.

Jim showed throgh several different graphs and charts that the rapid industrialization of China and India has substantially increased the level or concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. He also showed satellite pictures depicting the extensive decrease in ice over Greenland and the polar ice caps, which has led to a rise in sea levels. I'll let you digest all of that for a moment.

Okay, have you caught your breath? I don't want to be an alarmist, and this isn't the time to panic. 'Climate Change' is something that will be discussed the rest of our lives and whether or not you believe in 'Global Warming' really isn't the issue. I'm a firm believer that no matter what the impact humankind is having on the enviornment, thnking "green" is a very, very good thing for everyone.

I'm not expecting to change the world by writing this blog, but I hope, just maybe a few of you reading this will change your habits enough that you'll influence your friends and family to change theirs. After that, then we can start thinking about changing our world for the better.

JB