CMC Earns Honorable Mention in National Climate Leadership Awards

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Adrian Fielder charging his electric car at CMC.

Adrian Fielder, assistant dean of instruction at CMC Spring Valley, fuels up at CMC Carbondale, at one of the college's electric vehicle charging stations. Photo Julie Albrecht

By Heather McGregor

For its collaborative work on electric cars, wildlife surveys and a broad range of other efforts that address climate change, Colorado Mountain College recently earned national recognition.

In January, the U.S. Green Building Council and Second Nature honored the college as one of eight U.S. institutions receiving the 2018 Higher Education Climate Leadership Awards.

CMC’s award, an honorable mention, is for cross-sector collaboration. It recognizes the college’s students, faculty and administration for partnering with many other organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, monitor changes in climate and support land preservation.

Collaborative efforts cited for the award include working with the Colorado Energy Office to install electric car charging stations at 10 CMC locations, strategizing with community and utility leaders to accelerate renewable energy, and using student scientists to help land and climate organizations create biological baselines.

For example, students in the Roaring Fork Valley are monitoring soil moisture content at stations throughout the valley to provide valuable data for the Aspen Global Change Institute, according to Adrian Fielder, assistant dean of instruction at CMC Spring Valley.

In another project, students and faculty are working with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program to conduct a “bio-blitz” survey, documenting plant and animal life in and near the Spring Valley campus and setting a biological baseline.

In Aspen, students and faculty are working with The Farm Collaborative at Cozy Point Ranch to create a demonstration farm, tool library and incubator space for food entrepreneurs, with the aim of building local food resilience as the climate changes.

CMC’s Bachelor of Arts in sustainability studies program hosts annual conferences open to students and invited members of the public. The conferences feature workshops on efforts to develop clean energy jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changing climate.

College connects on local, national stage

CMC is an active member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, a national organization for college-level climate and sustainability programs. The association’s resources help keep CMC’s faculty and staff on the leading edge of sustainability education.

These and many other examples of cross-sector collaboration were included in CMC’s successful award application, written by Dr. Kevin Hillmer-Pegram, associate professor of sustainability studies at Spring Valley, and Ed Chusid, CMC grant coordinator.

“Recognition for cross-sector collaboration is an honor and truly symbolic of our sustainability successes here at the college,” said Nathan Stewart, chair of the college’s sustainability studies bachelor’s program and associate professor at CMC Steamboat Springs.

The Higher Education Climate Leadership Awards focused on three key areas in which colleges can make a difference: climate innovation, student preparedness and cross-sector collaboration.

CMC offered examples of its work in all three sectors. For the U.S. Green Building Council and Second Nature, CMC’s collaborative work stood out.

“Combining the expertise of higher education institutions with businesses, cities, states and other stakeholders creates climate solutions at the scale needed to meet today’s environmental challenges,” said Betsy Painter, communications manager for Second Nature.

Award winners are being recognized at the 2019 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit February 2019 in Tempe, Arizona.

Meese, Debra

By

photo: Debra Meese

Dr. Debra Meese

Adjunct Faculty
970-526-2900 | dmeese@coloradomtn.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. Earth Science, University of New Hampshire
  • Doctor of Optometry, New England College of Optometry

Awards

  • On the Spot Cash Award, 1989, 1992, 2000
  • Antarctic Service Medal, 1990
  • Invention Award, 1992, 1994
  • Performance Award, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002
  • CRREL Research and Development Achievement Award, 1994
  • Quality Step Increase, 1995
  • Certificate of Achievement, July 1997, November 1997
  • Special Act Award, 1997
  • Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, 1997, 2001

Publications

  • Obbard, R.W., K.E. Sieg, I. Baker, D. Meese, G.A. Catania, 2011, Microstructural evolution in the fine-grained region of the Siple Dome (Antarctica) ice core, Journal of Glaciology, 57(206):1046-1056.
  • Spaulding, NE, D.A. Meese, I. Baker, 2011, Advanced Microstructural Characterization Of Four East Antarctic Firn/Ice Cores, Journal of Glaciology, 57(205):796-810.
  • Spaulding, NE, D.A. Meese, I. Baker, P. A. Mayewski, G. S. Hamilton, 2010, A new technique for firn grain size measurements, Journal of Glaciology, 55(195):12-19.
  • Gow, A.J. and D.A. Meese, 2007, The Distribution and Timing of Tephra Deposition at Siple Dome, Antarctica: Possible Climatic and Rheological Implications, Journal of Glaciology 53(183) 585-596.
  • Gow, A.J. and D.A. Meese, 2007, Physical Properties, Crystalline Textures and C-axis Fabrics of Siple Dome (Antarctica) Ice Core, Journal of Glaciology, 53(183): 573-584.
  • Baker, I., R.W. Obbard, D. Iliescu and D. Meese, 2007, “Microstructural Characterization of Firn”, Hydrological Processes, 21, 1624-1629.
  • Baker, I., R.W. Obbard, D. Iliescu and D. Meese, 2006, ”Microstructural Characterization of Firn”, Proceedings of the 63rd Eastern Snow Conference, Newark, DE, p. 211-218.
  • Gow, A.J., D.A. Meese, R.W. Bialas, 2004, Accumulation variability, density profiles and crystal growth trends in firn and ice cores from West Antarctica, Annals of Glaciology, 39, 101-109.
  • National Research Council of the National Academies, 2004, A Vision for the International Polar Year 2007 - 2008, D.A. Meese, editor, National Academy Press.
  • Taylor, K.C., R.B. Alley, D.A. Meese, M.K. Spencer, E.J. Brook, .W. Dunbar, R.C. Finkel, A.J. Gow, A.V. Kurbatov, G.W. Lamorey, P.A. Mayewski, E.A. Meyerson, K. Nishizumi, G.A. Zielinski, 2004, Dating the Siple Dome (Antarctica) ice core by manual and computer interpretation of annual layering, Journal of Glaciology, 50(70): 453-461.
  • Taylor, K.C., J.W.C. White, J.P. Severinghouse, E.J. Brook, P.A. Mayewski, R.B. Alley, E.J. Steig, M.K. Spencer, E. Meyerson, D.A. Meese, G.W. Lamorey, A. Grachev, A.J. Gow, B.A. Barnett, 2004, Abrupt climate change around 22 ka on the Siple Coast of Antarctica, Quaternary Science Reviews, 23:1-2(7-15).
  • Shipp, S.S., A. Bruccoli, M. Porter, D. Meese, Facilitating Participant Success: Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic Program, 2003, AGU invited presentation, Eos Trans. AGU, 84(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract ED32E-01.
  • National Research Council of the National Academies, 2003, Government Data Centers: Meeting Increasing Demands, D.A. Meese, editor, National Academy Press.
  • Taylor, K.C., R.B. Alley, D.A. Meese, M.K. Spencer, E.J. Brook, N.W. Dunbar, R. Finkel, A.J. Gow, A.V. Kurbatov, G.W. Lamorey, P.A. Mayewski, E. Meyerson, K. Nishiizumi, G.A. Zielinski, Dating the Siple Dome, Antarctica Ice Core by Manual and Computer Interpretation of Annual Layering, in review, Journal of Glaciology, submitted August 2003.
  • Bruccoli, Arlyn, Marjorie Porter, Debra Meese, Stephanie Shipp, 2003, Beyond the Polar Research Experience: The Role of Peer Advisement Groups in Realizing Success in a Research Experience Teacher Professional Development Program, American Educational Research Association, Conference Proceedings, in press.
  • Meese, D.A. and A.J. Gow, 2002, Accumulation rates from the ITASE cores, West Antarctica, EOS Trans. AGU, 83(19), Spring Meeting Suppl. Abstract A32B-01, p. S44.
  • Gow, A.J. and D.A. Meese, 2002, On the distribution and timing of volcanic ash and dust fallout in the Siple Dome ice core, EOS Trans. AGU, 83(19), Spring Meeting Suppl. Abstract A32B-05, p. S44.
  • Meyerson, Eric A., Paul A. Mayewski, Sharon Sneed, Andrei Kurbatov, Karl Kreutz, Kendrick Taylor, Gregg Lamorey, John Rhoades, Deb Meese, Richard Alley, 2002, Holocene-Glacial History of the Amundsen Sea Low, EOS Trans. AGU, 83(19), Spring Meeting Suppl. Abstract A32B-10, p. S45.
  • Gow, Anthony J., Debra A. Meese, Robert Bialas, 2002, Density Profiles and Crystal Growth Trends Observed in ITASE Cores From West Antarctica, EOS Trans. AGU, 83(19), Spring Meeting Suppl. Abstract A41A-01, p. S50.
  • Meese, D., S. Shipp, A. Bruccoli, M. Porter and M. Jeffries, 2002, Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic: Bringing Polar Science into the Classroom. In, ""Connectivity in Northern Waters"", Program and Abstracts, 53rd Arctic Science Conference, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Arctic Division, 18-21 September 2002, University of Alaska Fairbanks, p. 155.
  • Meese, D., S. Shipp, M. Porter, A. Bruccoli, 2002, One Model for Scientist Involvement in K-12 Education: Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic, EOS Trans, AGU, 83(47),Fall Meeting Suppl.
  • Ryerson, C., G. Koenig, R. Melloh, D. Meese, A. Reehorst, and D. Miller, 2001, Spatial Analysis of Great Lakes Regional Icing Cloud Liquid Water Content, 39th Aerospace Sciences Meeting Exhibit, January 8-11, Reno, NV, AIAA-2001-0394.
  • Andrews, J.T., M.E. Kirby, D. Meese, 1998, Late Quaternary Detrital Carbonate (DC-) Layers in Baffin Bay Marine Sediments (67 degrees - 74 degrees N): Correlation With Heinrich Events in the North Atlantic? Quaternary Science Reviews, 17(12):1125-1130.
  • Meese, D.A., E. Reimnitz, W.B. Tucker III, A.J. Gow, J. Bischof and D. Darby, 1997, Evidence for radionuclide transport by sea ice, Science of the Total Environment, 202(267-278).
  • Weis, D., D. Demaiffe, R. Souchez, A.J. Gow and D.A. Meese, 1997, Nd, Sr and Pb isotopic compositions of basal material in Central Greenland: Inferences for ice, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 150(161-169).
  • Taylor, K.C., P.A. Mayewski, R.B. Alley, E.J. Brook, A.J. Gow, P.M. Grootes, D.A. Meese, E.S. Saltzman, J.P. Severinghaus, M.S. Twickler, J.W.C. White, S. Whitlow and G.A. Zielinski, 1997, The Holocene-Younger Dryas transition recorded at Summit, Greenland, Science, 278:825-827.
  • Toxey, J.K., D.A. Meese, K.A. Welch and W.B. Lyons, 1997, The measurement of reactive silicate in saline-hypersaline lakes: Examples of the problem, International Journal of Salt Lake Research , 6:17-23.
  • Meese, D.A., A.J. Gow, R.B. Alley, P.M. Grootes, M. Ram, K.C. Taylor, G.A. Zielinski, J.F. Bolzan, P.A. Mayewski, E.D. Waddington, 1997, The GISP2 depth–age scale: Methods and results, Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(C12):26,411-26,424.
  • Alley, R.B., C.A. Shuman, D.A. Meese, A.J. Gow, K.C. Taylor, K.M. Cuffey, J.J. Fitzpatrick, P.M. Grootes, G.A. Zielinski, M. Ram, G. Spinelli, B. Elder, 1997, Visual Stratigraphic dating of the GISP2 ice core: Basis, reproducibility, and application, Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(C12):26,367-26,382.
  • Alley, R.B., A.J. Gow, D.A. Meese, J.J. Fitzpatrick, E.D. Waddington and J.F. Bolzan, 1997, Grain-scale processes, folding, and stratigraphic disturbance in the GISP2 ice core, Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(C12):26,819-26,830.
  • Gow, A.J., D.A. Meese, R.B. Alley, J.J. Fitzpatrick, S. Anandakrishnan, G.A. Woods and B.C. Elder, 1997, Physical and structural properties of the GISP2 ice core - a review, Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(C12):26,559-26,576.
  • Meeker, L.D., P.A. Mayewski, M.S. Twickler, S.I. Whitlow, and D. Meese, 1997, A 110,000 year history of change in continental biogenic emissions and related atmospheric circulation inferred from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Ice Core, Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(C12):26,489-26,504.
  • Gow, A.J. and D.A. Meese, 1996, Nature of basal debris in the GISP2 and Byrd ice cores and its relevance to bed processes, Annals of Glaciology, 22:134-140.
  • Gow, A.J. and D.A. Meese, 1996, Physical Properties Research on the GISP2 Ice Core, Arctic Journal of the United States, 9(Fall/Winter 1995): 23-26.
  • Reimnitz, E., W.B. Tucker, D.A. Meese, A. J. Gow, 1996, Ice-borne sediments from the Russian shelves, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 77(46):F378.
  • Meese, D.A. and A.J. Gow, 1996, The GISP2 depth-age scale: The bottom 800m, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 77(46):F429.
  • Reimnitz, E., G. Dunhill, W.B. Tucker III and D.A. Meese, 1996, Sea ice-borne sediment in the Central Arctic Ocean, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 76(3):OS31.
  • Meese, D.A., W.B.Tucker, L.W. Cooper, I.L. Larsen, J.M. Grebmeier, 1996, Arctic sea ice as a transport mechanism of radionuclides, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 76(3):OS155.
  • L.W. Cooper, I.L. Larsen, J.M. Grebmeier, T.M. Beasley, D.A. Meese, W.B. Tucker and A.J. Gow, 1996, Radionuclide burdens in sediments entrained in Arctic Ocean sea ice relative to benthic sources and sinks, EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 76(3):OS155.
  • Alley, R.B., A.J. Gow and D.A. Meese, 1995, Mapping C-Axis Fabrics to Probe Ice-Deformation Processes, Journal of Glaciology, 41:197-203.
  • Bolzan, J.F., E.D. Waddington, R.B. Alley and D.A. Meese, 1995, Constraints on Holocene Ice Thickness Changes in Central Greenland from the GISP2 Ice Core Data, Annals of Glaciology, 21:33-39.
  • Cutler, N.N., C.F. Raymond, E.D. Waddington, D.A. Meese and R.B. Alley, 1995, The Effect of Ice Sheet Thickness Change on the Accumulation History Inferred from the GISP2 Layer Thicknesses, Annals of Glaciology, 21:26-32.
  • Alley, R.B., Th. Thorsteinnson, A.J. Gow, S.F. Johnsen, S. Kipfstuhl, and D.A. Meese, 1995, Correspondence to Nature, Regarding the GISP2/GRIP Structural Intercomparison, 373:393-394.
  • O'Brien, S.R., P.A. Mayewski, L.D. Meeker, D.A. Meese, M.S. Twickler and S.I. Whitlow, 1995, Complexity of Holocene climate as reconstructed from a Greenland ice core, Science, 270:1962-1964.
  • Meese, D.A., L. Cooper, I.L. Larsen, W.Tucker, E. Reimnitz and J. Grebmeier, 1995, Cesium-137 contamination in Arctic sea ice, in Environmental Radioactivity in the Arctic, P. Strand and A. Cooke (Eds.), Scientific Committee of the Environmental Radioactivity in the Arctic, pp. 195-198.
  • Alley, R.B., A.J. Gow, D.A. Meese, 1995, Grain-scale processes related to folds in the GISP2 deep ice core, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 76(17):S177.
  • Meese, D.A., R.B. Alley, A.J. Gow, P. Grootes, P.A. Mayewski, M. Ram, K.C. Taylor, E.D. Waddington and G. Zielinski, 1994, Preliminary Depth-Age Scale of the GISP2 Ice Core, CRREL Special Report, 94-1.
  • Meese, D.A., A.J. Gow, P. Grootes, P.A. Mayewski, M. Ram, K.C. Taylor, E.D. Waddington, and G.A. Zielinski, 1994, The Accumulation Record From the GISP2 Core as an Indicator of Climate Change Throughout the Holocene, Science, 266:1680-1682.
  • Meese, D.A., 1994, A Spatial And Temporal Study of the Chemical Properties of Newly Formed Lead Ice, In Vihma, T. (ed.): Evening Sessions of the Summer School on Physics of Ice-Covered Seas, Savonlinna, 6-17 June 1994. Report Series in Geophysics, University of Helsinki, 28.
  • Zielinski, G.A., P.A. Mayewski, L.D. Meeker, S.Whitlow, M.S. Twickler, M. Morrison, D.A. Meese, A.J. Gow and R.B. Alley, 1994, Record of Volcanism Since 7000 B.C. from the GISP2 Greenland Ice Core and Implications for the Volcano-Climate System, Science, 264:948-952.
  • Mayewski, P.A., M. Wumkes, J. Klinck, M.S. Twickler, J.S. Putscher, K.C. Taylor, A.J. Gow, E.D. Waddington, R.B. Alley, J.E. Dibb, P.M. Grootes, D.A. Meese, M. Ram, M. Whalen and A.T. Wilson, 1994, Record Drilling Depth Struck in Greenland, EOS, 75(10):113-119.
  • Mayewski, P.A., L.D. Meeker, S.Whitlow, M.S. Twickler, M.C. Morrsion, P. Bloomfield, G.C. Bond, R.B. Alley, A.J. Gow P.M. Grootes, D.A. Meese, M. Ram, K.C. Taylor and M. Wumkes, 1994, Changes in Atmospheric Circulation and Ocean Ice Cover over the North Atlantic During the Last 41,000 Years, Science, (263):1747-1751.
  • Bender, M., T. Sowers, M. Dickson, J. Orchardo, P. Grootes, P.A. Mayewski, and D.A. Meese, 1994, Climate Connections Between Greenland and Antarctica During the Last 100,000 years, Nature, 372:663-666.
  • Anandakrishnan, S., J.J. Fitzpatrick, R.B. Alley, A.J. Gow and D.A. Meese, 1994, Shear-Wave Detection of Asymmetric C-Axis Fabrics in the GISP2 Ice Core, Journal of Glaciology, 40:491-496.
  • Meese, D., D. Garfield, and J. Rand, 1994, Ice Sampling Concept Description, in McCleese, D.J., S.W. Squyres, S.E. Smrekar, and J.B. Plescia, eds. Mars Surveyor Science Objectives and Measurements Requirements Workshop, JPL Technical Report D12017, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA., pp. 116-117.
  • Meese, D., L. Cooper, I.L. Larsen, W. Tucker, E. Reimnitz, and J. Grebmeier, 1994, Cesium-137 contamination in sea ice, in Proceedings of the Workshop on Monitoring of Nuclear Contamination in Arctic Seas, S. King (Ed.), Naval Research Laboratory Publication NRL/MR/6610--94-7674, pp. VI83-93.
  • Alley, R.B., D.A. Meese, C.A. Shuman, A.J. Gow, K.C. Taylor, P.M. Grootes, J.W.C. White, M. Ram, E.D. Waddington, P.A. Mayewski and G.A. Zielinski, 1993, Abrupt Increase in Greenland Snow Accumulation at the End of the Younger Dryas Event, Nature, 362(6420):527-529.
  • Hammer, C.U., and D.A. Meese, 1993, Dating Ice Cores, Nature, 363:666.
  • Mayewski, P.A., L.D. Meeker, M.C. Morrison, M.S. Twickler, S.I. Whitlow, K.K. Ferland, D.A. Meese, M.R. Legrand and J.P. Steffensen, 1993, Greenland Ice Core ""Signal"" Characteristics Offer Expanded View of Climate Change, Journal of Geophysical Research, 98(D7):12,839-12,847.
  • Meese, D.A., A.J. Gow, R.B. Alley, L. Barlow, P.M. Grootes, P.A. Mayewski, M. Ram, K.C. Taylor, J.W.C. White, E.D. Waddington, G.A. Zielinski, 1993, The Climate of the Last 1000 Years as Seen in the GISP2 Ice Core, Invited Poster, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 74(43):103.
  • Kapsner, W.R., R.B. Alley, S. Anandakrishnan, C.A. Shuman, P.M. Grootes, D.A. Meese, A.J. Gow, 1993, Response of Snow Accumulation to Temperature Variation in Central Greenland, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 74(43):78.
  • Alley, R.B., W. Kapsner, C. Shuman, S. Anandakrishnan, R.C. Finkel, A. J. Gow, P.M. Grootes, P.A. Mayewski, D.A. Meese, K. Nishizumi, and E.D. Waddington, 1993, Clues to the Younger Dryas from Accumulation-Rate Measurements in the GISP2 Ice Core, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 74(43):79.
  • Meese, D.A., A.J. Gow, R.B. Alley, P.M. Grootes, P.A. Mayewski, M. Ram, K.C. Taylor, E.D. Waddingron, G.A. Zielinski and G.C. Bond, 1993, Counting Down...The GISP2 Depth/Age Scale, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 74(43):83.
  • Gow, A.J., D.A. Meese, R.B. Alley, 1993, Discontinuities Including Possible Distortion of the Environmental Record in Cores of Deep Basal Ice from Central Greenland, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 74(43):84.
  • Gow, A.J., D.A. Meese, R.B. Alley and J.J. Fitzpatrick, 1993, Crystalline Structure and C-axis Fabrics of the GISP2 Core From Surface to Bedrock, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 74(43):89.
  • O'Brien, S.M., P.A. Mayewski, L.D. Meeker, M.S. Twickler,S.I. Whitlow, R.B.Alley, A.J. Gow and D.A. Meese, 1993, Atmospheric Changes During the Holocene, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 74(43):90.
  • Gow, A.J., D.A. Meese, R.B. Alley, S. Anandakrishnan and J. Fitzpatrick, 1992, Physical and Structural Properties of the GISP2 Ice Core, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 73(43):175.
  • Meese, D.A., A.J. Gow, R.B. Alley, K. Taylor, and M. Ram, 1992, Variations in Accumulation and Their Relationship to Known Climatic Change as Determined in the Top 719 m of the GISP2 Core, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 73(43):175.
  • Ram, M., A.J. Gow, D.A. Meese, R.B. Alley, C.A. Shuman, and K. Taylor, 1992, 42,000 years and Counting: Factors Relevant to Dating the GISP2 Ice Core from Central Greenland, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 73(43):182.
  • Alley, R.B., C.A. Shuman, D. Meese, A.J. Gow, K. Taylor, M. Ram, E.D. Waddington, and P.A. Mayewski, 1992, An Old, Long, Abrupt Younger Dryas Event in the GISP2 Ice Core, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 73(43):259.
  • Tucker, W.B., D.A. Meese and A.J. Gow, 1992, Physical Properties, Thickness and Surface Relief of Arctic Multiyear Ice, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 73(43):290.
  • Meese, D.A. and J.W. Govoni, 1991, Sea Ice Observations From the Winter Weddell Gyre Study-'89, CRREL Special Report 91-2.
  • Govoni, J.W. and D.A. Meese, 1991, High-Wind Snow Collector for Chemical Analysis, Proceedings of the 1991 Eastern Snow Conference, p. 281-284.
  • Alley, R.B., P.M. Grootes, D.A. Meese, A.J. Gow, K. Taylor and K.M. Cuffey, 1991, Climate at the Greenland Summit: Little Ice Age to Modern, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 72(44):66.
  • Gow, A.J., R.B. Alley and D.A. Meese, 1991, Ice-deformation Processes from Mapping of C-axis Fabrics, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 72(44):150.
  • Mayewski, P.A., M. Twickler, W.B. Lyons, M.J. Spencer, D.A. Meese, A.J. Gow, P. Grootes, T. Sowers, M.S. Watson and E. Saltzman, 1990, The Dominion Range Ice Core, Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica - General Site and Core Characteristics with Implications. Journal of Glaciology, 36(122):11-16.
  • Gow, A.J., D.A. Meese, D.K. Perovich, W.B. Tucker, III, 1990, The Anatomy of a Freezing Lead, Journal of Geophysical Research, 95(C10):18221-18232.
  • The CEAREX Team, 1990, The CEAREX Drift Experiment, EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 71(40):1115-1118.
  • Meese D.A., 1990, The Chemical and Structural Properties of Sea Ice in the Southern Beaufort Sea. In CRREL Monograph 90-1:32-35.
  • Meese, D.A., J.W. Govoni, V.I. Lytle, K. Claffey and S.F. Ackley, 1990, Sea Ice Studies on the Winter Weddell Gyre Study-'89. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 1990 Review, 25(5):116-117.
  • Meese, D.A., J.W. Govoni and S.F. Ackley, 1990, Snow and Sea Ice Thicknesses: Winter Weddell Gyre Study 1989. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 1990 Review, 25(5):118.
  • Govoni, J.W., D.A. Meese and D.K. Perovich, 1990, Optical Measurements on Sea Ice from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 1990 Review, 25(5):121-122.
  • Meese, D.A., 1990, Chemical and Biological Properties of Newly Forming Lead Ice, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 71(2):129.
  • Gow, A.J., D.A. Meese, D.K. Perovich and W.B. Tucker, III, 1990, Anatomy of a Freezing Lead, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 71(2):129.
  • Meese, D.A., 1989, The Chemical and Structural Properties of Sea Ice in the Southern Beaufort Sea, CRREL Report 89-25, 144 p.
  • Meese, D.A., 1988, The Chemical and Structural Properties of Sea Ice in the Southern Beaufort Sea. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of New Hampshire.
  • Meese, D.A., 1988, The Chemical and Structural Properties of Sea Ice in the Southern Beaufort Sea, Abstract in EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 69(44):1262.
  • Meese, D.A., A.J. Gow, P.A. Mayewski, W. Ficklin, and T.C. Loder, 1987, The Chemical, Physical and Structural Properties of Estuarine Ice in Great Bay, NH, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 24:833-840.
  • Meese, D.A., 1987, The Chemical, Physical and Structural Characteristics of Estuarine Ice in Great Bay, NH: Results of a Two-year Pilot Study. Proceedings of the Forty-third Annual Snow Conference, pp. 80-93.
  • Meese, D.A., 1987, Chemical and Structural Properties of Arctic Sea Ice. Abstract in EOS Transactions. American Geophysical Union, 68(50):1736.
  • Meese, D.A., 1986, The Physical, Structural and Chemical Characteristics of Estuarine Ice in Great Bay, NH. Masters Thesis, University of New Hampshire.

Professional Interests/Associations

  • American Optometric Association
  • Colorado Optometric Association
  • National Glaucoma Society

Creating healthy ecosystems

By

photo: Grow dome with sustainability students

Eden Vardy of The Farm Collaborative at Cozy Point Ranch near Aspen, explains to students from CMC’s sustainability studies program about the tropical plants living inside the farm’s grow dome – at 7,500 feet. Photo Charles Engelbert

Creating healthy ecosystems

By Carrie Click

This summer, Colorado’s smoky haze, wildfires, low water levels and hot temperatures provided reasons to worry about the state, the American West and the planet, for that matter.

For a group of sustainability studies students taking permaculture courses at Colorado Mountain College, the effects of climate change and a passion for the environment are motivating them to discover ways to help solve real ecological challenges.

On a recent summer day two dozen students, faculty and staff from CMC Spring Valley at Glenwood Springs and CMC Steamboat Springs gathered at The Farm Collaborative at Cozy Point Ranch near Aspen to study, collaborate and work at the organization’s 14 acres.

Originally called Aspen TREE, The Farm Collaborative is a 10-year-old nonprofit that expanded its lease this spring with the City of Aspen. It’s working to stimulate a global movement toward healthier relationships among food, people and the land.

The basis of culture

According to Dr. Tina Evans, CMC Steamboat Springs professor of sustainability studies, permaculture is “a vision, a set of ethical and practical principles. It is sustainability in action with a special focus on creating food systems that mimic the dynamic stability of healthy ecosystems.”

Eden Vardy is The Farm Collaborative’s founder and executive director. He’s also an adjunct faculty member at Colorado Mountain College. An advocate of regenerative agriculture, which aims to increase biodiversity and improve water cycles, and to create resilience to climate fluctuation, Vardy and The Farm Collaborative provide a working example of what a healthy food ecosystem can look like.

“The way I see it, food is really the basis of culture,” he said. “It’s our third fundamental need next to air and water. We don’t have a tremendous amount of creativity around air and water. But when it comes to food, it’s where we can deliver a little bit of creativity.”

That creativity extends from The Farm Collaborative’s site to CMC students, who are working on permaculture projects at the Spring Valley campus and at the collaborative’s site. One CMC student, for example, is designing a U-Pick orchard, while other students are pitching in at a variety of small farms and ranches throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.

Standing up for the planet

CMC sustainability studies major Monique Vidal is a mother of two and an interior designer from Carbondale. She said she’s always been passionate about nature. As an 8-year-old growing up in southern California, she saw a kid poking an octopus and told him to stop.

“I told him, ‘How would you like it if someone did that to you?’” she said.

That same caring attitude is why she’s pursuing her degree in sustainability studies. Currently, she’s working alongside fellow sustainability studies student Sergio Ortiz. A veteran deployed in 2005, Ortiz is now involved in a vocational program for veterans. Vidal and Ortiz are developing a rotational grazing program for the animals at CMC Spring Valley’s veterinary technology farm.

Vidal said they’re mitigating the nitrogen in the fertilizer in the field above the farm. Their goal is to improve the overall health of the field and the aquifer adjacent to it. “We’re working and helping CMC while getting our bachelor’s in sustainability studies,” she said.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Samantha “Sam” Hankinson, who grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley, graduated from Bridges High School in Carbondale and is earning her bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies at CMC Spring Valley. “These kinds of community ties allow us as students to thrive,” she said.

CMC senior builds pet waste composter for CARE shelter

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photo: Outside the Colorado Animal Rescue shelter in Spring Valley sits a new composter introduced by Ramsey Bond, a Colorado Mountain College student majoring in sustainability studies. Photo ©Hannah Johnson (CMC professional photography student)By Heather McGregor

This story was originally published on CMC ENews

Ramsey Bond dearly loves her dog, Summit, but she is all too familiar with the “back end” of dog ownership. In preparing to soon earn her bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies at Colorado Mountain College, Bond is taking that “back end” challenge head-on through animal waste composting.

Bond teamed up with the Colorado Animal Rescue shelter in Spring Valley, which is adjacent to the college’s veterinary technology farm, to build an outdoor animal waste composting system. The three-bin composter will convert a mixture of the shelter’s animal waste and a local woodworker’s sawdust into composted soil that’s safe for lawns, shrubbery and flower gardens.

“I knew our campus had a vet tech school,” Bond said. The vet tech program is closely affiliated with the shelter. “I wanted to see how we could reduce pet waste from that facility. Because I own a dog, I have always seen it as a problem.”

In her research, Bond came across EnviroWagg, an animal waste composting company operating in Longmont, Colorado. She contacted the owner, Rose Seemann, and is now completing an internship with EnviroWagg as part of her CMC studies.

“This is an area where there is a great deal of denial,” Seemann said. “Dogs produce about 270 pounds of waste per year, but nobody wants to think about the back end.” Seemann said pet waste accounts for about 4 percent of all residential waste.

Bringing information to community

Using what she learned at EnviroWagg, Bond visited CARE, where the shelter staff immediately grasped the advantages.

“They really wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “It went along with their mission of helping animals go back into the community. Now we can use the waste to keep their landscaping healthy.”

Over the years, CARE has worked to increase its sustainability by recycling, using wood pellets for cat litter and installing solar panels for electricity, said the shelter’s executive director, Wes Boyd.

“This is our next addition for sustainability, and we really appreciate it,” he said.

System kills pathogens

Until this spring, CARE staff collected the shelter’s daily animal waste in a plastic garbage bag and carried it to the dumpster, said Tracey Yajko, CARE’s community outreach manager and a longtime shelter staffer.

With the new composting system, shelter staffers collect waste through the day in a heavy-duty plastic bucket with a screw-top lid, and empty it into the outdoor compost bin at the end of the day.

Bond built the three side-by-side composting bins in an enclosed area on the warm south side of the shelter building. Fellow student Aaron Anderson, president of the CMC Sustainability Club, helped with clearing a space within the enclosed area and with building the bins.

They used scavenged shipping pallets for the framework and attached scrounged one-inch wire mesh on the sides to keep the composting material in and critters out. The bin lids are topped with corrugated sheet metal, which was donated and cut to fit by Umbrella Roofing Co.

Near the bins, Bond placed two large plastic trash barrels with lids, each full of sweet-smelling sawdust. It’s provided by Daniel Oldenburg at Summit Construction, and is another waste byproduct that previously went to the landfill. A few scoops of sawdust go in on top of each day’s waste.

The new CARE composter is based on a three-stage system developed and tested in other communities: building, working and curing.

The first bin already has a growing pile of animal waste and sawdust. Even on a recent warm spring day, there was no odor. Once the pile is about three feet high, the label on this “building” bin will switch to become a “working” bin, and the CARE staff will start piling new waste and sawdust in a new “building” bin.

Meanwhile, composting starts in the first bin, managed by the CMC Spring Valley Sustainability Club.

Students will add water, aiming for the pile to be damp from top to bottom. Using a long-stemmed thermometer, they monitor the pile’s core temperature. Natural composting heats the pile to about 150 to 160 degrees, which kills off the pathogens and parasites that might be present in animal waste, Bond said. As it cools down, students use a pitchfork to turn the pile.

The heating, cooling and turning process happens three or four times over several weeks, until the pile no longer heats up. At that point, the “working” bin shifts to the “curing” stage. The composted waste sits, exposed to the weather, for several more months. After about a year, Bond said, it will be ready for use in landscaping.

Bond is using her capstone project, another requirement for completing her bachelor’s degree, to visit dog parks from Aspen to Carbondale and survey 50 pet owners about dog waste.

She plans to analyze the survey results to see what types of animal waste collection and composting could work in the community, and whether it could be a sustainable business.

Seemann said Bond has gone past the “ick” factor to seek practical solutions for diverting animal waste from landfills.

“It takes a certain kind of person to think about the responsible way of dealing with things,” Seemann said. “There’s a huge sustainability problem here, and Ramsey Bond recognizes it.”

Composting backyard pet waste

Here are a few resources to help you learn more about pet waste composting:

“The Pet Poo Pocket Guide: How to safely compost and recycle pet waste,” by Rose Seemann (available through Amazon); https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Poo-Pocket-Guide-2015-05-26/dp/B01FKWURAU/

“Composting Dog Waste,” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District (free, available online); https://prod.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_035763.pdf

Sustainability Studies: Bringing gross national happiness home

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People at a Bhutan conference

From left, Michael Philipp, a member of the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund and major supporter of the Bhutan for Life conservation initiative, CMC Aspen ESL professor Lorraine Miller, Dr. Mercedes Quesada-Embid, CMC Vail Valley sustainability studies professor, and Bhutan Minister of Agriculture and Forests Yeshey Dorji at Bhutan’s Royal Botanical Garden to honor Bhutan for Life’s launch during the GNH conference.

By Carrie Click

Imagine a country that’s governed based on the happiness of its people rather than measuring its success on its gross national product. Such a place exists in the Himalayas in southern Asia.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is east of Nepal and surrounded by India, Tibet and China. With 800,000 citizens, it’s just under 15,000 square miles – a bit smaller than Switzerland.

The Centre for Bhutan Studies & Gross National Happiness invited nearly 400 government leaders, academics, sociologists and scientists from 26 countries to attend the seventh international conference on gross national happiness, “GNH of Business.” in November. The interactive conference explored ways that businesses around the world currently achieve GNH, as well as ways to further promote the concept.

According to Investopedia.com, gross national happiness “attempts to measure the sum total not only of economic output, but also of net environmental impacts, the spiritual and cultural growth of citizens, mental and physical health and the strength of the corporate and political systems.”

Representatives from two Western Slope entities – the Aspen International Mountain Foundation and Colorado Mountain College – traveled over 7,500 miles to take part in the conference.

The Colorado delegation

Founded in 2001, the Aspen International Mountain Foundation evolved from Aspen community leaders working with the United Nations’ Environment Program, the City of Aspen, the Aspen Institute and Aspen Sister Cities, among others. The nonprofit corporation promotes sustainable development in the world’s mountain communities.

Jim True with Bhutan prime minister and Lorraine Miller

From left, Aspen City Attorney Jim True of the Aspen International Mountain Foundation, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and CMC Aspen professor Lorraine Miller at the Gross National Happiness in Business conference in Thimphu, Bhutan. Tobgay gave the inaugural address. Photo Mercedes Quesada-Embid

Karinjo Devore, president of the foundation, initially received an invitation for the November conference though was unable to attend because of a prior commitment. AIMF board member and City of Aspen attorney Jim True, and his wife Vicky, made the trip.

“The invitation came to us, and we invited CMC to join us,” said True.

Lorraine Miller, a Colorado Mountain College Aspen faculty member who teaches developmental education and English as a Second Language, had visited Bhutan in 2016 while on sabbatical through an arrangement with AIMF. She spent a month experiencing how a visitor to a foreign country might feel lacking any knowledge of either the language or alphabet. Bhutan’s national language is Dzongkha, and the Tibetan alphabet is used in written communication. Miller knew neither.

While there, Miller established valuable connections between the Bhutan Trust for Environmental Conservation and Colorado Mountain College, and is now working with college faculty and administrators on a possible exchange with Bhutanese forest and park rangers.

“We wanted to promote the exchange,” said True. “We think it’s good for our organization, for CMC and for the Bhutanese.”

And Dr. Mercedes Quesada-Embid, lead professor of sustainability studies at CMC Vail Valley in Edwards, was a natural choice to join the delegation.

‘The source of all happiness’

Both True and Quesada-Embid gave presentations, while Miller chaired a panel on business enterprise.

Photo of Buddhist statue

This massive Buddha overlooks Bhutan's capital city of Thimphu. Approximately 75 percent of Bhutanese practice Buddhism. The principles of gross national happiness are rooted in Buddhist philosophy.

True said the conference featured a lot of high-level academic discussion, and that Quesada-Embid’s presentation was one of his favorites. In her talk, titled “Sustainability and Happiness: Bringing an Authentic Ethic to the Business Model,” Quesada-Embid explained how Colorado Mountain College operates in a way that integrates gross national happiness into its culture. “How CMC operates, the programs it chooses to support, the community relationships it builds – all contribute to or model many GNH principles,” she said.

“I have faith that what we call ‘human nature’ is not the greedy, competitive consumer individual,” she told the audience in Bhutan, “but instead that negative concept is a manifestation of humans’ lack of nature. Our human nature is indeed full of altruisms, spiritualities, cooperations and loves. There is mindful power in these qualities.”

True based his talk on the Aspen City of Wellbeing, an organization working to create healthy cultural shifts. Since the conference’s focus was on gross national happiness and business, True told of the Aspen Skiing Company, which relies on a healthy mountain environment for its continued business sustainability.

“In translating GNH to the private sector, I explained the ski company’s reliance on nature and the outdoors,” True said.

On a hike to a prominent Bhutanese monastery called Tiger’s Nest on the day before the conference, True said he saw a wooden sign at the trailhead that read, in part, “Preserve our natural heritage. Nature is the source of all happiness.”

“I thought that was so serendipitous to what I was going to present at the conference,” said True. “One of the Bhutanese participants said that hit a chord with him when I talked about that during my presentation.”