When I got out of graduate school, I decided I wanted to live in Colorado. Hooked early on skiing, I figured nothing could be better than living in a Rocky Mountain ski paradise. Many years later, I now wake up every morning and marvel at my good fortune. I’ve often thought that Colorado should be nicknamed the “Golden Handcuff State”.

Yet in the time I have lived here, the average temperature in the state has increased by one degree. Though a single degree may not seem like much, it has led to an infestation of bark beetles that is ravaging millions of acres of forested mountainsides. Not only has the rich blue green of pines and conifers turned to a brown eyesore, but the state has become a tinderbox. Colorado could very well be next year’s California, ablaze from Wyoming to New Mexico. Will Colorado skiing be lost? Will my mountain home be consumed in a wildfire?

More broadly, as a proud father I wonder what kind of world I am leaving for my sons. Will climate change wipe Florida off the map? Will Defense Department warnings about massive social and political unrest materialize, and destabilize the planet on a scale we have never seen before?

Because I care about the world I leave for my children, I have decided to contribute 10% of my profits to The Alliance for Climate Protection, a non-profit, non-political effort founded by Nobel Laureate, and former Vice President Al Gore to create the political will to solve the climate crisis. We can solve the problem if we work together.

Please join me in preserving our magnificent planet for future generations.

Tim Matanovich

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