Protect Our Winters (POW) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that focuses on law reform for environmental issues and

civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

campaigns such as sharing news from climate scientists. The organization's headquarters are located in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

, United States. According to the nonprofit's policy webpage, POW focuses its efforts on legislation regarding carbon pricing, solar, public lands, and transportation. POW receives financial support from The North Face, Patagonia and CLIF Bar and many other corporate companies, partners, foundations, individuals and resorts. The current executive director of POW in interim is Torrey Udall.

History

POW was created in 2007 by professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones, strives to turn outdoor enthusiasts into climate advocates.

Activism

In December 2012, POW worked in partnership with environmental agency, Natural Resources Defense Council to publish a study determining how climate change is affecting the economy of the winter sport and tourism industry in the United States. The organization, despite the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, sent a delegation to Washington to meet with senators and discuss the issues surrounding climate change. On December 3, 2013, POW spoke with the United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy on POW's influence on the winter sport community and POW agreed to fully support the EPA and

Clean Air Act (United States) The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the United States' primary federal air quality law, intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide. Initially enacted in 1963 and amended many times since, it is one of the United States' first and most infl ...

. POW partnered with several Yale students to meet with winter athletes during the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

to promote a more open discussion about the effects of climate change. POW also participated at a march at New York City during the UN Climate Summit of 2014. In 2018, POW executed two congressional briefings and three lobby days, including the highest attended annual September Lobby Day (35 attendees meeting with a total of 30 Congressional Offices). They had nine companies represented, including Alterra Mountain Company, Aspen Skiing Company, Bemis Associates, Burton, Mt. Bachelor, POWDR Corporation, Ski Utah, Smartwool, and Spyder.

In Canada

A separate organisation, Protect Our Winters Canada, has 13 regional chapters and 32,000 members as of 2023.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

*Adler, Ben, and Rebecca Leber (Grist.org)
"Donald Trump once urged President Obama to avoid the 'catastrophic and irreversible consequences' of climate change"
''salon.org'', November 17, 2016. Re: A 2009 NYT ad supporting the Copenhagen trip. 2014 letter from now-Pres.-elect Trump to Jamie Anderson, POW, for 'your great work on The Apprentice'. Environmental organizations based in Colorado