Wanderlust Meet Winterlust’s Non-Profit Partner: Protect Our Winters

Protect our Winters helps passionate outdoor fans to protect the places where they live and love from climate change. POW is a community of athletes, scientists, creatives and business leaders who drive bipartisan politics that protect our world today and for future generations.

Wanderlust is proud to support POW as our non-profit partner of Winterlust and to integrate the POW mission into the programming: Ski professional and POW ambassador Amie Engerbretson proudly presents in a fireplace chat about adventure and impact. Join us.

Photo by Chris Figenshau

Theory of change

For the future we envision, the world will embrace renewable energy, electric transportation, breakthrough technologies and market policies to be carbon neutral by mid-century. We drive with zero-emission vehicles to cliffs, starting points and renewable ski areas; Individuals and industries pay a fair price for their carbon footprint; and elected representatives of all parties at all levels of government make climate protection their top political priority.

Here are the things we will need to get there:

The solution to the climate crisis is possible

Based on estimates in the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, we have a little over a decade to drastically reduce our emissions in order to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis. If we stay at or below 1.5 ° C, we need to cut our greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

We know it sounds like a daunting task. But we believe that the solution to the climate crisis is not only possible, it is within reach.

What does it take to get there?

We believe that it takes three things to solve the climate crisis:

Technology and financial solutions: We need to incentivize a clean energy future (think of large-scale renewables and storage, tax breaks and carbon pricing).
Political will: With the right people in public office, we can work with them to make climate a top political priority.
Cultural change: Our country's attitude towards climate change must change so that action on the climate is no longer an option.

Where do you come from

The outdoor community (that's you!) Knows the importance of ultra-thin margins. The seemingly small efforts at the right moment carry enough weight to bring the scales from failure to success. Well, environmental and political history are also written in the margin. Did you know that only 77,000 votes were won in key districts in the 2016 presidential election? Or that only three votes in the Senate opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling?

Our theory of change rests on the belief that the outdoor community can have a disproportionate impact by encouraging citizen participation on these narrow margins.

By focusing our efforts on critical regions and creating local activations, we believe we can train, register and attract enough voters to change our country's response to the climate crisis.

To solve the climate crisis, the world needs our community. It is the sum of our small efforts – in which we turn our passion into a goal – and achieve climatic victories where they are most needed.

Put your passion into action

If we build up pressure in the population, we can influence politics. And it works – but we need more passionate outdoor people who use their voices and help achieve climate victories where they are most needed.

Join POW to protect the outdoor places and lifestyles you love.