The final presentation of the "Delicate Networks" lecture series at UW/CC addressed planning cities and towns, and the human effects of not doing so on a global landscape.

Planning can make a difference, the speakers suggested, both at home and for the planet's future.

At the local level, a former Sublette County planner suggested that the model for planning and zoning works best when cities and towns - and the rural outskirts - have a stake in an area's future growth.

Joanne Garnett, now a planner with WLC Engineering in Pinedale, praised the Sublette County planning and zoning commissioners but explained that she left that post because she didn't enjoy the role of playing "zoning cop."

"You'd better believe that people turn (on) each other in over zoning violations," she said. "I wanted to get back to comprehensive, strategic planning."

Sublette County, which is home to large natural gas deposits, is one of the epicenters of Wyoming's energy boom that has put increased demands on the county's infrastructure.

By giving towns and the rural areas an equal stake in their futures, development can be guided where communities want.

Garnett believes that effective planners think first and act second; pursue meaningful dialogue and input and figure that since change is going to occur, you might as well be part of it. Planners must understand how to balance competing interests and how to listen to all parties, she said.

To engage people in the process, Garnett once handed out disposable digital cameras to have people photograph their community.

"That's what we did in Buffalo," said Garnett. "It was very interesting to see what people liked or disliked."

The trickiest part of being a planner, she said, is negotiating between "what matters the most at the moment, versus what matters long-term."

Garnett said the state has to address the 35-acre exemption to planning and zoning n a massive loophole that critics believe is contributing to rural sprawl and wildlife habitat fragmentation. She cautioned against wholesale imposition of urban planning concepts on Wyoming, saying "people move to Wyoming and rural areas for a reason." One potential solution, she said, is to encourage clustered developments that still preserve a sense of space for homeowners.

Much of the state's planning is outdated, she said, because many county master plans were developed in the 1970s, when there was federal money for that purpose.

Planning on a global scale is especially important, especially when one must consider the effects of global warming on Wyoming and the planet.

In that vein, Steve Jackson, a University of Wyoming professor of botany and director of the ecology program, played the role of prophet. He addressed the impact of global warming on Wyoming, the Rockies, North America and the continents, based on tree ring and glacial ice research, as well as forecasts of what will happen if the amount of carbon dioxide on Earth doubles or triples.

Paleoclimate change is the study of climate change or variability, he said, going back tens, hundreds, even thousands of years. What he and other researchers have established is that just since the 17th century, there have been longer and more severe droughts than anything seen in the 20th century.

"We're in the ninth year of drought," said Jackson, "and there's no sign of it letting up."

Computer models he's worked with project suggest that if CO2 triples by the end of this century, winters in Wyoming will be wetter and warmer, canceling out the snows that melt sooner and faster. Summers, he said, will be about 15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer.

So how much climate change is needed to change entire ecosystems, he asked, say a forest to a grassland? Doubling carbon dioxide in 25 years will leave Wyoming "right on the bubble" of significant change, he said. Triple the carbon dioxide output by the end of the century, he warned, and "no one escapes. All biomes will change."

Such massive change will create a "nightmare world of rapid change, invasive species, exotic pests and many surprises," he warned.

"We could see real societal risks and vulnerabilities," said Jackson, who noted some severe changes in weather in the Earth's recorded history, most of which weren't man-made.

Now add in man-made climate change that adds more heat, more energy to that natural variability, said Jackson.

"We don't need more research to act now," Jackson said. "I'm more and more convinced that we're already seeing things in motion, but it is not too late to change things."

He believes the world has 15 years to "turn things around," before certain thresholds are crossed.

{M3The lecture series is sponsored by the University of Wyoming Helga Otto Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, UW/Casper College Center, UW Outreach School, and the Casper Star-Tribune. Organized by Anne MacKinnon, adjunct professor of the Haub School, the series began September 15.

The lecture series is sponsored by the University of Wyoming Helga Otto Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, UW/Casper College Center, UW Outreach School, and the Casper Star-Tribune. Organized by Anne MacKinnon, adjunct professor of the Haub School, the series began September 15.

She noted that on December 13, her students will present a summary of the "Delicate Networks" lecture series to the Natrona County Commission, with recommendations on how the county should address subdivision issues.