It’s been a smoky, unusually hot, but relatively moist summer in Ouray. Luckily for us, though, we have experienced nothing remotely like the climate disasters (horrific megafires, record-smashing high temperatures, unimaginable flooding) that have plagued other parts of the United States and the Earth.

“July 2021 was Earth’s hottest July since global record-keeping began in 1880, 0.93 degrees Celsius (1.67 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average, NOAA’s National Centers for En...