DENVER -- As offices and businesses begin to open their doors after COVID-19 shutdowns, a new guidebook offers ways for CEOs and other commuters to lower their carbon footprints.

Transportation recently eclipsed power generation as the single largest contributor of greenhouse-gas pollution in Colorado.

Carlos Fernandez, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, said as companies consider making telework permanent and other policy changes, the guide provides detailed best practices for reducing the number of cars on the road.

"This handbook will provide a wide range of transportation options on how to be really thoughtful about establishing the 'new normal,'" Fernandez explained.

For work that can't be done from home, the handbook addresses practical challenges for incorporating public transportation, bicycles, electric vehicles and carpooling into organizational culture. Companies can offer workers free or discounted public transportation passes, and monthly cash payments if they opt out of a parking permit. Firms also can help bridge critical last-mile gaps by shuttling workers to and from transit stops in a company van.

Reducing climate pollution from the transportation sector is widely seen as essential to meeting goals set at the Paris climate accord, and scientists warn that less than a decade remains to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Fernandez agreed major structural changes will be needed to meet climate deadlines, but he noted the guide offers ways for individuals and businesses to make significant contributions.

"A lot of that can be done through legislation, but what are the best practices?" Fernandez asked. "I would tell you Driving Change is one of those examples that actually each of us individually can contribute."

The guidebook, "Driving Change, The Colorado Employer's Guide to Green Mobility," is the first of a series aiming to address greenhouse-gas emissions in various sectors. It was produced by The Nature Conservancy in Colorado in partnership with the Colorado Forum.

DULUTH, Minn. - As Minnesota looks to address the impact of climate change on the region, land managers and policymakers are reminded of the role nature can play. They're being urged to use a new tool that shows the range in which forests can capture and store carbon emissions.

In recent years, The Nature Conservancy has offered an interactive online map that shows which lands are more resilient to climate change. Now, that same tool can show which areas are well-suited to absorb carbon-dioxide floating through the atmosphere.

The Climate Change Director for The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota - Meredith Cornett - said Minnesota's forests are capable of removing 487 million metric tons of C02 over the next 30 years.

"That's a number that may not mean a lot to a lot of us," said Cornett. "So we have something called a carbon dioxide - an emissions equivalency. So that is equivalent of 3.6 million cars. "

She said taking the equivalent of those gas-powered cars off the road each year can only happen if the forests remain in their current form.

The group says potential roadblocks include wildfires and forest management that doesn't prioritize ecological thinning and prescribed burning.

Minnesota's forest cover has gone from more than 30 million acres down to 17 million over the past 150 years. But the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' State Forest Action plan notes there's been an uptick in acreage over the past decade.

Cornett applauded some of the progress in planting seedlings in forests after they've been harvested, including climate-resilient species. But she said Minnesota can't afford to slow down.

"We will need to really ramp up nursery production and wild-seed collection in order to make that possible," said Cornett.

She referred to a specific goal from the group that calls for one million acres in reforestation in Minnesota by the year 2040.

As the for the carbon tool, the Nature Conservancy says it can measure "capture potential" on lands as small as one quarter of an acre, adding that could be helpful for policymakers as they develop conservation plans.

SANTA FE, N.M. - A nonpartisan group of mothers and climate scientists is on a nationwide education campaign to engage more people about the effects of climate change and actions they can take to make a difference.

Colorado State University atmospheric science researcher Mellisa Burt co-founded the group "Science Moms." She said from the day they're born, parents want to protect their children, and the warming climate is now a direct threat to them.

"The goal of 'Science Moms' is to educate, inspire and empower moms," said Burt, "so that they have the climate change information and the resources that they need, so they can understand and feel comfortable sharing and having conversations around climate change."

During Climate Week, September 20 through 26, organizers will encourage businesses, governments and others to fulfill and increase their climate commitments.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report earlier this year signaled a "code red" alert for humankind, from widespread extreme weather events, and cited controlling methane emissions as one solution.

In a survey by the Potential Energy Coalition, more than 60% of Americans describe themselves as "concerned" or "very concerned" about climate change, but only 14% say they regularly talk about it.

Coalition CEO John Marshall says his 17-year-old son convinced him to get more involved.

"A lot of these conversations happen around the kitchen table or the dining room table," said Marshall. "And a lot of us are experiencing the need to act on behalf of, and in response, to our kids."

Climate change is simple to understand according to Burt, and the effects are now difficult to avoid.

"The more that we burn fossil fuels, the more carbon pollution we're putting into the atmosphere," said Burt. "We're creating a thicker blanket of carbon pollution around our earth. And as that blanket continues to get thicker our planet is getting warmer and warmer. And as a result of that, we're seeing more wildfires, more floods, more hurricanes."

Last week, 10 New Mexico environmental groups and 62 others sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency calling for new regulations to limit emissions from fossil fuel development.

In addition, President Joe Biden has solicited a pledge from world leaders to cut methane emissions ahead of a climate change summit next month.

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Three New Hampshire professors are among those who've signed a letter urging the United Nations General Assembly to adopt what's known as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

More than 2,000 scientists and academics say the treaty, which would be a binding agreement, could help move forward on the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Professor Pam Jordan, who teaches politics and global affairs at Southern New Hampshire University, said that with the U.N. General Assembly now meeting, global leaders should take strong action.

"This treaty would seek to end the expansion of coal, oil and gas industries, phase out fossil fuels in an incremental way that can be measured, and then support a transition to renewable energy sources that would address the needs of people worldwide," she said.

Recent polling shows more than 60% of likely New Hampshire voters support clean-energy investments at the national level, such as those in the budget being negotiated in Congress. The letter noted that this global treaty would work to constrain the fossil-fuel supply.

Jordan added that with the recent U.N. report calling climate change a "Code Red for humanity," limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is crucial to stop the most catastrophic effeccts - which she notes would disproportionately fall on developing countries. She said the Paris Climate Accords set important goals, and it's time to take the next step.

"It's not just a voluntary kind of report the countries are putting out," she said, "but they're working with oil and gas companies to eliminate oil and gas and coal, and then start developing renewables in a more systematic way."

She said it's not clear whether the U.N. will take up the treaty, and if it does, there will be a process of officially adopting it and having nations ratify and sign it.