Global Warming On Ski Industry

Snow-Future?

Year 2000 was an amazing time for America with the growing Internet market mixed with a bursting economy. Only a few years later our society became aware of a rapidly changing environment. Global Warming was voted 2004’s “buzz word” by Life Magazine. Now that we understand what is happening, we are looking at what will be affected. Alpine skiing is a downhill adventure like no other. Over 55 million people in America alone enjoy the sport. Now we aren’t 100% if we are causing the warming or if it is just our planet going though cycles but we do know that ski resorts are going to need to act fast or they will melt away with the snow. The invention of snowmaking was actually found by accident but it has evolved into a life jacket for resorts fighting to keep the seasons normal length. Can this be enough? It is almost impossible for me to think about the sport I have grow up with gone because of global warming. As a society we need to look at these problems now before its too late. I am an Economics major aspiring to be a part of Americas economic solution but before we can solve problems we analysis what the problems are and how to fix them. Its clear skiing is a part of America and needs to be saved. Global Warming is a worldwide problem that will need an international response to be detoured We see the problems but what do they mean on an individual scale?

To think on a minor scale the Colorado ski industry its self is worth over 2 billion dollars. That 2 billion dollars accounts for the 3,285,649 skiers that skied in Coloardo for the 2006-2007 season (Quarterly Colorado Travel and Tourism Indicator). Skiing has become one of Colorado’s premier profit centers. If weather were to have shut this industry down it would cause Colorado to enter an economic hardship. Many people don’t realize how much tourism affects the economy. For example Lodging at resorts brings in 2 billion dollars per year. That is enough to fuel he 21 rapidly growing ski towns and accounts for over 10,000 employees. The ski industry is entwined with the economy, which in turn is infused with residences of Colorado. People need to understand that even if you don’t ski the Ski Industry has had an impact on your life and would devastate the job market if it were to go under. It seems impractical to see our ski areas go under within our lifetime but it is possible. Now is the time to act before it gets out of hand. Global Warming has not yet attacked Colorado ski area but if we were to look at places without the elevation advantage we would see a totally different story.

East of the Rockies lies an older mountain range that was made back when Pangaea was the only continent. The Appalachians are the gold coasts playground. At its peak there were 616 ski areas from Vermont to Maine hosting population centers such as New York, Providence and Boston. Since then, that number has been decimated to a small 53 resorts. No one can blame this on a single problem but more than not resorts closed to lack of funds and poor snow years. Snowmaking was invented around 1970 and that was also the decade of eight below average snow years for the east coast. The smaller ski areas just couldn’t afford the pricey new technology and since Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating they had to close their doors. As of 2007 there is no ski areas in the northeast operating with the aid of snowmaking. How is it possible for 616 ski areas to run without snowmaking and now 53 ski areas are left all with snowmaking. Its scary to think the snow years have changed so dramatically that we have to rely on man-made snow. This summer a small ski area in Connecticut shut down for good after 51 years of operating. I clearly remember watching the owner address the media and him openly cry as he told everyone that he couldn’t turn a profit and the land would have to be subdivided into middle class housing. I felt how much he cared for his slice of skiing heaven and it had to be torn from his hands. The impacts of global warming can be deeper than once thought.

To really understand the problem we need to go deep into the mountains and their management to hear from people working at ski resorts. Auden Schendler is Aspen's director of environmental affairs and his take on Global warming is "We are on the front lines of World War I-style trench warfare in the climate-change battle," he says. "And we are getting our asses kicked." Resorts are trying to fight the problem with environmentally friendly solutions. Ski areas part of the late American Skiing Company run off 100% wind energy to show their separation for fossil fuels. Aspen resorts are starting to use flecks of dust in their fan snow gun to produce more snow with less water and power. Also resorts have started to produce small hydroelectric plants that run off the natural snowmelt.

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