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Global warming is a real threat to our environment and our economy, and a big concern for more than 11.5 million U.S. skiers and snowboarders. It’s also a bottom line issue for the $3 billion ski area industry, and tens of thousands of employees who count on dependable winters for a living.
It’s Getting Hot in Here
Nineteen of the 20 hottest years on record have occurred since 1980; the top 10 since 1990. Worldwide average temperatures warmed a full degree over the 20th Century. If things don’t change, scientists warn we could see average temperature increases of 3 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. That is faster than anything the world has ever seen in terms of temperature change.
Scientists have been studying the problem now for several decades. While they still don’t know every detail, nearly all agree that that heat-trapping pollution from fossil fuels is a major factor.
That consensus keeps getting stronger: from the National Academy of Sciences report to President Bush in 2001 to a declaration last December by the American Geophysical Union that nature simply cannot explain the unprecedented warming trends of the past half-century.
Putting on an Extra Layer
Global warming happens when heat-trapping emissions collect in the atmosphere, like a down parka that keeps natural heat from escaping into space. In fact, this is one of the atmosphere’s most basic functions; without it Earth would be a frozen wasteland (scientists sometimes call it the greenhouse effect).
The problem comes when things get out of balance.
The chief culprit is carbon dioxide. It's the same stuff that makes bubbles in beer. You also exhale it. If that was all that was happening, things would be fine. The problem is the millions of tons of carbon dioxide pollution coming from exhaust pipes and smokestacks every single year.
These emissions are growing, tipping the scales in a big way. There is almost 30 percent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than natural levels at start of the industrial revolution. And we’re on track to double it by the end of the century. That’s going to make for a much warmer planet.
Global warming means more air pollution, and problems with water supplies as precipitation patterns change. There will be hotter heat waves, and trouble for wildlife as ecosystems struggle with the changes. The costs to business, agriculture and local governments could be enormous.
The effects are much greater at higher elevations and northern latitudes, where skiers and snowboarders like to do their thing. Scientists say that unless carbon dioxide emissions drop, we’ll be looking at warmer, shorter winters.
The good news is that by using new, less-polluting technologies and conserving energy -- as many ski areas are doing -- we can keep winter cool. But urgent action is required: it will take a concerted effort from all of those with a stake in winter to turn things around.
If not us, then who?
For more information on global warming, visit www.nrdc.org
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