Jump to content


Global Warming


12 replies to this topic

#1 Bill

    Founder

  • Administrator II
  • 2,852 Posts:

Posted 04 December 2003 - 02:05 PM

Increasing temperatures will raise snow line, leaving lower areas bare.

By ANDREW DAMPF
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TURIN, Italy -- Global warming is threatening the world's ski resorts, with melting at lower altitudes forcing the sport to move higher and higher up mountains, according to a United Nations study released yesterday.

Downhill skiing could disappear altogether at some resorts, while at others, a retreating snow line will cut off base villages from their ski runs as soon as 2030, warned the report by the U.N. Environment Program.

"Climate change is happening now. We can measure it," said Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the U.N. program. "This study shows that it is not just the developing world that will suffer."

The report focused on ski resorts in Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, the United States and Canada, using temperature forecasts produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of about 2,000 scientists.

The panel estimated temperatures will rise by 2.5 degrees to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 unless dramatic action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An accord aimed at halting global warming, meanwhile, may be dead. A top Kremlin official said yesterday that Russia won't ratify the Kyoto Protocol limiting greenhouse gas emissions because it will hurt the country's economy.

The United States rejected the accord for the same reason. Without Moscow, the protocol cannot come into effect even if approved by every other nation because only Russia's industrial emissions are large enough to tip the balance.

Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide and other so-called "greenhouse" gases trap heat in the atmosphere.

"It appears clear that many resorts, particularly the traditional, lower-altitude resorts of Europe, will be either unable to operate as a result of lack of snow or will face additional costs, including artificial snowmaking, that may render them uneconomic," the report said.



U.N. officials presented their findings at an environmental conference of the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, held by organizers for the Turin 2006 Olympics.

The findings prompted Pal Schmitt, head of the committee's Sport and Environment Commission, to say that global warming will "probably affect how the IOC chooses host cities for future Winter Games."

Schmitt said that the IOC still prefers new candidate cities, but it may be forced to return to sites of recent games to avoid having to build structures that could be obsolete in the near future.

The magic number for ski resorts right now is an altitude of 4,265 feet, according to Rolf Buerk, an economic geographer at the University of Zurich who led the research behind the report.

At that level and above, there is reliable snowfall. In the future, however, global warming is going to push the minimum regular snowfall altitude to between 4,900 feet and 6,000 feet, Buerk said.

"In Switzerland, several low-lying resorts are already having problems getting bank loans," he said.

One likely casualty is the scenic Austrian village of Kitzbuhel, Buerk said. The village is 2,493 feet above sea level and will eventually be cut off from its ski slopes. That's because, according to the report, Austria's snow line is expected to rise by 656 to 984 feet over the next 30-50 years.

The director of Kitzbuhel's tourism office was not immediately available for comment, but other ski resort areas expressed concern.

"We see this as a long-term threat," said Eduardo Zwissig, marketing manager of the upscale Swiss resort at Gstaad, which is at 3,465 feet and has skiing from 4,950 to 9,900 feet.

He said authorities are looking for ways to "minimize economic risk," with plans including new hiking trails that can be used in summer and winter, as well as convention centers.

Asked about Swiss banks' reported wariness to lend money to resorts, Zwissig said: "We certainly feel this pressure."

Doris Scholl, of Grindelwald Tourist Office in Switzerland, said the resort was actively trying to expand non-skiing alternatives. But, she said, there have been investments in new ski lifts this year and more are planned.

"The situation isn't as tragic as that," Scholl said.

Buerk, the economic geographer, said artificial snow is not the answer.

"The main reason is it's too expensive," he said, explaining that it costs $600,000 in installation fees and $60,000 each year for each mile of artificial snow. "And if it's warmer than (freezing), it requires a lot of energy," Buerk added.

Researchers behind the U.N. study said they hoped the report would spur resorts into action.

And David Chernushenko, a scientist on the climate change panel based in Canada, cited examples in North America where resorts have begun to take steps to be more environmentally friendly.

The "Sustainable Slopes" program in Aspen, Colo., is a "world leader in running efficient ski centers," with a new ski lift run entirely on power generated by windmills, he said.

In Whistler, B.C., site of alpine events for the 2010 Olympics, the "entire town (is) moving toward environmental conservation," he said.

Ultimately, however, Chernushenko said the onus was on governments. "The ski, hotel and resort industry is a multinational one," he said. "And if they act together, they can apply pressure on politicians."


IN THE NORTHWEST


Snow lines are expected to climb about 300 feet with every degree of temperature increase. Scientists predict that the region's average temperatures will warm more than 2 degrees by 2020, and by approximately 4 degrees by 2040, though the change could be higher or lower.


Perched 3,000 feet above sea level, the base for The Summit at Snoqualmie Pass is the region's lowest ski resort and the one most likely to be affected by climate change. The average ski season at Snoqualmie could shrink from four months to three over the next 20 years, if global warming occurs as predicted. With a base elevation of 4,100 feet, Stevens Pass is in a better position to weather the warming, but the ski area is still at risk if the more dire predictions come true. The Mount Baker ski area has lodges at 3,500 and 4,300 feet. Crystal Mountain is located at 4,400 feet.


Northwest glaciers already are showing the effects of global warming. Of 117 glaciers being monitored in the North Cascades, all have receded over the past two decades and seven have disappeared, according to researchers. At Mount Rainier, the Nisqually glacier has receded nearly a mile since early in the last century. The mountain's popular ice caves melted away by fall 1991.
- Bill


#2 SkiBachelor

    Forum Administrator

  • Administrator II
  • 6,242 Posts:
  • Interests:Hi, I'm Cameron!

Posted 04 December 2003 - 02:08 PM

I don't believe it.
- Cameron

#3 Eric

    Established User

  • Member
  • 252 Posts:

Posted 04 December 2003 - 02:47 PM

Me too :( :(
-ERIC

#4 KZ

    Multipurpose Machine

  • Industry II
  • 2,087 Posts:
  • Interests:Howdy folks, Im Zack and I live in California.

Posted 04 December 2003 - 03:01 PM

Bad
Zack

#5 vancouverguy

    Established User

  • Member
  • 229 Posts:
  • Interests:Ski lifts, natrually.

Posted 04 December 2003 - 03:59 PM

That report was all over the local paper. Personally, I don't believe it. However, you never know.

#6 KZ

    Multipurpose Machine

  • Industry II
  • 2,087 Posts:
  • Interests:Howdy folks, Im Zack and I live in California.

Posted 04 December 2003 - 05:33 PM

this sucks
Zack

#7 CAski

    Established User

  • Member
  • 363 Posts:

Posted 04 December 2003 - 05:57 PM

No, if trends continue, that is exactly what could occur. It will happen unless something changes.
"Quo usque tandem abutere, Catalina, patientia nostra?" -Cicero

#8 edmontonguy

    Edmontonguy

  • Member
  • 927 Posts:

Posted 04 December 2003 - 07:54 PM

that was in our paper too!
a meteorologist from Calgary dissmised it as over blown extrapolations on minor weather data changes.

#9 liftmech

    lift mechanic

  • Administrator II
  • 5,916 Posts:
  • Interests:Many.

Posted 05 December 2003 - 02:44 PM

That goes to show you how meteorology and climatologyaren't exact sciences. However, while people sit around and argue, it seem obvious that something is happening, and that no-one is doing anything to stop it. Even if it turns out that global warming is an irreversible historical trend, and one not affected by puny humans, it would stil benefit humanity to work on alternative energy sources and to conserve resourses as much as we can.
Member, Department of Ancient Technology, Colorado chapter.

#10 coskibum

    Established User

  • Industry II
  • 596 Posts:
  • Interests:Skiing, Running, Mountain Biking, Baseball, Hiking, ski history, and Chairlifts.

Posted 05 December 2003 - 06:03 PM

you know, its that thing you really wish wasn't true, but i mean, all of those greenhouse gases must do something...the earth does, however go in temperature cycles, just not at this accelerated rate (based on scientific data)

#11 floridaskier

    Established User

  • Administrator I
  • 2,814 Posts:

Posted 06 December 2003 - 06:40 PM

I don't believe in it. There have always been temperature change cycles on earth, and this just happens to be the one that we recorded. The greenhouse gases do have some effect, but not enough to raise the temperature that much singlehandedly.
- Tyler
West Palm Beach, FL - elev. 9 feet

#12 SkiBachelor

    Forum Administrator

  • Administrator II
  • 6,242 Posts:
  • Interests:Hi, I'm Cameron!

Posted 06 December 2003 - 06:57 PM

I also believe when these green house gasses get cold, they condense and fall as acid rain. That's where we get the term.
- Cameron

#13 CAski

    Established User

  • Member
  • 363 Posts:

Posted 06 December 2003 - 07:50 PM

It makes sense that you might be partially right. Carbon dioxide mixed in the water droplets would form carbonic acid (H2CO3). However, this is a very weak acid. The other most major greenhouse gas that comes to mind, methane, is incapable of forming any acid as far as I know.

The true major causes of acid rain lie in SO2 and nitrogen oxides. These form H2SO4 and HNO3 in the atmosphere. Both of these are strong acids (the type that in a concentrated solution you could imagine burning through some solid object like in the movies), though they are not the strongest.
"Quo usque tandem abutere, Catalina, patientia nostra?" -Cicero





1 User(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users