Climate change is not only directly hurting the Earth, but indirectly harming the environment as well. Increased ocean temperatures are creating harsher weather. According to Earth Justice, this increased frequency of extreme weather can cause more intense storms. With global warming, these storms are more frequently just rain and no snow. Because of this lack of snow, ski resorts are being forced to open later in the season, and some don’t even have enough snow to open without using artificial snow. Overall, this lack of regular weather patterns due to climate change is making it significantly harder to have a regular ski season without artificial snow, which harms the environment even more.
Artificial snow may seem like the perfect solution to not having enough snow at resorts. Although it does work to make skiing possible, it has a significant negative effect on the surrounding environment. Emily Michaelfelder, an environmental scientist, says, “I’ll be honest, it [artificial snow] scares me a little. These chemicals getting into the ocean could definitely harm marine life, and I would hate to see even more damage to an already drastically affected area [by climate change].” This impact is being proven; according to Sentient Media, “Artificial snow is made of polymers, hydrogels, and bacteria. As the fake snow melts, the chemicals used to make it seep into the ground, making their way into the food supply for local critters.” This impact goes deeper than just the directly surrounding animals. The artificial snow introduces microplastics into the food chain, which can have a widespread impact. This impact can go so far as to reach the ocean. According to National Geographic, “Up to 60% of a resort’s carbon emissions come from snow groomers [people who create artificial snow].” This increased carbon emission hurts the ocean by increasing ocean acidification, the decrease in the pH of the ocean, which harms all the marine life in it. As for the animals and environment directly surrounding the resort, Emily Michaelfelder says, “Yes, most of the research out there seems to point to it [artificial snow] harming the environment. I’m pretty sure there have been cases of ski resorts using dead snow to harm the soil and plants in the area from the chemicals, which affect the animals relying on those plants for food.” This is not a sustainable system to use.
The solution? We need to stop global warming before it gets out of hand. John Magovern, a long-time skier, says, “[the ski season] usually starts later and ends earlier. Mountains out west have started seeing changes too, which aren’t common… something needs to be done [about climate change].” So many people enjoy going to ski resorts every year. We shouldn’t allow global warming to take that away, or the solution to artificial snow, to damage the environment so severely. We need to come together to create change and do our individual part. Recycling to avoid putting single-use plastic into the environment, limiting water use, and using public transportation: all of these are ways to help reduce your footprint and make a real, measurable difference in our world. The slopes can go back to what they used to be, with our help.
