What is it going to take for businesses to realize global warming is real? What about a loss in profits?
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Americans love to ski and play in the snow. And, it’s big business, bringing in an estimated $1.4 billion in state and local taxes and $1.7 billion in federal taxes alone. But, lack of snow fall, perhaps due to global warming, has slowed the industry.
A report done by two University of New Hampshire researchers for Protect Our Winters and the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that global warming is hurting ski resorts. The study estimates the ski industry has lost about $1 billion in revenue due to a snow drought. And, it’s not just the loss of visitors from which the industry is suffering. Along with that, an estimated 27,000 jobs have been loss.
One of the researchers, Elizabeth Burakowski, said, “In the many U.S. states that rely on winter tourism climate change is expected to contribute to warmer winters, reduced snowfall, and shorter snow seasons.”
The study estimates that without changes in attitude about global warming, temps could warm another 4 to 10 degrees by the end of the century and snowfall in the western states could decline by as much as 25 to 100 percent while the northeast could see snowfall cut in half.
This past winter was the fourth warmest in history since 1896. By some estimates, about 50 percent of the ski areas opened late and almost 50 percent closed early due to lack of snow.
But, it’s not just this study that should have the industry concerned. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services had a Fact Sheet in 2008 that warned that climate change scientists predicted the season may be short due to lack of snowfall.
However, everyone isn’t convinced the lack of snowfall has anything to do with global warming. Dennis Tice of the Bedford County Visitors Bureau (Pennsylvania) doesn’t believe it has anything to do with global warming but he believes “weather is cyclical.”