To Ski Or Not To Ski? That Is The Question (via Cobweb/3.1 Planetlab2.netlab.uky.edu)
“To Ski or Not to Ski?” That is the Question
By Bob Carter
Climate change is reducing the snowfall in many previously snow-safe resorts, and scientists have found that rising temperatures are already leading to changes in snowfall patterns. “Alpine areas below 1,600m are now receiving 20 per cent less snow,” says Birgit Ottmer from the Davos-based Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.
But interview a cross-section of downhill skiers on the slopes this year and ask them what they like about skiing, and many are likely to mention something about their love of the outdoors and the beauty of the scenery. Therein lies the rub. The truth is, downhill skiing can have an enormously destructive effect on the fragile mountain environment: