(South Lake Tahoe, CA) – Ski resorts around the country are not living up to their rhetoric when it comes to preventing climate change, according to the just released 2005/2006 Ski Area Environmental Scorecard. Each year, the Scorecard grades 77 ski resorts throughout the western United States, including 19 in California. This year’s findings demonstrate that an industry program to “Keep Winter Cool” is not so hot among California ski resorts.The National Ski Area Association’s Keep Winter Cool program (http://www.keepwintercool.org) claims that “ski areas around the country are concerned that global warming could have a serious effect on their business. So they’re taking action to fight the problem on many fronts.” However, the new Ski Area Environmental Scorecard finds that less than half of ski resorts in California and throughout the West have instituted most voluntary measures to reduce emissions and combat climate change. For each resort’s score and details on their actions to address climate change visit http://www.skiareacitizens.com.
“When you look at the numbers, it is clear that the ski industry’s performance on global warming doesn’t match its rhetoric,” says Ben Doon, Research Director for the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition. “Global warming could reduce the ski season in the Sierra Nevada by three to six weeks over the next fifty years, yet less than half of the Western ski resorts have voluntary environmental programs to reduce their emissions.”
Of the 19 California ski resorts examined in the Scorecard, 26% are supporting carpool programs, 21% are using alternative fuels such as biodiesel, 16% are using wind or solar power, and 42% are supporting legislative efforts to combat climate change. One exception is mass transit programs, which are supported by 58% of the resorts. However, transit programs are an economic necessity for many resorts, due to limited parking.
Leading scientists agree that a rise in temperature will occur even under the best emission reduction scenarios. This warmer temperature will result in a 36% reduction of Sierra snow in fifty years, according to projections from recent climatic modeling.
“We challenge all ski areas to start cutting their emissions immediately,” said Joan Clayburgh, Executive Director of Sierra Nevada Alliance, a member of the Coalition. “Next year, we hope 100% of the ski areas have implemented programs to reduce their emissions. If the ski industry doesn’t get serious about climate change, who will?”
The Ski Area Environmental Scorecard, produced each year by the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition, is the only independent review that gives skiers and snowboarders a way to assess the environmental performance of their favorite resorts. In addition to actions to reduce greenhouse gases, the resorts are scored for protection of old growth forests, alpine wildlife and use of limited water resources for snowmaking. More detailed descriptions of the criteria used to grade resorts, a complete breakdown of each ski area’s score can be found on-line at http://www.skiareacitizens.com.
“Unfortunately, resorts’ efforts seem to be leveling off. Several years ago we saw strong leadership from a few resorts like Alpine Meadows, but the rest of the industry has not followed suit,” said Ryan Demmy Bidwell, Executive Director of Colorado Wild. “There are great opportunities for both environmental improvement and long term cost savings, I hope the industry will live up to its commitment.”
“We hope skiers and snowboarders will utilize this information when choosing where to buy their season pass or when making ski trip plans this winter,” said Clayburgh. “But even when you ski at a resort that has an average or poor grade, it makes a difference to mention to the resort that you hope they improve their environmental performance. Ski resorts listen to their customers.”
Skiers can also easily send emails to resorts through the website: www.skiareacitizens.com, encouraging environmentally friendly results and asking others to improve their environmental policies and management.
The Scorecard data is obtained from public records from government agencies and from the resorts themselves. Freedom of Information Act and Public Records Act requests are filed with appropriate land managers to identify ski area development projects and management plans each spring. Resorts are also provided surveys and letters to collect information regarding their on-mountain environmental programs. All source documents can be viewed on the website.
The Coalition’s steering committee includes non-profit conservation organizations Colorado Wild, the Crystal Conservation Coalition (WA), Lands Council (WA), Environmental Resource Center (ID), Friends of the Inyo (CA), and the Sierra Nevada Alliance (CA). Over three dozen other conservation organizations also endorse the Scorecard.
For the full 2005-2006 Ski Area Scorecard visit http://www.skiareacitizens.com
