WHY SNOW MATTERS
BY JANE OSIPOVA-MICHAELSON
It’s January. The snow falling outside your window is setting a quiet scene, tempting you to grab your boots and run outside. Meanwhile hardcore snow fans are tuning their boards, sharpening their skates and waxing their skis in anticipation.
But we’re seeing less and less every year.
As snow cover is lost in the arctic, repercussions are felt around the globe. From biodiversity to outdoor sports, winter may be the first major loss of climate change. While reduced snow cover is slowly creeping into Asia, North America and Europe, the Arctic is experiencing drastic changes now. Climate change in the Arctic is most prominent for winter months. But these regions may face important alterations in snow conditions including a 10-40% decrease in snow cover duration (SCD) by 2050.
Global biodiversity is also at risk as the planet begins to lose the winter season. The decreasing snow cover leads to a rapid acceleration of species extinctions, revealing a tipping point in the Arctic biodiversity-climate change relationship. Once an ecosystem is past the biodiversity tipping point, the losses are irreversible.
Beyond biodiversity, winter sports are at risk of melting away. Skiing, snowboarding, skating, and snowshoeing are only some of the winter activities that improve mental, physical health and social development. Losing snow cover in mountainous areas will cause many resorts and outdoor recreation areas to close their doors permanently.
Today, artificial snowmaking is draining water resources from areas that will be if not already prone to drought. Many ski resorts depend on artificial snow, which takes a considerable amount of water from local resources. These costs will continue to increase but the profits may not.
According to the U.S. EPA, Office of Policy, National Center for Environmental Economics, their model predicts reductions in snow-related visitation of –40% to –60%, almost twice as large as previous estimates suggest. The economic losses have already pushed mountain landscapes to offer attractions like snowmobiling, dog sledding and ice fishing, resulting from a worsening in ski conditions.
These snow capped days are becoming more and more rare.
And snow loss even reaches into mental health and child development. Researchers from Masaryk University found that children playing in the wintertime has been continuously declining in recent years, which negatively impacts their mental and physical health.
When kids' play is limited by the seasons, our future generation is losing its ability to connect with nature and each other. Snow offers the unique opportunity for kids to mold and craft homes, snowmen, and brawls with snowballs. A nameless, empty green space can suddenly become a playground filled with battlefields or racetracks.
SNOW IS A PLACE FOR IMAGINATION AND ADVENTURE.
So what can you do? Taking lead from non-profits like Protect Our Winters (POW) leads the way. POW is a nonprofit climate advocacy organization founded in 2007 by professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones. It aims to empower outdoor enthusiasts to become effective climate advocates and protect the places we all love from climate change.
The organization focuses on civic engagement campaigns and environmental law reform.
During TERRE’s inaugural team trip to New Hampshire, many of our members utilized the IKON Pass to ski and snowboard at the local Loon mountain. POW teamed up with IKON Pass to offer passholders a free one-year subscription to Team POW with the purchase of their ski pass. A portion of the ticket sales go to climate advocacy and research.
Collaboration like this, fueled by a shared goal, must involve all of us.