Hey urban nomads, continuing from our previous post, wouldn’t it be great if we could escape to a cold country now? I would definitely love to play with the white fluffy snow, have snow ball fights with friends and experience skiing!

However, all these activities are possible at a cost to the environment and bring about impacts to the ecosystem.

Wax from ski and snowboard

Wax is used by skiers and snowboarders at the bottom of the skis and boards to increase the glide down the slope. Perfluoroalkyl (PFCs) is present and it has devastating impacts on immune system. The gasses and particles emitted during the waxing process can enter the human’s system and it is very persistent. PFCs tend to bioaccumulate, therefore posing a greater risk when exposed to contaminated water (Knapton, 2019).

Artificial snow and water use

Artificial snow used in ski resorts

Did you know that the snow you see in ski resort is not all natural snow? It is actually a mix of natural and fake snow. Also, as a result of climate change, most winters are increasingly shorter – result in the increase use of fake snow. The process of making fake snow requires a large volume of water and high-pressure air (Boonstra, 2020).

Deforestation and wildlife destruction

With the construction of resort infrastructure, ski lifts and pathway for skiers, it will require the removal of vegetation. This will affect the habitats of the animals living there, an example is the population of black grouse. The black grouse lives in the Swiss Alps and its population density is half of its average at areas near ski resorts (Boonstra, 2020).

Black Grouse

Implications for biodiversity conservation

The extent and regulation of resorts, specifically on reindeer, has large implications on the reindeer distribution and movements. The human influence of ski resorts of a few hundred cabins is comparable to a town with a few thousand inhabitants. The larger the resort, the harder it is to restore reindeer to the range as depending on the degree of human activity (Sato, Wood, & Lindenmayer, 2013).

That being said, several ski resorts around the world have came up with various ways to make skiing and running of the resort a more sustainable one. We shall see in the upcoming post if they live up to what they envision to be.

References:

Boonstra, M. (2020). Wintersport: Fake Snow, Wildlife Destruction.   Retrieved from https://www.whatsorb.com/climate/impact-of-ski-resorts-on-the-environment-and-how-to-fix-it

Knapton, S. (2019). Wax on skis could be harming the environment. Retrieved from https://headtopics.com/uk/wax-on-skis-could-be-harming-the-environment-9371761

Sato, C. F., Wood, J. T., & Lindenmayer, D. B. (2013). The Effects of Winter Recreation on Alpine and Subalpine Fauna: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS One, 8(5). doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064282