New Report To Warn That Winter Tourism Industry Is Headed Downhill
Due To Warmer Winters
Climate Change Will Deal Huge Financial Blow to
$12.2 Billion Ski and Snowmobile
Industry; Consequences for CA, CO, ME, MT, NH, NM, NY, OR,
PA, UT, VT and WA to be Highlighted.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A
new analysis conducted for the Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC) and Protect Our Winters (POW) will detail the devastating
economic impact that climate change could have on the U.S. winter
tourism industry. The analysis finds that the $12.2 billion ski and snowmobile industry is
dependent on heavy and predictable snowfall, and changes in the
winter season snowfall have already been felt across the nation and
are likely to become even more pronounced with climate change.
The NRDC/POW analysis covers all 38 states involved in the U.S.
ski and snowmobile winter tourism industry. During the
Thursday news event, experts will discuss the consequences
nationwide and for California,
Colorado, Maine, Montana, New
Hampshire, New Mexico,
New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont
and Washington
state.
The study aims to help policy makers understand both the ski and
snowmobile industry's current economic scale and the potential
economic impacts that climate change may cause, as well as the
effects the industry is already feeling from reduced snowpack and
rising winter temperatures over the last decade. Just this past ski
season, 50 percent of ski resorts opened late and 48 percent closed
early with every region experiencing a decrease in the days of
operation. Winter sports resorts are not the only ones affected by
this shift; a reduced and shortened winter season will also hurt
the secondary related industries of lodging, restaurants, gas
stations, grocery stores and entertainment.
WHO:
- Chris Steinkamp, executive
director, Protect Our Winters;
- Elizabeth Burakowski,
researcher, University of New Hampshire
and report author;
- Auden Schendler, vice president of sustainability, Aspen Ski
Company; and
- Antonia Herzog, assistant
director, Climate and Clean Air Program, Natural Resources Defense
Council.
WHEN:
Thursday, December 6th,
2012.
TIME:
1 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time.
CALL-IN INFORMATION: Join the live, telephone-based news
conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 1
p.m. EST on Dec. 6, 2012 by
dialing 1 (800) 860-2442. Ask for the "Winter Tourism in Peril"
news event.
CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of the
news event will be available on the Web at
http://www.nrdc.org as of 5 p.m.
EST on Dec. 6, 2012.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international
nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million
members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists,
and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the
world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC
has offices in New York City,
Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Chicago,
Livingston, Montana, and
Beijing. Visit us at
http://www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
Protect Our Winters (POW) is the environmental center point of
the winter sports community, united together towards a common goal
of reducing climate change's effects on our sport and mountain
economies. Founded in 2007, POW re-invests contributions in
educational initiatives, activism and supporting community-based
initiatives. For more information,
visit www.protectourwinters.org. Stay in touch on
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/protectourwinters.
SOURCE Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C. and Protect Our Winters,
Pacific Palisades, CA