Is skiing bad for the environment?
As the population of the world grows, the more the environment feels the effects of pollution. Although skiing might not be bad for the environment itself, the ski resorts and other factors associated with skiing might be having a negative impact. In this post, we’re going to discuss the environmental impact of the ski industry and also discuss how you can try to enjoy sustainable skiing while still being able to enjoy this sport. Keep reading to find out more.
Deforestation
When it comes to creating the perfect ski resort, it is likely that there’s going to be an amount of deforestation. The impact of skiing in mountainous environments is negative as trees need to be cut down to make way for the skiers and ski lifts. Not only is the lack of trees affecting the environment, but it is also affecting the animals that live in the trees. It can be said that skiing is bad for the environment in this sense.
Water
Another interesting reason why skiing might be harmful to the environment relates to the water used by these resorts each day. Due to global warming, fake snow has to be used to top-up the snow levels, and this process requires a considerable volume of water on a daily basis, and that water is taken from nearby lakes and rivers to be used by these resorts.
Fossil Fuels
Ski resorts use fossil fuels to generate the electricity that is required each day to run the ski lifts and other essential parts of the resort. It is interesting to note that a ski resort will use almost the same amount of energy on their ski lifts in one month as 3.8 houses would use in a whole year. This is extremely high when you compare this with the 5 gallons of diesel per hour that are used by the trail groomers.It is clear that something needs to change when it comes to pollution in ski resorts.
Making Skiing More Sustainable
As keen skiers, we want to make sure that skiing becomes sustainable moving forward. The good news is that many resorts are trying to make a difference by introducing things like solar panels and wind turbines to supplement the energy that they use.
At Alltracks Academy, we make efforts to reduce the imprint that we have on the environment. We love the area that we’re situated in, so we do everything in our power to ensure that we look after it. It’s important for us to impress upon everyone that comes to our slopes how they can help to preserve this environment.
If you’d like to know more about skiing check out our teaching programs.