On Thin Ice: Winter Sports and Climate Change - David Suzuki ...

on thin ice: winter sports and cliMate change
Low-emissions future with adaptation measures can protect
Canada’s winter sports (and festivals), depending on near-term action
Significant action to reduce carbon emissions to levels that limit the average global temperature
increase to less than 2 ºC from the pre-industrial levels, in combination with
adaptation strategies such as increased snowmaking, would likely protect most of Canada’s
ski areas and allow them to remain open for the majority of their winter seasons. For ice
skating and pond hockey on the Rideau Canal, aggressive action to reduce emissions could
likely preserve more than 70 per cent of the existing outdoor skating season. By adapting
cross-country ski race track setters to work with a reduced snowpack, more than 80 per
cent of the cross-country ski season likely could be preserved over this century.
Winter tourism and cultural events are important to Canadians
for both economic and social reasons
Today, winter tourism in Canada generates an estimated $5 billion a year and supports more
than 110,000 jobs from events like New Brunswick’s World Pond Hockey Championships
and the Quebec Winter Carnival. Vancouver will host the 2010 Winter Games with a vision
to achieve “a stronger Canada whose spirit is raised by its passion for sport, culture and sustainability.”
But future greenhouse gas emission levels will dictate the magnitude of global
warming and will determine whether Canada’s winter sports can be sustained at all, no matter
how strong our passion for skiing, hockey, and other winter sports. If global warming is
allowed to intensify, it will become more and more difficult, and eventually unfeasible, to
organize and host these important events.
Solutions exist to protect both the planet
and Canada’s winter sports culture
A recent United Nations study led by a team of economists and energy experts concludes
that even sweeping measures to reduce global emissions to safe levels are affordable and
could deliver multiple co-benefits like increased energy security, better air quality, modern
energy systems, and more pedestrian- and transit-friendly communities.
A groundbreaking study by M.K. Jaccard and Associates, one of Canada’s leading economic
and environmental firms, concludes that Canada’s economy can still grow by almost
20 per cent over the next decade while the country reduces its greenhouse gas pollution to
25 per cent below the 1990 level. The study shows that Canada could take decisive action
and still continue to enjoy strong net job growth and other economic benefits. By 2020
Canadians would save more than $5.5 billion each year at the gas pump because of more
efficient vehicles, more public transit, and shorter commutes.
We can’t leave it just to scientists or economists to solve global warming
Implementing these solutions will require comprehensive action and strong leadership from
every sector of Canadian society. Winter sports athletes and enthusiasts can play a key role
in galvanizing action as these athletes – from professional hockey players to Olympic skiers
and ice skaters – are admired by millions of Canadians, political leaders, and businesspeople.
And the athletes, along with recreational retailers and tourism-industry operators, have a
lot at stake. Some winter athletes have already started to take responsible action, but even
more bold leadership and action are urgently needed.
v
photo: Québec winter
carnival 2009