Tides of Change: The snow-sports industry makes plea for climate aid

On Tuesday morning, three big names in the ski industry released a letter to President Obama. In it, Snowsports Industries America, The National Ski Areas Association and Protect Our Winters urged the President to advocate for the reduction in global temperatures at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

The United Nations holds a climate change convention every year, but this year’s meeting—held from November 30 to December 11 and referred to as COP21—is critical. “The stakes are high,” the COP21 website states. “The aim is to reach, for the first time, a universal, legally binding agreement that will enable us to combat climate change effectively and boost the transition towards resilient, low-carbon societies and economies.” That mission resonates within the ski industry, leading these three organizations to pen the letter to President Obama.

“2014 was the warmest year in the temperature record, and 2015 is on track to surpass it,” the letter states. “Failure to act now on climate is unacceptable, and will result in damage to the environment, tourism and the economy.” They go on to implore President Obama to be timely about climate-change prevention: “This is the greatest opportunity of our time. We need meaningful action from all, and it is time to act.”

According to the The Aspen Times, Auden Schendler, vice president of sustainability for Aspen Skiing Co., is hopeful for a strong, committing agreement in Paris. “My definition of the ski industry doing its part is being political activists,” Schendler told The Aspen Times. “This is a broad call for action by Obama on climate, and it’s a call for policy.”

Solutions start with action and the ski industry is not waiting around to see what could happen if climate change escalates. Chris Steinkamp, executive director of Protect Our Winters, tells The Aspen Times that time is running out. “This is the one,” he says about COP21 and its potential impact. “The window on climate action is closing really fast. It’s kind of the last big chance we have to get a handle on climate change before things get really bad.”