Global warming is a real threat to our environment and our economy,
and a big concern for more than 11.5 million U.S. skiers and
snowboarders. It's also a bottom line issue for the $3 billion ski
area industry, and tens of thousands of employees who count on
dependable winters for a living.

It's Getting Hot in Here

Nineteen of the 20 hottest years on record have occurred since 1980;
the top 10 since 1990. Worldwide average temperatures warmed a full
degree over the 20th Century. If things don't change, scientists warn
we could see average temperature increases of 3 to 7 degrees
Fahrenheit by the end of the century. That is faster than anything
the world has ever seen in terms of temperature change.

Scientists have been studying the problem now for several decades.
While they still don't know every detail, nearly all agree that that
heat-trapping pollution from fossil fuels is a major factor.

That consensus keeps getting stronger: from the National Academy of
Sciences report to President Bush in 2001 to a declaration last
December by the American Geophysical Union that nature simply cannot
explain the unprecedented warming trends of the past half-century.

Putting on an Extra Layer

Global warming happens when heat-trapping emissions collect in the
atmosphere, like a down parka that keeps natural heat from escaping
into space. In fact, this is one of the atmosphere's most basic
functions; without it Earth would be a frozen wasteland (scientists
sometimes call it the greenhouse effect).

The problem comes when things get out of balance.

The chief culprit is carbon dioxide. It's the same stuff that makes
bubbles in beer. You also exhale it. If that was all that was
happening, things would be fine. The problem is the millions of tons
of carbon dioxide pollution coming from exhaust pipes and smokestacks
every single year.

These emissions are growing, tipping the scales in a big way. There
is almost 30 percent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than
natural levels at start of the industrial revolution. And we're on
track to double it by the end of the century. That's going to make
for a much warmer planet.

Global warming means more air pollution, and problems with water
supplies as precipitation patterns change. There will be hotter heat
waves, and trouble for wildlife as ecosystems struggle with the
changes. The costs to business, agriculture and local governments
could be enormous.

The effects are much greater at higher elevations and northern
latitudes, where skiers and snowboarders like to do their thing.
Scientists say that unless carbon dioxide emissions drop, we'll be
looking at warmer, shorter winters.

The good news is that by using new, less-polluting technologies and
conserving energy -- as many ski areas are doing -- we can keep
winter cool. But urgent action is required: it will take a concerted
effort from all of those with a stake in winter to turn things
around.

If not us, then who?

For more information on global warming, visit www.nrdc.org

PS: Dramatic images from NASA show the ice cap at the North Pole is
melting at the rate of nine percent per decade.