{"id":30161,"date":"2020-02-28T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T07:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=30161"},"modified":"2020-05-22T14:35:18","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T12:35:18","slug":"expensive-artificial-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/expensive-artificial-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"Expensive Snow: The Environmental Cost of Fake Snow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, winter sports attract many tourists in the ski resorts, and when there is a lack of natural snow, we move to the production of artificial snow with snowmakers, when is sufficiently cold to maintain it. Nevertheless, the creation of artificial snow, diffused also thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/study-climate-collapse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>global warming<\/strong><\/a>, implies the consumption of an impressive amount of <a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/reduce-water-consumption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>water<\/strong> <\/a>and energy. But we are aware of the <strong>true costs of the artificial snow<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<h2>Alpine Climate: +2 degree in 2 years<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F2PRWEq2EIs\" width=\"840\" height=\"490\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nBefore to watch at the costs it could be good asks ourselves, which are the causes behind the growth in the use of snowmaking means. Following the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eurac.edu\/it\/research\/mountains\/remsen\/projects\/Pages\/klimareport.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cClime Report\u201d by the Research Centre EURAC in Bolzano<\/a>, the warming measured in the Alps in the last 100 years is the double of the average value of the European one (about <strong>2 degrees<\/strong>). The temperature\u00a0slowly but steadily grows up with devastating consequences also for the Alpine\u00a0environment and a negative impact even on winter tourism.<\/p>\n<p>The increase in temperatures\u00a0and rainfall could lead to a decrease in the snow on the mountains with direct consequences\u00a0both on the traditional mountain landscape and on <a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/climate-change-winter-tourism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>winter tourism<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Snow-covered areas<\/strong> would\u00a0decrease compared to current surfaces, making up for the lack or scarcity of snow only\u00a0with artificial snow. This practice, which is advantageous for ski resorts and for winter\u00a0sports enthusiasts, however, has high <strong>environmental costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To artificially snow the slopes,\u00a0large quantities of water and energy are needed. In addition, artificial snow, given its\u00a0different composition, is also capable of altering the environment and ecosystem of the\u00a0affected Alpine areas.<\/p>\n<h2>Data on hand, the impact of artificial snow<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_30166\" class=\"thumbnail alignnone\"><img class=\"wp-image-30166 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/snow-cannon-1812279_1280-870x490.jpg\" alt=\"snow cannon\" width=\"870\" height=\"490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/snow-cannon-1812279_1280-870x490.jpg 870w, https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/snow-cannon-1812279_1280-570x320.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \/><div class=\"caption\">photo by Suju via pixabay.com<\/div><\/div>\n<p>So what are the numbers of artificial snow?<\/p>\n<h3>1. Water consumption<\/h3>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legambiente.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dossier-Nevediversa-2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Legambiente 2019 Dossier (in Italian),<\/a>\u00a0up to <strong>20,000 cubic meters of water<\/strong> are needed to put the so-called &#8216;snow cannons&#8217; into\u00a0operation to whitewash a medium-sized ski slope 1,600 meters long.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Pollution<\/h3>\n<p>To this colossal\u00a0waste of water resources we must add the electricity needed to power the cannons, the\u00a0noise pollution produced by the plants, the air pollution generated by the trucks that must\u00a0transport the &#8216;technical&#8217; snow from one part of the valleys, as well as the massive use of<strong>\u00a0polluting additives<\/strong> that have heavy repercussions on alpine fauna and flora.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Energy expenditure<\/h3>\n<p>The figures\u00a0distributed over time take on significant weight. <a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.it\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/dossier_alpi_gennaio_2013_turismo_capitolo_3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to the WWF&#8217;s study (report in Italian)<\/a>, about 95 million\u00a0cubic meters of water and <strong>600-gigawatt hours of energy<\/strong> are used to feed the so-called\u00a0&#8216;snow cannons&#8217; which, in suitable weather conditions, transform a certain amount of water\u00a0into the snow every year of 136 thousand euros per hectare of the track.<\/p>\n<h3>4.\u00a0Economic and Social Costs<\/h3>\n<p>From the same report\u00a0by Legambiente mentioned above, we can learn that in the <strong>Trentino region<\/strong> the skiable area is 1536\u00a0hectares of which 1279 are artificially snow-covered. This leaves us only to imagine what\u00a0the necessary <strong>economic<\/strong> commitment could be and how much damage could be caused\u00a0to our localities.<\/p>\n<h3>5.\u00a0Ecological impact<\/h3>\n<p>Furthermore, artificial snow has a high density and concentration of liquid\u00a0water compared to natural snow, consequently, it has a greater weight and a lower thermal\u00a0insulation capacity between soil and atmosphere. These factors cause the <strong>underlying soil\u00a0to freeze<\/strong>, preventing the passage of oxygen and causing the death of all the vegetation\u00a0below, altering the <strong>ecology<\/strong> and <strong>biodiversity<\/strong> of the mountain slopes.<\/p>\n<h2>A look to the future, sustainable Olympics?<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_30164\" class=\"thumbnail alignnone\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-30164\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/cannone-neve-artificiale-870x490.jpg\" alt=\"snow\" width=\"870\" height=\"490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/cannone-neve-artificiale-870x490.jpg 870w, https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/cannone-neve-artificiale-536x301.jpg 536w, https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/cannone-neve-artificiale-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/cannone-neve-artificiale-570x320.jpg 570w, https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/cannone-neve-artificiale-344x193.jpg 344w, https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/cannone-neve-artificiale.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \/><div class=\"caption\">Photo by Arseny Togulev on Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Addressing this topic, we cannot forget that <strong>Italy<\/strong> will be a protagonist in 2026 of\u00a0the <strong>Winter Olympics<\/strong>. It is undisputed that events like this bring huge profits and that a need\u00a0for further economic development can be met, however it is equally necessary that this\u00a0development takes place in a sustainable key. There has been a lot of talk about &#8220;zero\u00a0impact Olympics&#8221; and in this regard, the Legambiente site reports the main points addressed\u00a0to the president of the autonomous province of Trento:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The opportunity to promote a scientific debate on the theme of the future of winter\u00a0sports, taking into account the effects of climate change and trying to find alternative\u00a0and sustainable solutions;<\/li>\n<li>The opportunity to start planning alternative tourism to skiing for the next decades,\u00a0focusing on sustainable experiences of well-being and contact with nature;<\/li>\n<li>The unsustainability of excessive use of artificial snow for the next few years,\u00a0taking into account the expenditure of energy, water, and public money that this\u00a0requires.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Summing up&#8230;<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_30165\" class=\"thumbnail alignnone\"><img class=\"size-large wp-image-30165\" src=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/jasper-guy-Dzd_O5cnr0Y-unsplash-870x490.jpg\" alt=\"sustainable tourism on the alps\" width=\"870\" height=\"490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/jasper-guy-Dzd_O5cnr0Y-unsplash-870x490.jpg 870w, https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/02\/jasper-guy-Dzd_O5cnr0Y-unsplash-570x320.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \/><div class=\"caption\">Photo by jasper guy on Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n<p>While it is true that the artificial alliance maintains the economic equilibrium of ski resorts\u00a0and related industries, it is equally clear that it poses a great danger to the environment. The\u00a0use of means for artificial snow is therefore not only<strong> expensive<\/strong> but also <strong>unsustainable<\/strong> for\u00a0Alps, aggravating the damage caused by <a href=\"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/climate-changes-u-s-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>global warming<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In this perspective, it is not\u00a0only a benefit that provides for artificial snow to be regulated, but it would be interesting and\u00a0comforting that for the tourists present presented various initiatives related to the wonderful\u00a0<strong>alpine ecosystem<\/strong>, which is not limited to ski slopes but which can offer emotions 360 degrees.<\/p>\n<p><em>Author: Federico La Bruna<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Cover image:\u00a0Photo by Chris Biron on Unsplash<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, winter sports attract many tourists in the ski resorts, and when there is a lack of natural snow, we move to the production of artificial snow with snowmakers, when is sufficiently cold to maintain it. Nevertheless, the creation of artificial snow, diffused also thanks to global warming, implies the consumption of an impressive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":30163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[214],"tags":[276,2376,383,1291],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Expensive Snow: The Environmental Cost of Fake Snow - Ecobnb<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the environmental and economic impact of artificial snow? 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