Global warming and ski resorts

 

Due to current global warming, ski resorts are endangered and with it all the winter tourism industry. Indeed, ski season are becoming shorter and shorter and snow falls lower and lower. Ski resorts above 1800m could be saved for a while but low altitude resorts (below 1500- 1600m) are directly touched by climate change. Last year some of them had to close a month earlier because of the lack of snow and warm temperature   Ski resorts have to face with this climate change offering other activities in ski resorts like hiking, sledge, etc.
However, there is a huge paradox about this purpose. Ski resorts are endangered by global warming but they also contribute to global warming and climate change with tourism. Tourism and ski industry are an ecological disaster for the Alps and its resources. Tourism pumps an incredible amount of water for snow canons, water reservoirs and tourism needs.
Ski resorts and the Alps in general can't live without tourism income, it's the major activity in this area so they have to mitigate the effects of climate change. This is the reason why some actors of states, NGOs and tourism try to commit against climate change effects. For example, states have created parks and protected areas. NGOs built some projects as the Alpine convention, ALPARC, etc and the Group Pierre et vacances- center parc which is the biggest tourism company in Europe, they have set up a whole system of eco friendly actions to limit their impact on the environment.
Obviously, all those actions are almost useless compared to the pollution tourism creates and the pollution doesn't care about boundaries of parks or countries. Climate will continue to change whatever we do and we need to figure out the future of ski resort, the post ski and post tourism futur for the Alps.

Picure; Val Thorens in November 2011, Opening date (Rtl.fr)

Reference: http://geofac.over-blog.com/30-index.html://