Newsbites
See wholefoodliving.life/references-spring-2022 to review references cited below
Snow business overheating almost everywhere
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aikato's Professor, Holly Thorpe, says with New Zealand’s two major North Island ski fields in financial trouble, coupled with the combined impact of COVID-19 on national and international tourism, this year’s very poor snow season has hit hard. In a recent article published in The Conversation, Thorpe, who specialises in the sociology of sport, says the future of snow sports on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu remains uncertain, directly and indirectly affecting many businesses and livelihoods. Her comments come after Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL), which runs the Turoa and Whakapapa ski fields, ran up debts of NZ$40 million and has gone into voluntary administration. But RAL is not the first ski company to struggle under increasingly unpredictable winters. Shorter or less predictable ski seasons and warmer temperatures are already causing closures elsewhere, she noted. Some foreign ski fields are pivoting to cater for summer recreational tourism, such as mountain biking and hiking. Some ski resorts in North America, Europe and Australia are now facing uncertain futures. One US study found revenues could fall 40-60 per cent (on average) by 2080. The research is clearly showing the ways we currently practise and consume snow sports are unsustainable. Scientists from New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) recently modelled the potential impact of climate change on snow levels in New Zealand. Their report showed an average gradual decrease in snow at nearly all elevations as the century progresses. While all ski areas will experience this, the effects will vary depending on their location and elevation. Under the warmer climate change predictions, the study showed snow depths
The melting gondola on Aspen Mountain provides a surreal visualisation of climate change. between 83 per cent and 45 per cent of current maximums at lower elevation sites by 2040. By 2090, this will be further reduced (on average) to approximately 48 per cent to nine per cent of current maximum snow depths. According to NIWA snow and ice scientist Dr Jordy Hendrikz, "from these results we expect to see a gradual change in snow levels but we should be able to continue to make snow, even under a more extreme climate scenario, right out to the 2090s." Hendrikz remains upbeat, but Thorpe has her reservations. "While some may see innovations in snow-making technologies as future-proofing the ski industry, resorts becoming highly dependent on their capacity to make artificial snow raises serious ethical and environmental concerns. The process uses huge amounts of water, and chemical, and biological additives, with ramifications for mountain ecosystems and potentially human health," she says. There are other impacts also. "For those privileged enough to visit often expensive ski resorts, the pristine mountain environment is central to the experience. Yet ski resorts are far from environmentally friendly. With thousands of visitors every day, they have enormous carbon footprints."
Indigenous land rights the key to biodiversity preservation
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he world’s healthiest, most biodiverse, and most resilient forests are located on protected Indigenous lands. That’s according to a new study1 that suggests that protecting Indigenous and human rights is not only compatible with climate conservation goals, but key to future efforts. “The combined positive effects of state legislation and Indigenous presence in protected-Indigenous areas may contribute to maintaining tropical forest integrity,” the authors write in Current Biology. “Understanding management and governance in protected-Indigenous areas can help states to
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appropriately support community-governed lands.” Years of research has shown that Indigenous peoples are the world’s best land stewards and a crucial part of protecting biodiversity. Indigenous land contains 80 per cent of the world’s remaining biodiversity of which nearly a quarter is managed by Indigenous people. According to a 2020 paper, 47 per cent of threatened mammals live on, and are protected by, Indigenous land and management. When Indigenous peoples are given legal and financial support for land management, the results benefit the world.
