Winter Recreation Takes a Hit: Business Risks of Climate Change

Feb 12, 2011:  We left excited for a weekend in the snow and headed up to the Cooper Spur area on Mount Hood.  Arriving at the trailhead, typically under several feet of snow this time of year, we found patches of bare ground.  As we were planning to spend the night at the Tilly Jane cabin, we had a sled full of gear – expecting it would be much easier to haul our gear in a sled on the snow, than carry it on our back.  Unfortunately, the sled turned out to be more of a burden than an aid as we had to carry the sled for about half a mile where there simply wasn’t enough snow – bare ground, rocks and fallen trees.  I’ve been traveling this trail every year over the last 19 years, and while the snow isn’t always the light fluffy stuff you dream about, I’ve never had to take my skis off and walk the trail due to an absolute absence of snow.

So how exactly does my disappointing weekend snow trip illuminate business risks?  Well, right next to the trailhead is the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort, which typically offers skiing, snowboarding and tubing runs for family recreation.  The resort is closed right now, due to insufficient snow – and this is an increasingly common state of affairs.  The general trend is that over the long term, snow fall and snow pack have been falling.  As I work on climate change issues, I know exactly why this is happening, but the issues of climate change aren’t simple and can be difficult to communicate (see my colleague’s blog).

Protect Our Winters

Slashing First Tracks in the Blizzard of Climate Change Messaging

The one thing all skiers and snowboarders have in common is the question: "Is it snowing?" When the answer is "no" and suddenly it's 65 degrees at 10,000 ft. in February, even the drunkest ski bum will start searching for answers. Climate change? There is nothing simple about climate change and the information explaining it is often over most of our heads. Hopefully, a change is on the horizon. While the climate change industry is stuck on creating a global message, Protect Our Winters (POW) is doing the opposite. By taking a human approach, POW is simplifying the climate change message.

The State of the Union, Clean Coal Ads, Green Jobs , Energy Efficiency and Van Jones.

Best quote of the week: In a discussion of building energy efficiency and building performance labeling, and making an analogy to the current requirement to provide miles per gallon information when selling a car, Van Jones proclaimed: “It’s criminal that we don’t provide Energy Performance Scores on all our buildings.”

Worst quote of the week: In online ads interrupting the State of the Union address: “Clean Coal.” Courtesy of the American Coalition of Clean Coal Electricity 

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of joining Van Jones in a roundtable discussion preceding his lecture hosted by the University of Oregon on “The Next American Economy.”  Van Jones is a leader in the clean energy economy and social justice movements, a senior fellow at the Center For American Progress, a senior policy advisor at Green For All, and is the author of the NYT bestseller The Green Collar Economy.  What I enjoyed most about the conversation with Jones was his emphasis on Efficiency First, both as a policy approach, as well as a personal approach. In fact, he suggested that everyone should have a “house tune up,” just like we schedule our regular car tune ups.  As a green building non-profit, EAI focuses specifically on energy efficiency, but as Jones points out, it should be a priority for everyone.  Why exactly, you ask? What about renewables?