WTF - Environmentalism Schminvironmentalism

Richard Bass, the owner of Snowbird, has apparently decided to embrace the truly destructive nature of resort ownership, and give the finger to all of the environmental watch groups in the most offensive way he could think of - coal strip-mines in the Alaskan wilderness.  Way to tell the National Ski Area Associations Sustainable Slopes program how it really is, Richard.  Nevermind this whole effort to convince the general public that your resort is going to single-handledly stop global warming.  Might as well just encourage everyone to burn more coal… and you know, kill a few salmon and trees while you’re at it.  And maybe upset a few grizzly bears.

Despite marketing department attempts to prove otherwise, general ski resort operations aren’t really an environmentally friendly endeavor.  They’re huge power drains, they use way too much water for snowmaking, and they like to build everything out of giant logs that could only possibly come from really old trees.  Not to mention all of the driving around on snowmobiles and glading operations.  Oh, and I’m guessing snowcats aren’t hybrids.

So, as fake and marketing driven as they are, I guess I still appreciate the attempts some resorts are making to have less of an impact on the environment.  My local resorts at Aspen Snowmass get high parks from the Ski Area Citizens Coalition, and despite the fact that they’re generally corporate bastards, this makes me feel slightly warmer and fuzzier about them.  I mean, sure they came up with a convoluted new season pass pricing structure to fuck over everyone with a job, but they also changed all their snowmobiles to four strokes and added solar panels to shit.  Makes me feel a bit better about it. 

To check and see if your local resort sucks, there’s a handy scorecard provided by the Ski Area Citizens Coalition: http://www.skiareacitizens.com - Snowbird didn’t do too badly last year, but they say they will take the coal mine into account when they next update the scores.

Want the facts? Check out this Press Release from the Utah Sierra Club:

Snowbird Owner Threatens Own Resort, All Skiing, With Alaska Coal Mine Proposal

‘Groups Blast Richard Bass Over Shortsightedness’

Salt Lake City, UT August 17, 2009- A huge coal strip-mining operation proposed on Alaska’s Chuitna River by the owner of the Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah has drawn the ire of groups concerned about the mine’s contribution to global warming.

Richard Bass, who owns the prominent Utah resort, has partnered with William H. Hunt to form PacRim Coal LLC, which has submitted permit applications to build a coal mine directly on top of 11 miles of prime salmon fisheries feeding the Cook Inlet. Nearly all the coal excavated from the mine, located about 45 miles from Anchorage, would be exported to coal markets in China and other Pacific Rim countries. The Chuitna mine would produce more than 12 million tons of coal annually, which when burned, would emit more than 27 million tons of carbon dioxide.

“It’s sadly ironic that the owner of a business that is solely dependent upon heavy snowfall and consistent winters is pushing a project that is a direct threat to the ski industry and completely contrary to the ideals of outdoor recreation,” said Ryan Demmy Bidwell with the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition. “Coal is the single largest source of global warming pollution on the planet. We’re already seeing impacts on climate and weather patterns in the West. And this man wants to sell millions of tons of coal to China so it can be burned? Utah skiers and backcountry enthusiasts should be outraged.”

Bass’ mine proposal is even more hypocritical, conservation groups say, since Snowbird has been an active participant in the National Ski Area Associations Sustainable Slopes program, whose environmental initiatives include reducing greenhouse gas emissions from resorts in order to protect the climate.

“Snowbird has been one of the leading ski areas in terms of addressing global warming,” said Mark Clemens with the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club. “In fact, they were the top award recipient from the NSAA in 2007. That’s what makes this proposed coal mine by Mr. Bass so troubling.”

Over 50 national organizations and businesses made recommendations that were incorporated in the Sustainable Slopes charter, a program designed to make ski resorts more environmentally friendly. Clemens doubts any of the participating organizations would be too thrilled to know that Bass was planning to develop a large coal mine.

“I can’t help but believe that some might consider this a real slap in the face” he said.”

In addition to its contributions to global warming, the mine would destroy one of Alaska’s most productive salmon fisheries. According to three scientific analyses of the mine’s impacts being released today, it is highly unlikely that the river’s fishery would ever recover from damage done by the mining. This year, the Chuitna River was one of the few rivers in the Cook Inlet region where fisherman enjoyed a healthy king salmon run. But if the mine is built, the studies determined, damage done directly to the streams and approximately 30 square miles of surrounding riparian habitat within the watershed would be irreversible.

“We want to keep Utah cool and Alaska wild,” said Dan Ritzman, the Western Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “We aim to show that sparing the climate hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 pollution and protecting this fragile fishery are better long-term investments for local economies in Utah and Alaska. In today’s transition to a greener economy, investments in coal are simply wasted dollars.”

Posted by Kelly Vance on 09/02