FIRST
TRACKS
GREENER MOUNTAINS
VERMONT SKIING IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE
When it comes to global warming, ski areas are the proverbial
canary in the coal mine. In their favorite habitat of cold, snowy
mountains, skiers are on the front lines of feeling the impact of a
change in winter weather.
from NativeEnergy, a Vermont-based company that helps reduce
CO2 emissions by funding Native American, farmer-owned, and
community-based renewable energy projects.
What is a ski area to do? In Vermont, a number of ski areas are
exploring innovative ways to take on climate change.
Killington, Okemo and Stratton have invested heavily in this
area by offsetting 100 percent of the carbon output from all
of their electricity usage through the purchase of renewable
energy credits. Other ski areas have joined the carbon-neutral
ski movement with various approaches.
In its first year, Middlebury’s investment compensated for 680
tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The Middlebury Alpine and
Nordic ski teams also became carbon-neutral by purchasing
carbon offsets for the teams’ CO2 emissions, covering everything
from team travel to the electricity used to power the coaches’
offices. NativeEnergy used the Snow Bowl’s investment to fund
construction of a wind farm run by the Sioux Tribe in South
Dakota and a methane-energy project on a family-owned dairy
farm in Pennsylvania.
The Middlebury College Snow Bowl took carbon neutrality to
the next level in the 2006-2007 season by becoming the first ski
area in the country to offset its electric, gas, propane and diesel
usage, as well as skier transportation to and from the ski area.
Middlebury College, which owns the ski area, offset the carbon
footprint of its ski operations by purchasing $7,138 in offsets
A quick primer on how offsetting works: A carbon offset is one
ton of carbon dioxide that has been displaced from a fossil-fuel source. “For every ton of CO2 that is generated by
one of these ski areas that buys carbon offsets, there
is an associated amount of fossil fuel CO2 that
is kept out of the atmosphere,” explains Billy
Connelly, Native Energy’s marketing director.
Courtesy of Justin Cash
4 skivermont.com
