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Essay / How Climate Change Impacted the Tourism Sector in New Hampshire Ski Areas During Winter Climate Change on New Hampshire Winter TourismClimate Change Preparedness at New Hampshire Ski AreasClimate Change Modeling at Ski AreasVulnerability and Viability of the Winter Tourism EconomyConclusionSummaryIn this research paper, I will examine the goals of New Hampshire Climate Action Plan and will determine whether or not they will be sufficient to help mitigate the impacts of climate change on New Hampshire's winter tourism sector. I use research conducted by climatologists to analyze the potential impacts of climate change on winter ski areas, as well as the economic impacts on winter tourism in relation to the Climate Action Plan. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayIntroductionClimate change is a global and local crisis and if immediate action is not taken, the damage could be irreversible. In the northeastern region of the United States, and particularly in New Hampshire, winter tourism represents a significant portion of state revenue and, with the release of the New Hampshire Climate Action Plan in 2009, the The state hopes to fight climate change. while remaining economically sound. “New Hampshire has set an ambitious goal to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 while spurring economic development, creating jobs, improving energy security and preserving quality of life of New Hampshire residents” (Wake et al., 2012). ).Due to the fact that winter tourism is a significant factor in New Hampshire's revenue and the looming threat of climate change that could create irreversible damage to these ski resorts, the goals of the New Hampshire Climate Action Plan Will Hampshire be enough to help reduce the impacts of climate change on these winter ski areas? The remainder of this document will describe the goals of the Climate Action Plan, the impact of climate change on New Hampshire ski areas, and its effects on New Hampshire's economy. Background on the New Hampshire Climate Action Plan The New Hampshire Climate Action Plan, which was released in 2009, proposes a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 while maintaining economic feasibility of New Hampshire (Wake et al., 2012). The plan, which was created by state business leaders, members of government, nonprofit organizations and academics (also known as the Action Plan “task force”) climate), emphasizes the need to “reduce emissions from transport and electricity production”. , buildings and ecosystems while further developing the economy” (Wake et al., 2012). The Climate Action Plan is also linked to the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan due to New Hampshire's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). In the Climate Action Plan, the task force recommends that the state continue to remain involved in RGGI and work to strengthen the program. Regarding the Clean Power Plan, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is exploring ways that the state's participation in RGGI can help meet therequirements of the Clean Power Plan (Burack, personal communication, 2016). The working group behind the Climate Power Plan The Action Plan recognizes the fact that New Hampshire must significantly reduce its emissions and begin to adapt to a rapidly changing climate (Skoglund, personal communication, 2016). Cameron Wake (personal communication, 2016) explained, “The state is currently in the early stages of a very long journey and few businesses are far along in terms of the impacts of climate change,” but the goals and The Climate Action Plan's recommendations are not tied to any state law, meaning there is no requirement that a state entity advance the plan (Skoglund, personal communication, 2016). However, due to the very inclusive and comprehensive manner in which the plan was created, many stakeholder groups, New Hampshire legislators and state agencies, have voluntarily implemented many of the Plan's recommendations. climate action, while taking part. in additional efforts inspired by the plan (Skoglund, personal communication, 2016). The New Hampshire Climate Action Plan released its last baseline report in 2012 and it is important to note that the state is beginning to show consistent signs of progress toward the goals outlined in the Climate Action Plan. (these are costs that accompany climate change policies, but according to the summary of the New Hampshire Climate Action Plan (2009), a huge portion of these costs will only be used in the early stages of the Climate Action Plan ). The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (2009) states that over time, these costs will decline and implemented policies will create net economic benefits. The Climate Plan briefly presents 10 strategies to reduce emissions while remaining economically feasible. The 10 strategies are as follows: “1. Maximize the energy efficiency of buildings, 2. Increase renewable and low CO2 emitting resources in a sustainable way in the long term, 3. Support regional and national actions aimed at reducing carbon emissions. greenhouse gases, 4. Reduce vehicle emissions through state actions, 5. Encourage appropriate land use patterns that reduce vehicle miles traveled, 6. Reduce vehicle miles traveled through an integrated multimodal transportation system, 7. Protect natural resources (land, water and wildlife) to maintain the amount of carbon fixed or sequestered, 8. Lead by example in government operations, 9. Plan how to deal with existing and potential impacts of climate change, 10. Develop an integrated education, awareness and workforce training program” (2009). In order to achieve the net economic benefits of Under the Climate Action Plan, New Hampshire must prioritize low-cost policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions above any other policies and the State must consider these costs as long-term energy reduction investments (“Overview of New Hampshire Climate Action Plan,” 2009). . The types of benefits resulting from reducing greenhouse gas emissions are considered co-benefits, that is, localized benefits brought about by regional reduction, much like the Climate Action Plan has planning to do so in New Hampshire ski areas. Hampshire Winter TourismWinter tourism represents a significant portion of New Hampshire's state revenue and climate change can have a huge impact on this very important sector of the state's economy. The ski industry in New Hampshire is extremelydependent on long and active winter conditions and any change in these weather conditions can completely destroy ski resort operations (Beaudin and Huang, 2014). Winter tourism and winter outdoor recreation is a crucial economic factor for northern New Hampshire counties and during the winter quarter (December through March), "nearly 40 percent of total spending by Visitors to our state go to the North Country. Nearly 80 percent of that goes to snow – and cold-dependent outdoor recreation: skiing, ice fishing and snowmobiling. Winter visitors spend nearly 20 percent more per visitor day than average” (Wake & Burakowski, 2006). It is obvious that a cold winter full of active snowfall will generate more visitors and economic activity than a warm winter without snow. Cameron Wake and Elizabeth Burakowski (2006) highlight this in their research by also stating that a warm winter will result in the loss of around 3,000 jobs (4% of winter jobs in the Global North). They also claim that "33 percent fewer skiers visit New Hampshire during low snow years compared to high snow years" and that downhill ski ticket sales drop by 15 percent, or about $12 million, during warmer winters (2006). Another significant revenue loss caused by warm winters is the snowmobile industry. Snowmobile license registration fees have fallen by approximately 30 percent, which equates to a loss of $1 million, combined with the total drop in ski ticket registration fees and ice fishing license by 14 percent, means there was a loss of over $13 million during warm winters (Wake and Burakowski, 2006). On top of these numbers, winter temperatures are also expected to increase by six to ten degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century if we continue to live in a high-emissions framework. , which means less snowfall, more winter rain, and increased melting of the snowpack, resulting in a 25 to 50 percent reduction in the typical length of a snow season (Burakowski & Magnusson, 2012) . “The energy path we choose today will largely determine whether or not New Hampshire's climate will become remarkably similar to that of the southern United States” (Wake and Burakowski, 2006) and the Climate Action Plan contains the guidelines and targets needed to prepare for and potentially mitigate climate change. climate change impacts on these ski areasClimate change preparedness at New Hampshire ski areasWinter weather and a cold climate are key elements in promoting the tourism experience, increasing tourism demand and enjoyment while creating successful tourism operations . These operations are largely dependent on water supplies, energy costs, insurance costs, and the environmental and natural resources that are crucial to this winter tourism industry (i.e. glaciers , biodiversity, water and snow levels), making this generally economically prosperous sector very sensitive and vulnerable to global warming and the impacts of climate change (Dawson and Scott, 2013). "Bicknell and McManus (2006) describe the ski sector as a 'canary in the coal mine', suggesting that the first signs of climate change for any tourism sector are seen directly within the ski industry" ( Dawson and Scott, 2013). This is not a new concept for the ski industry in the face of climate change and its instability in terms of weather conditions and temperaturesseasonal. The ski industries have long adapted to decreasing snowfall and increasing temperatures by investing in research and development with the goal of preserving and continuing a productive snow season, and therefore a season of skiing (Scott, 2005). A key investment that the ski industries had virtually no other option for was the technological adaptation of artificial snow machines and this has been one of the most important factors and investments in ensuring that these ski areas remain economically viable. “A number of other adaptation strategies have become popular, including building ski resorts at higher altitudes to account for lower temperatures at altitude, investing in all-season resorts, providing non-snow-based activities and creating an après-ski atmosphere” ( Dawson and Scott, 2013). Unfortunately, even with investments in technology and the use of snowmaking, ski areas remain at extremely high risk from the impacts of climate change (Dawson & Scott, 2013), which is why it is important to overestimate the goals, strategies and implementation of the Climate Action Plan to prepare for and potentially significantly reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on these ski areas. Modeling climate change in ski areasResearchers Jackie Dawson and Daniel Scott examine the impacts of climate change on the operation of ski areas in the North-East. and New Hampshire and they approach it using a case study. Before explaining their research and the methods behind it, they say: “The implications of climate change have been shown to vary significantly by market segment and geographic region, and will undoubtedly depend on the impacts experienced by competitors. Understanding how the entire ski market can transform, and can be influenced by changes to individual ski areas, can help ski area managers as well as municipal, state and federal policymakers establish sustainability plans and future management strategies” (2013). Their research approach is based on examining all 103 ski areas in the Northeast and the methodologies applied in the case study take into account available snowmaking technologies. By using a generic lapse rate to allow for projections of temperature change based on the altitude of each ski area, this allows researchers to be able to draw conclusions about which ski areas are more exposed to climate change than others in using different time rates. with varying climate change situations. The annual temperature in the Northeast has increased by 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit each decade since 1900, but between 1970 and 2002, the Northeast suffered above-average temperatures and experienced an increase of 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit. every decade (Dawson and Scott, 2013). The future climate change scenarios and their reference period (1961-1990) for this case study were derived from the climate data shown above, which allowed Dawson and Scott (2013) to derive different climate change scenarios for three different future periods (2010-39, 2040-69, 2070-99). There are three very important factors to consider when projecting the impact of climate change in this study: "the length of the season, the likelihood of being operational during the economically important Christmas and New Year period ". and snow requirements. Based on these factors, an estimate ofeconomic viability is carried out for each of the modeled ski areas” (Dawson and Scott, 2013). When it comes to season length, the impact of climate change varies more for some ski areas than others, depending primarily on altitudes. The results show that using the baseline period and future projections, ski areas at higher elevations, primarily in New Hampshire and Vermont, will experience longer seasons in all climate change situations tested, as opposed to to ski areas at lower elevations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine (Dawson and Scott, 2013). Ski area operations are crucial during the holiday period (December 23 to January 3), as up to 20% of winter tourism occurs during this holiday period (NSAA, 2005). Although it is still difficult for ski areas to remain 100% operational during this period because it is the start of the ski season, the projections tested by Dawson and Scott (2013) show that they remain more or less constant in each period, with only a few fluctuations during the period 2010-39. Finally, snow requirements are a crucial investment in keeping ski areas open and economically feasible. Dawson and Scott (2013) found that the amount of snow needed for ski areas to stay that way will increase under all climate change scenarios tested for each time period and for each of the 103 ski areas. However, if temperatures continue to rise at this rate, snowmaking technology could be affected due to the minimum temperature of 23 degrees Fahrenheit at which machines operate. If a ski area is in a lower elevation region, these higher temperatures could have a significant impact on the rate at which snowmaking is used. Vulnerability and Viability of the Winter Tourism Economy The most crucial factor to consider in the winter tourism economy regarding its vulnerability and viability. is a response to the demand of skiers themselves and their reaction to snow conditions and potential closures of particular ski areas (Dawson and Scott, 2013). In Dawson and Scott's (2013) research, they found that using an analogous method and climate change modeling, the Northeast shows that over the period 2040-69 there is a decrease in 11 to 12 percent, using a medium and high emissions scenario. It's not as bad as one might expect, but the state also needs to consider individuals' readiness to travel greater distances to continue skiing if their local ski area has been closed due to the impacts of climate change. Dawson and Scott (2013) surveyed 570 skiers in the Northeast and concluded that an individual would travel no more than three hours per day. travel nor would they travel more than five hours (one way) for a weekend for the purpose of skiing at an operational ski area. This will only get worse if policies like the Climate Action Plan are not implemented, as individuals living in lower-income states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, southern Maine, and Southern New Hampshire will not be willing to travel such long distances to get to the few remaining ski areas. in northern New Hampshire and Vermont. However, this projected travel distance presents a downside for those willing to drive long distances to continue skiing: increased vehicle emissions due to.
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