Profits vs. Profits

The problem of absentee decision making has surfaced again in the readings for this week. Generally, the entities that are releasing most of the unwelcome sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, among other gases, into the air are centralized outside of the Adirondack Park. The effects of their emissions can be very widespread, however. The government systems that are making final decisions about emission caps and pollution allowances are also, of course, located outside of the Park, and can be influenced greatly by the economic and political power that many of these large, emission-heavy companies hold. These companies whose emissions reach the ADKs tend to want to fight emissions caps, as they often must result in a decrease in production and, therefore, profits. What they are not thinking about during these decision making processes, unfortunately, is how their actions are affecting the climate and environment of the Park as well as, by extension, the economy.

After a number of not-so-successful industries, tourism and recreation have found a home in the ADKs. Although McKibben mentions a number of business owners who aren't worried at all about the effect climate change will have on their industry, I think certain changes caused by climate change will correlate with a decrease in specific aspects of ADK tourism (also suggested by McKibben.) Shorter winters with less snowfall will result in less skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. The lack of beautiful fall foliage and the change in forest compositions could discourage some hikers. Finally, the acidity and lack of plant ecosystems in certain ponds and lake caused by acid rain could discourage swimming and boating. If this decrease in tourism happens on a large enough scale, it could drastically affect the economy of certain parts of the Adirondack Park. Unfortunately, it can be hard to compete with bigger businesses' need for profits, and the lowering of emission caps is almost always a slower process than we'd like it to be.