The Disappearing Winter: A Blessing in Disguise for Tourism?

The essay by McKibben illustrated the climate change that the Adirondacks is predicted to be exposed to in the coming hundreds of years, as well as unveiling the effects it will have on the culture of the area itself. Towards the end of the essay, McKibben talks about the effect that climate change will have on tourism in the Adirondacks. At first, the warming climate is described as sending "paradoxical shivers down the backs of some Adirondack business owners." Increasing temperatures would drastically reduce tourism numbers for winter activities in the Adirondacks, such as skiing. As displayed in the graph below, winter activities, like snowmobiling and skiing, have the most economic potential in the Adirondacks. 

http://adirondackresearch.com/projects/tourism/hbperspective.html

What got me thinking, however, is the fact that warming winters isn't a bad thing for many business owners in the Adirondacks. McKibben mentions a quote from Art Devlin, saying "Summers are always good, some are just better than others. Winters are always bad, some are just not as bad as others." Although recreational snow activities may be the one of the first things we think of when making a list of what brings tourism into the Adirondacks, we must not forget the couple months of the year that thrive in the warmer temperatures. In fact, James McKenna, president of the visitors bureau in the Lake Placid regions says that 65-70% of receipts come between Memorial Day and Columbus Day - during the summer months. What may be completely devastating to one business may be essentially crucial to another. There just doesn't seem to be a happy medium. So, with the onset of this climate change, one side will prosper while the other side flounders. Its a matter of determining how much the decrease in snow activities will effect economy of tourism. From the graph above, it would appear as if it will have quite a large effect. However, with the shifting climate, maybe we will experience a shift in the prevalence of warm weathered recreational activities as well. 

I began writing this post this morning, but our class today seemed to be distinctly pertinent to my post. In class today, we discussed the issue of whether adaptation or mitigation was more prevalent in terms of the response method for climate change. Recreationally, adaptation seems to by the most practical route. Climate change happens on such a global scale that attempting to mitigate the issue seems trivial. Adapting our activities to suit those of a warmer climate would both benefit tourists as well as the economy of the Adirondacks as a whole.