The Economic toll of Global Warming in the Adirondacks

From my own selfish viewpoint, the main consequence of global warming its toll on the ski season. Nevertheless, Bill McKibben's article on global warming illustrates how far-reaching the effects of global warming are to all aspects of Adirondack life. Skiing is not just a fun activity to do in the snow, but also makes up a major part of the tourism economy. Skiers come from all over the east to ski at Whiteface and now Gore, along with spending money at hotels and restaurants. However, snowmobiling is also a popular form of recreation, mainly in the southern and central Adirondacks. If one pulls into a gas station in Speculator in the middle of the winter, they are likely to see as many snowmobiles as cars filling up. Global warming will impact maple syrup sales, as well as hurt tourist revenues from the fall foliage season.

It seems most people acknowledge that global warming is a serious issue, yet few are willing to make the sacrifices to diminish its effects. It will take a large scale effort among many different nations if we want to stop this problem. Fossil fuel emissions in China will eventually cause a trickle down effect, eventually hurting the Adirondack economy as described above. It seems there are many problems in the current Adirondacks; global warming could prove to be the worst one, since there is not much that local governments can do about it.