Blizzards and storms may have led to massive snowfalls in New England this winter, but those living in the western parts of the country are facing an uncertain future due to record-low snowfall levels.

Relying on consistent snowfall in Western states known for their ski resorts like Utah, Wisconsin and Idaho, has become an increasingly risky gamble, leading ski areas to rely on a process called “snow farming.”

Snow farming involves storing natural-fallen snow under insulating material, ensuring it will stay cold for the next winter. While this allows ski venues to preserve a significant amount of the snow they harvest through the warmer days, Beth Daley and Dr. Gregg Furie question whether this innovation is truly a long-term solution in the face of rampant climate change.

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“I think it’s a really interesting, innovative approach, but it’s not going to solve the problem,” said Daley, executive editor and general manager of The Conversation, U.S. “When you look around places like the west that are really experiencing less and less snowpack and unpredictable snowpack, the fact is that snowmaking only covers a fraction of any ski resort.”

“When I read these stories, I’m just reminded [of] the degree to which our industries — all of our sectors — are essentially predicated on this idea of a stable climate year after year,” said Furie, a physician and medical director for climate and sustainability at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “We are just becoming so vulnerable to these dramatic and unpredictable climate events.”

Species survival is one of these vulnerabilities, which Furie says is exposed by the Trump administration’s expansion of fossil-fuel drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. While this may boost a shaky oil market already in flux thanks to the war in Iran, it also requires Trump to waive the Endangered Species Act, which Furie said could have dire effects on both aquatic ecosystems and human beings.

“It’s not just those [endangered] species that are dependent on the health of those ecosystems, but all of ours,” Furie said. “If we don’t protect this environment, then we’re going to potentially suffer consequences as a result of it, be it through the way it affects our food chain [or] the livelihood of people who depend on those fishing grounds and those waters for their businesses.”

In response to the economic and environmental instability of oil and coal, many countries are turning the page toward renewable forms of power. But will the U.S. join them? Though President Trump has characterized renewable energy forms as weak and “too expensive,” a recent poll found that 75% of his supporters want to expand solar energy.

“Energy independence is the theme here that’s just starting to gain ground,” said Cabell Eames, chief strategist for Castling Strategies. “And now, with the energy volatility that’s coming out of this war, I think people really just want to have their energy, and they want to be able to plug into it and they want to be able to have it on-demand.”

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At the moment, Massachusetts is one of 12 states leading the charge in expanding solar affordability, with lawmakers considering legislation to legalize plug-in solar. These “balcony solar” units would give cheap and easy electricity access to populations such as renters or apartment owners who can’t usually install large solar panels.

“There’s no electrician required, there’s no permit,” Eames said. “There’s an agreement with your utility company, so that means that like a renter and a triple decker could buy one and set it up in an afternoon and start saving money off their electric bill that same day.”

All that and more in this week’s environmental news roundtable!

Guests

  • Beth Daley, executive editor and general manager of The Conversation, U.S.
  • Cabell Eames, chief strategist for Castling Strategies, supporting climate, clean-energy and resilience advocacy statewide
  • Dr. Gregg Furie, primary care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, medical director for Climate and Sustainability, member of the Mass General Brigham Climate and Sustainability Leadership Council

Stories featured in this week’s roundtable