Declining Levels of Snow and the End of Winter

Now that the Sochi Olympics have come to a close, we are being forced to reevaluate the future of the Winter Games. It is not just the Olympics that are being threatened by global warming, winter sports are under siege. Even more than this we are being forced to reckon with the global decline of snow and the demise of winter itself.

As reviewed in a New York Times op-ed, in the last 47 years, a million square miles of spring snow cover has disappeared from the Northern Hemisphere.

The Future of the Winter Olympics is Being Threatened by Climate Change

Finding a site for future Winter Olympics will prove challenging in a warming world. Cities like Sochi will likely be out of the question. Even this year Sochi registered temperatures hovering around 60 Fahrenheit and limited snowfall forced the cancellation of two test events last February. Although the Sochi games went forward due to Herculean efforts that included covering 16 million cubic feet of snow with insulated blankets and around the clock snow making, in the near future this may not be enough. According to new research, only six of the previous 19 Winter Olympics sites will be suitable to host the Games by the end of this century.

According to a new analysis from the University of Waterloo, the. average February maximum daytime temperatures at the 19 previous Winter Olympics host cities has risen from 0.4°C in the 1920s to 1950s, to 7.8°C in the 2000s to 2010s. An additional rise in the average global temperature of more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit is possible by 2100.

The Farce of Putin's "Green" Olympics

Russian President Vladimir Putin's Winter Olympic games were little more than a poor disguise from a corrupt regime that is one of the world's worst environmental criminals.

In addition to the jailing of environmentalists Yevgeny Vitishko, and Igor Kharchenko prior to the Sochi Olympics, two members of the recently released protest group Pussy Riot  (Maria Alekhina and Nadezdha Tolokonnikova) were also returned to prison on trumped up robbery charges in the middle of the games.

In hindsight it is ironic that Russia's 2007 winning Olympic bid was awarded based on the promise of being the most environmentally friendly Games ever. The Sochi Olympics have proven to be about as green as their democracy is fair.

Video - Greenwash at the Vancouver Winter Olympics of 2010

The Sochi Olympics of 2014 are not the only games accused of Greenwash. In this video Prof. Chris Shaw addresses allegations of greenwashing at the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver, Canada. The supposedly "green" games spawned a number of protests against environmentally destructive projects in preparation for the games. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) "green" concerns are exposed as more of a marketing ploy that are part of a multibillion dollar scheme, rather than genuine environmental concern. Subsequent games like the 2012 London Olympics have also been accused of greenwashing.

For more information about greenwashing at the 2014 Sochi games click here.

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The Future of the Winter Olympics is Being Threatened by Climate Change
Declining Levels of Snow and the End of Winter