skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Study: Climate Change Could Make Beijing Last Winter Olympics

play audio
Play

Monday, January 31, 2022   

The 2022 Olympic Games are scheduled to open in Beijing later this week, but new research found unless world leaders make significant progress toward mitigating climate change, they could be the last Winter Games.

The report showed in most parts of the world, including Colorado and the American West, winter-sports venues said the natural snowfalls they depend on to operate are no longer reliable. The Beijing Games will be the first ever produced with 100% artificial snow.

Madeline Orr, founder of Sports Ecology Group, said the warming climate presents a major obstacle to winter sports.

"What we're starting to see is, snow's going away," Orr explained. "It's going to be a challenge moving forward to identify those places where you're going to have a snow-sure condition to host an event, without relying extensively on artificial snow."

The report warned shifting climate patterns in Colorado and around the world are producing an ever-shrinking snowpack, which has decreased by a total of 35 inches since the 1970s.

While man-made snow can be used in the short run, Orr argued it is not sustainable, because it takes massive amounts of energy and water to produce.

"Artificial snow has been a stopgap solution to kind of bridge those gaps, but it's not going to solve everything," Orr contended. "If you don't have enough snow, you can produce it using artificial snow guns. But if you blow that snow out of the gun, and it hits the ground, and it's too hot for it to stay on the ground, there's nothing really you can do about that."

The lack of snow could also spell economic disaster for those who count on the skiing industry for tax revenue and jobs.

Chris Davenport, a professional skier and climate activist from Aspen, agreed climate change is making winter sports a risky business.

"It's really difficult to plan for your ski resort business or your apparel business, or anyone who depends on the winter, if you really have no idea if there's going to be snow or not," Davenport acknowledged. "It's risky for sponsors, for nations, for teams and athletes, if they just don't know what's going to happen."

The next Winter Olympics are scheduled for 2026 in Milan and Cortina, Italy.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021