SUSTAINABILITY

PROJECT

IS SKI A SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITY?

SCIENCE

ABOUT THE ARTICLE

1) What do you understand by global issue? By global issue I understand those significant issues that affect almost everyone on the Earth, those relating to or involving most or the entire planet. An issue is likely to be global if it persists or is long-acting, if is transnational or transboundary, affects large numbers of people, is an underlying cause of events and is connected to other issues that meet these criteria. One example could be the global warming, which meets all these conditions. It may take years or even decades to be fully felt; its effects are felt well beyond the borders of countries responsible for creating it; it can cause many events such as desertification, crop failure and diminished water supplies; and it is interconnected to many other issues (efforts to slow global warming could in turn positively impact a number of other issues such as food security and refugee issues tied to climate change; these efforts could also affect economies, for better or worse). 2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of globalization? The globalization or interconnection and integration among people, economies and societies throughout the world leads to both positive and negative consequences. On one hand, many of this connections and issues represent advantages seen that todays high speed technology makes instant communication possible throughout the world: people can travel halfway around the planet in a matter of hours; business based on country can make and sell products in other countries; students from different countries can collaborate on projects in virtual classrooms; etc. On the other hand some globally connected issues become disadvantages. They are so serious that they threaten the health, happiness and productivity of people and societies around the world. Some of these global issues include rapid population growth, environmental damage, high resource consumption, national and international conflict and the growing number of people living in poverty. 3) What is sustainability? What areas does it affect? Sustainability is a concept that means that we meet our own needs without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs; considering the needs of the entire planet. It affects the areas of environment, economy and society (each of which must be healthy and viable over time. Improvements to anyone of these elements should not make any of the others worse).

4) In what way can we say that everything is interconnected? To explain that everything is interconnected we can use a metaphor that shows this interconnectedness of global issues as a mobile, where the objects are separate and move in different directions, but they are interconnected and balanced with each other. If we touch one piece, all the others move. If we cut one string, the whole thing gets thrown off balance. In the same way there is an interconnectedness that is inherent in natural environments. Every type of organism, from bacteria to people, is part of a food web that depends on healthy habitats to survive. The human-made environment is also interconnected. A great many of the items consumed in developed countries such as United States are produced in developing countries. The production of these consumer goods plays a key role in those countries economies, the lives of people there and the natural environment. Besides, the choices we make as individuals influence the choices that we make as a society. And the choices we make as a society can have a global impact. The Earth itself is one large, interconnected system that may be thought of as a remarkably complex mobile, wherein changes in one part of the system cause changes elsewhere. A force exerted on one part of the mobile will affect all its other parts (in ways major or minor, sometimes predicable and sometimes not). 5) Does this interconnection affect the kind of solutions we take? Yes, because you do not see how working toward sustainability in one area can have positive impacts on all of the others until you realize how this issues are connected (solutions in one area can have a great impact on the others). 6) In searching for sustainability, what different aspects do we have to consider? In searching for sustainability it is important to consider the well-being or quality of life of people around the world (which may include a peaceful society, a rich culture, a satisfying life, and cultural pursuits such as art, music and athletics). A number of factors contribute to an individuals quality of life, some of which can be measured or tracked. These include a persons income and his or her access to education, health care, goods, and services. Other contributors to quality of life are harder to measure, such as happiness, creative expression, religious or spiritual involvement, and the relative degree of freedom and justice enjoyed by an individual. Even though, figuring out the sustainable level of population depends on how many resources each person needs and wants to use to have a satisfying life. People around the world have different levels of income, consume different amounts of resources, have different cultural traditions, and live in different geographic regions, so figuring out global sustainability is complicated.

7) What sustainable practices are already being used today around the world? Today around the world are being used many sustainable practices, which can be personal or structural. Among the personal solutions, some choices are small, such as riding a bike or walking to school instead of driving, recycling so we can keep reusable material out of the landfill, or turning off the lights and turning down the heat at night to conserve fuel. And some choices are larger, such as ones that we all make as we get older: the family size, supporting government policies that encourage sustainability, buying more sustainable products, etc. Furthermore, there are structural solutions that address the underlying cause of problems and often require action by governments and nations. These practices usually occur when governments enact policies and laws that encourage or discourage certain behaviors by large segments of the population. Many countries are coming together to discuss and implement practices that will lead to great sustainability and, many renewable energy technologies are being used by more and more governments and people. However, we need to work at sustainability through our lifetime if we want to enjoy good health and physical fitness.

Skiing
Skiing has become a popular activity between some people while it is possible that others even dont know about it. We enjoy doing this sport without thinking about what it implies, but is ski a sustainable activity? Lets analyze it:

y ENVIRONMENT
In this area we have to take into account two things: the material we need and the space it takes. In first place, to do this sport we use certain equipment: Skis and ski sticks. SKIS: The ski production process releases to the atmosphere toxic products, especially carbon dioxide, contributing to the global warming. Added to this, all skis are made from some combination of wood, foam, fiberglass, plastic, steel, aluminum and carbon fiber (which are materials made of non renewable natural resources and some of them fabricated by a contaminating industrial process). The finished ski is a sandwich of these materials, chemically bonded by epoxy resin, and virtually impossible to separate or recycle. It's for this reason that almost every ski ever made still exists today, and that many new skis will continue to go to landfills. SKI STIKS: Nowadays ski sticks are made of light alloys (aluminium) or fibrereinforced plastic (carbon), both non renewable resources. Secondly, most downhill skiing takes place on prepared slopes. This involves removing trees and grading the land into suitable runs. In addition, pylons and structures for ski lifts must be installed. This means that animals, plants and habitats are damaged. By creating ski resorts we are changing the original natural ecosystem of the mountains.

We are destroying the vegetation and losing, with this, part of the lungs of the planet and the rich variability of plants. We are also making harm to all the animals that lived in those forests and that will probably die. Furthermore we are replacing trees by hotels, chairlifts, coffees and other contaminating staff, incoming to a damaged environment. Consequently, the great influx of clients also creates an important amount of waste. The garbage dropped on ski runs does not readily degrade. It takes five years for a cigarette butt to disintegrate.

The main resources needed to do this sport are electricity for transporting (ski lifts and chairlifts) and water (and electricity too) in order to produce the artificial snow. While the last one is renewable, electricity is produced from nuclear energy, fossil fuels, dooms or other pollutant and environmental damaging processes. Due to global warming, snow has become less reliable at lower altitudes and the use of artificial snowmaking has increased. In some cases, chemicals are added to ensure the formation of snow crystals increasing the environmental contamination.

y SOCIETY
Skiing benefits us in many ways. We are in contact with nature, doing a healthy activity, enjoying and having fun. That is why we could say that this activity contributes to our quality of life. The problem is that such an expensive sport (the equipment, the hotel, the pass, etc.) is not available for everybody. While some people have enough money to go to ski regularly or very often, some other does not have even for food. Not everybody has the chance to benefit from skiing in the same way, there are great differences. That is why we cannot consider ski an equitable activity. In addition, the cultural background of many mountain villages is changed by absentee ownership of local properties that are only occupied for a very small part of the year, and by relatively large numbers of tourists.

y ECONOMY
Economically, ski resorts are deficient. Just a few of them are rentable. They are government proprieties and usually it is not enough with de passes selling to maintain it. Then, it is necessary a help from the administration. In some cases, in order to increase the ingresses, the government buys participations in the surrounding business (hotels, restaurants, etc). In spite of this, it is true that all the valleys want to have their own resort ski as it contributes to the entrance of money to the community: it creates job, it is a great attraction for tourists, and all this hotels, bars, shops, restaurants, etc. benefit from this skiers afflux. This sport doesnt contribute to the conservation of natural resources. It uses a great amount of them without letting them renew.

y CONCLUSION - SUSTAINABILITY
In conclusion, ski is not a sustainable activity. Although it has its positive things (it contributes to peoples quality of life, it creates jobs, it attracts tourism and, consequently, entrance of money and communitys economic development, etc.) it doesnt contribute to a healthy environment and neither to a healthy society. On the contrary, it destroys and pollutes habitats for wildlife; uses non renewable resources; is not equitable; affects culture; is usually deficient and doesnt contribute to natural resources conservation. This is why, probably, in the future the next generations will not have the same opportunities to go to ski as people today. They will not have the means necessaries if we run out of them. This activity cannot be done without causing damage in the three areas, but we could try to make it better: Unfortunately, many of the necessary materials used in ski manufacturing don't have eco-friendly alternatives yet. Scientists are still investigating in order to build a totally organic ski. Thus, several ski manufacturers are looking for greener materials and using sustainably grown and harvested wood for skis, such as farmed aspen, poplar, cork, oak and bamboo, which are resources that regenerate quicker. They also try to find those materials close to home looking to reduce petroleum-intensive transportation. But greener materials aren't the only way to make a better product, the processes for making skis are improving too. Some factory machines are wind-powered, and boards are shipped factory direct to minimize transportation emissions and costs. Other practices could be keeping existing skis in service longer and try not to change the environment so much, cutting trees as less as possible and respecting the nature. Sustainability is not a not a finished product but a work in progress. Every step we take in our lives takes us closer to or farther away from a sustainable world. Its up to each of us to decide what steps we are ready and willing to take on the road to sustainability.