Theories abound on why our climate is changing rapidly. Is it global warming and the greenhouse effect? Is it a coming ice age? You can explore this topic on your own, but David Chernushenko of Sustainable Sport Management offers his view on the effect of climate change on sport:

"Another global environmental issue which is certain to affect sport as we know it is climate change. Unlike ozone depletion, which is of greatest concern to the individual athlete, climate change is likely to call into question where certain sports can be practised and, according to the most extreme scenarios, if they can be practised at all.

Global climate change is thought to be occurring as a result of a number of human-induced changes to both the atmosphere and the biosphere of our planet. While few scientists will venture to predict either the extent of climate change or the ways in which it will manifest itself in a given region, there is near-universal consensus that we can expect warming of anywhere from 2-7 degrees C, rising coastal water levels as a result of polar ice cap melting and more frequent and severe storms. Though plenty of Canadians have quipped that a few degrees of global warming wouldn't hurt, several recent studies have shown that if you are a ski resort or golf course operator, those few extra degrees might kill your business.

The period since 1980 has been a particularly bad one for the ski industry in eastern North America and in Europe. Unusually warm winters meant not only that little snow fell on the resort areas, but temperatures were often not low enough to make snow artificially. If this was in fact the start of a shift in climate or even an indication of what might be expected, skiing might be a doomed industry in precisely those areas which form the heartland of the sport. Several Canadian studies of the anticipated impact of climate change on downhill and cross-country ski resorts painted a similarly bleak future for these sports. Even a moderate warming of average winter temperatures could virtually eliminate the skiing industry. Complementing earlier forecasts of doom for skiing in Southern Ontario, a 1988 study of the impact of climate change on the Quebec downhill skiing industry predicted: a decrease in skiable days of 50-70% in Southern Quebec ski resorts in the Eastern Townships and the Laurentians would be unable to operate during the economically-crucial Christmas holiday period without significant snow-making facilities.

In the case of golf and field sports played primarily on green turf, the droughts which are expected to accompany any global warming will make even more intensive irrigation necessary at the same time as water tables from which that water might be drawn are dropping. In the competition for scarce water resources, sports facilities may find themselves well down on any list of priority recipients."

Other Resources for information

• UNEP Climate Change Portal
• Earthtrends - World Resources Institute
• Books by John Hamaker and Don Weaver