It has been a big couple of days for our local ski resorts. Massive snowfalls, extended seasons, and exciting sponsorship opportunities for both Park City Mountain and Deer Valley! Recently, PCM held their Toyota Takeover Weekend and Deer Valley announced an exclusive agreement with Land Rover. Things are looking good!
While I am sure these are lucrative deals for the resorts, how do they square these sponsorships with their alleged climate goals? The transportation sector (read: cars) contributes about 50% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally. Locally, particulate matter from tailpipe emissions creates the wonderful smog we breathe during winter inversions and the ozone pollution we experience during summer months, so it is curious that these resorts, which depend on cold temperatures and frozen precipitation for their business model, would accept sponsorship dollars from the very industry that would spell their doom.
Unfortunately, these types of short-sighted decisions are not unique to the resorts in the Wasatch Back. Snowbird is sponsored by Subaru. Solitude is sponsored by Chevrolet.
So, which is it? Do the ski resorts mean what they say when they claim to be carbon neutral or is the pull of the almighty dollar so strong that they would mortgage their and our planet’s future for short-term financial gain?
Micah Kagan
Kamas