Magnus Linklater tells us that using snow machines in Switzerland is a terribly bad idea.
Yet if we take the warnings about climate change with any degree of seriousness, we have to change our terms of reference. Instead of hailing the inventiveness of the ski resort that makes its own snow, we should accept the harsh reality that nature has terminally curtailed the skiing season. Much as we cherish our birds of prey, we should remember that their prospects of survival are threatened not so much by a freak collision as by the three-degree rise in global temperatures that will occur in the next 50 years if we do not manage to wean ourselves off a reliance on oil and gas. Stuff the skiers, sink the canoeists, gag the bird-lovers; this is a battle for survival, not an exercise in self-indulgence.
I’ll admit to not being wholly convinced. As far as I can see, Swiss electrical power is (at least, the vast majority) supplied by either hydro power of nuclear. Whether they use it to make snow, power cuckoo clocks or heat up gluhwein makes no damn difference to global warming at all.
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