Skiing, climbing, global warming: French Alps show dilemma
Skiing, climbing, global warming: French Alps show dilemma
Lori Hinnant, Associated Press
Updated 11:54 am, Friday, September 25, 2015
PARIS (AP) — The Alps are the birthplace of downhill skiing and a crucible for mountain climbing — but now the French government is trying to help their winter tourist towns adapt to a warming world.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls visited the Mer de Glace (the Sea of Ice) Friday on Mont Blanc, where the retreating glacier has been documented for more than a century, through water colors painted before the invention of the still camera, black-and-white photos depicting a then-modern steam locomotive chuffing alongside the ice and today's high-definition satellite photos.
"The Mer de Glace reveals the extent of climate change, and, to the naked eye," said Valls. "The time has come to mobilize."
Researchers say the Sea of Ice is only the most accessible example of a problem the entire Alpine region is facing as warming mountainsides become more unstable and snowfall more inconsistent, threatening jobs and lives in a region heavily dependent on adventure tourism.
More:
http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Skiing-climbing-in-warming-world-French-Alps-6528808.php