It sounds more like a swiss town in crises. The local economy probably relies on visitors coming during the snow season to provide for the rest of the year. It is nothing to do with greed.
Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
51–60 of 180 posts
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#52Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
Is not dumping some snow with a helicopter going to prevent the sea levels from rising? Or would that require something on the scale of banning all aviation forever?
If we take an approach of one at a time looking at each activity and going "is this going to stop global warming?" the answer is always going to be "no" and we're going to be left going "well, there's nothing we could do, we couldn't find any activity that would stop it".
No single wasteful activity is going to stop it. We need to stop a lot of them. This could and possibly should be one of them.
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#54It sounds more like a swiss town in crises. The local economy probably relies on visitors coming during the snow season to provide for the rest of the year. It is nothing to do with greed.
Like coal plants, they’ll end up needing funds to transition to a new normal going forward. The next 100 years won’t be like the last 100 years.
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#55Seems like they should consider a dome, like Houston (to fight humidity).
If your snow mountain reflects most heat energy, has a great heat pump (including heating the homes and businesses) then you have a huge indoor ski mountain. Bonus if it's made inexpensively with recycled glass and plastic.
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wait until you hear about air conditioning.
Air conditioning is relatively efficient compared to driving a 2000 pound steel box 30 miles down the road (and back) to buy eggs.
Hey, don't forget the steel box is also going to be air conditioned as well.
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Air conditioning is relatively efficient compared to driving a 2000 pound steel box 30 miles down the road (and back) to buy eggs.
Maybe an air-cooled VW Beetle or 1980s Golf/Rabbit weighed that little, but a modern car is more like 1.5 to 2x that.
Yeah, light cars are rare, especially in the US. A brand-new base model Hyundai Elantra, which is a very mainstream compact sedan, weighs 2,725 lbs. The lightest new passenger car sold is the Mitsubishi Mirage at 2,095 lbs. It has all of 78 horsepower. ;-)
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#58This isn't a new phenomenon or something restricted to "exclusive" resorts. I have seen this happen in other alpine ski areas over the last 5-10 years when there has been particularly bad snow. Normally in places that are of high importance and traffic, such as at the top of main lifts.
Ski resorts use helicopters for many logistical activities, if it keeps the area open they will do it. This year the Alps are having a particularly bad January, and with it only being four weeks till the traditional February rolling school holidays for family skiing trips, they are very concerned about keeping the areas open.
That's not to say there isn't a level of absurdity to the whole thing!
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#59Global warming being caused in part by internal combustion engines and aviation results in less snow for skiers... Solution? Chopper some more snow in to counter the effects of I.C.E's and aviation. Huhmmmm.... Does anyone else spot a dichotomy in thinking here?
Wait until you hear about air conditioning.
Air conditioning is a lot more efficient than heating.
Re: Switzerland: snow flown in by helicopter in attempt to keep ski slopes open
#60Why is Switzerland so hot? I know climate change is a thing, but many other countries are receiving a lot of big snow falls. What's specifically going on in Switzerland? Jet stream weirdness allowing warm air further north?