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Last week a large crew of snowboarders and industry brands went to DC to talk to Congress members about climate change and what we can do to stop it. POW – which stands for Protect Our Winters and is a non-profit started by snowboarder Jeremy Jones that lobbies for climate change – is doing what they can and each year sends a delegation to Washington to talk to the people who can actually affect change. This year was the biggest group yet.
The environment is a subject that's easy for anyone to get behind, but for those of us who live for days in the mountains surrounded by piles of fluffy pow it can be even more personal. Opinions and reasons may be varied but one thing we can all agree on is that our winter's have been getting warmer and if the trend continues the ski industry is in for a bad time,
Check out what Gretchen Bleiler had to say during the trip:
According to Protect Our Winters, "Last Tuesday, seventeen professional athletes and snow sports brands arrived in Washington for a day of meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill – focused on climate change and it’s effect on our business and sport. In the past, POW had taken a much smaller group to these meetings, but this year, the group expanded to include some of the most influential snow athletes and brands, making a remarkable statement about climate advocacy from the winter sports community. And despite the government shutdown, a large group of lawmakers made it a priority to meet with the group and discuss this pressing issue.
The goal was to support President Obama’s climate plan, specifically advocating to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Carbon Pollution Standard released on September 20th. With 40% of all carbon emissions coming from power plants, restricting these emissions could be a major step forward in the fight against climate change.
This the first time that such a diverse and influential group from snow sports has spent time in Washington to call for action against climate change and it was incredibly powerful. In the past, separate groups from winter sports have visited Washington, but this collaborative effort was a statement of unity from a $66 billion industry in the cross hairs of climate change: athletes, brands and resorts providing their unique perspective of climate change and their massive impact on the winter tourism economy. Winter tourism generates $12.2 billion in revenue annually, supports 212,000 jobs and $7 billion in salaries."
On a side note, do you think John Jackson and Danny Davis win "best hair in congress"?
