As of April 1st, an injunction filed by the Save the Peaks Coalition was denied by the 9th circuit U.S C
ourts Appeal. The injunction regarded the environmental impacts of snow making at Flagstaff resorts. Given our discussion last week, snow making can have serious impacts on the environment. Although the U.S. Forest Service supports the claim since they will be using waste water, rather than pumping new water, this calls for a greater understanding of the environmental, but also social impacts (especially for the native land in Flagstaff) and health risks as a result of the waste water.
You can also find a video here and here is a site that trails news articles regarding the deve
lopment of snow making in Flagstaff. Unfortunately I don’t think our Peaks will be saved–there will soon be man-made snow!
Wow I hadn’t heard anything about this until now! There is definitely the health concern regarding utilizing the sewage water and I believe there needs to be more studies on how it will affect the local population. It seems like a good conservative effort because using the drinking water to make the snow is not a good way to save water. I like the idea of manmade snow! I don’t know exactly how that works, but it might be a good solution to this problem.
Although using recycled water for the peaks conserves drinking water, it will have severe environmental impacts. The reason why there is so much controversy is that it endangers the natural environment with the installation of pipes. Although it will be nice to actually snowboard during the winter months, I don’t feel that these efforts are environmentally sound. It’s only masking the effects of climate change for economical benefits. Pretty interesting debate!