Olympic Venues Are Running Hot and Cold

 

For those too stubborn to accept the mega-disasters that are occurring with greater frequency by reason of uncontained climate change, maybe they will be more swayed by little inconveniences. “Concern over warmer temperatures and vanishing snow in some of the world’s winter playgrounds has put the selection of a host city for the 2030 Winter Olympics on hold… The International Olympic Committee said this week it no longer plans to target host selection during its 2023 meeting…

“The winter host commission gave the Olympic committee's executive board a presentation [on December 6th], prompting a ‘wider discussion on climate change’ and sustainable winter sport. One proposal floated would require future Winter Olympic hosts to prove their average minimum temperatures in February over 10 years were below freezing at potential snow competition venues.

“The revised schedule will allow the committee to ‘respond swiftly and effectively to ever-changing global circumstances, for the benefit of the athletes, all Olympic Games participants and the whole sports movement,’ said commission chairman Octavian Morariu, Rugby Europe president.” Dinah Voyles Pulver reporting for the December 9th USA Today. It’s a problem, along with venues now too hot for athletic competition for the Summer Games, that weaves into our lives in small but disturbing ways.

Once host to the Winter Olympics, Tahoe (California) has faced late and underwhelming snowfall (see above photo) in recent years, just one relatively small economic slam from climate change over the last few years. But for too many in the United States, the rising temperatures, the disappearance of sea ice and eroding coastlines – the realities of climate change – are imposing a far greater cost. For example, indigenous peoples are losing their homes, towns and livelihoods. “The native inhabitants are also in peril – there are 31 Alaskan towns and cities at imminent risk from the melting ice and coastal erosion. Many will have to relocate or somehow adapt.” Guardian UK (12/16/19). Some coastal Alaskan villages have already disappeared; others are in transition into nothing. Relocation is expensive… and jobs are disappearing too. See my November 19th And Still, They Won’t Move blog for one such struggle.

Indeed, some states have more fragile ecosystems or are more sensitive to temperature changes. And it’s not as if all global temperature changes are rising in lockstep. Some will get much warmer… or colder and wetter… before others. Our two most recent states, Alaska and Hawaii are prime examples. The bitter reality faced by indigenous people in Alaska is a reflection of such higher temperature rises: “The coldest U.S. state in terms of annual mean temperature, Alaska is also America’s fastest-warming one. Since 1970, the average temperature in Alaska has risen a disconcerting 4.22°F, unleashing an array of hazards that have upended daily life.

“On Monday [12/5], the northernmost city in Alaska, Utqiagvik, smashed its all-time winter high temperature record by an astonishing 6°F, when it hit 40°F, despite the fact that it lies 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle… ‘Every new day brings with it new evidence of climate change in Alaskan communities — warmer, record-breaking temperatures have resulted in thawing permafrost, thinning sea ice, and increasing wildfires,’ the Alaska Department of Commerce states on its website. ‘These changes have resulted in a reduction of subsistence harvests, an increase in flooding and erosion, concerns about water and food safety and major impacts to infrastructure: including damage to buildings, roads and airports.’” David Knowles, for the December 10th Yahoo!News.

Hawaii’s challenge is sea rise and coastal erosion. Lava flows? Well, they’re used to that and almost always, only on the big island. “Like island nations that climate change threatens to wipe off the map, the threats facing the seven Hawaiian islands where people live start with sea level rise. Given that nearly half of the state’s land area is within 5 miles of the ocean, exacerbated by the fact that much of the land there is sinking, rising seas should factor highly in any decision about selecting a place to live to be safe from global warming.

“‘The sea level around Hilo Bay [on the Big Island] has risen by 10 inches in 1950, and now, it’s rising faster, at about 1 inch every 4 years,’ the state says on its climate change portal. ‘This increases the frequency and reach of coastal floods, which affect our communities. 2017 was a record flood year for Honolulu (37 flood days, when historically, the average has been around 4 days). These floods were fully attributed to climate change/sea level rise. Today, Hawai’i has 66,000 people regularly at risk from coastal flooding. In Kailua for example, 50% of the population is locked in below expected flood zones.’

“A 2018 study by researchers at the University of Hawaii found that 34% of the state’s shorelines are already vulnerable to waves and storms made more intense by climate change. To date, coastal erosion has eaten away 13 miles of beaches in the state, and has left 70% of the existing beaches in a precarious state, according to Hawaii’s climate change portal.” Yahoo!News.

Both Hawaii and Alaska are feeling the sting of permanent change from climate change earlier and more intensively than most Americans. But those mega-tropical storms, tornadoes, wildfires and searing heatwaves may appear to be just one-offs to the rest of us… but the underlying permanent changes should prepare us for the continued increase in frequency and intensity in those “natural” disasters. Trillions of dollars and lives lost tat we apparently are insufficiently concerned about to mount an appropriate effort to stop and even reverse the unending flow of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

I’m Peter Dekom, and while nature does not really care what we do – she started with nothing a long time ago – humanity must… or slowly wither and die along with everything around us.