Dysbiosis to Pluriversebiosis Post 2

The article written by Louise Boyle in the Independent titled "The Winter Olympics and the true cost of fake snow dominating our slopes: ‘It’s more dangerous now" is a great article that accompanies what we have been discussing throughout both our coursework and ski travels. One of the major goals we are trying to achieve throughout this course is how elite cross country skiing, bodily health, and planetary health are all interconnected. We have explored this by reading and analyzing literature and articles that are pertinent to this discussion. 

This article shows a major link between elite ski racing and planetary health through the lens of climate change and how it has changed elite venues such as the Olympic venue in China. Snow blowers will be needed in order to supply enough snow for the games to commence in less than a week. I was interested in the portion of the article that discusses the additional resource use that will be necessary to supply this snow. 

Throughout my course work in geology we have discussions surrounding resource allocation frequently. The article reports that 49 million gallons of water will be needed in order to create enough snow for the duration of the games. It is noteworthy that there are also more inputs of fossil fuels that will power the snow blowers as well. I believe a goal that should be reached should be to mitigate the effects of climate change that the nordic ski community may contribute due to the use of fossil fuels in snow production.

However, it may be difficult to find alternative sources of energy that are efficient and will provide ample power supply. One option may be photovoltaics or other "green" energy sources. Until this point is reached, everyone in the ski community will need to address snow production and its potential effects on the environment. More open dialogue within members of the community will lead to change and finding alternative natural sources of snow may become harder, but ultimately may be a better alternative. 

Silas Goetz