Skiing, riding: popular winter play for the sailor who's not able to sail during the winter months. In a curious pursuit for some information on carbon emissions and snow-making, came across some conscious college students from Middlebury College in Vermont. They are a tiny example of the many many students around the world who care about tomorrow.

Snow Bowl Becomes Carbon Neutral
Sarah Bryan
Issue date: 11/20/08

Three years ago, students in Professor Jon Isham's spring Environmental Economics course were assigned to develop a solution for current environmental problems. Five students, four of whom were members of the Middlebury ski team, sat down to brainstorm ways in which the College could become actively involved in the pressing issue of carbon dioxide emissions. Within a few weeks, the group had organized a plan to make the Middlebury College Snow Bowl a carbon neutral resort. By the end of the year, their project came to fruition, as the Snow Bowl became the first carbon neutral ski area in the United States.

Located just 14 miles away from the College campus on Route 125, the Snow Bowl consists of 110 acres and 14 trails. It may be a small operation compared to some of the big resorts in the West, but the local feeling and relaxed atmosphere attract students and community members throughout the winter months.

"We are not dealing with as much carbon emission as other large ski areas, like Vail or Keystone out West," said Snow Bowl Manager Peter Mackey. "It is much easier to track how much we are emitting, and therefore we can look at every aspect of our operation."

With the help of privately owned renewable energy company Native Energy, the Snow Bowl calculates its carbon dioxide equivalent (CDE) emissions for its electricity, fuel and skier travel. Back in 2006, when the project was first presented to the board of the College, the Snow Bowl emitted 679.9 tons of carbon dioxide. Today, it has dropped its number to 557.2 tons. To get a tangible idea of what that looks like, one ton of carbon dioxide fits in a 27-foot cube.

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