If there was an endangered list for sports, I bet a lot of winter sports would be on it! However, a lot of winter-sports, like skiing and snowboarding, aren't really helping their cause for a variety of reasons: think food and packaging waste in cafeterias, diesel (or electric) powered chairlifts, crowded parking lots that were once forests and today's topic - wax!
A lot of our ski resorts are located in seemingly pristine mountain wilderness, surrounded by forests and pure, clean streams and lakes. Many ski-resorts in Canada are even located in National or Provincial Parks. There are many different types of wax for different sports and snow conditions, however, traditional ski/snowboard waxes are derived from petroleum/oil and contain toxic chemicals such as perfluorinated carbolylates (PFCs). Levels of PFCs have been seen to rise in ski/snowboard technicians during the season, and these chemicals are linked to cancer, birth defects, thyroid dysfunction, immune system disruption, cardiovascular problems and liver toxicity among other things. Furthermore, these waxes "rub-off" on the snow (otherwise we wouldn't need to re-wax our gear!)
Let's say a ski-resort has 1 million riders/skiers visit per year, that can lead to up to about 21 200 kg of wax that rubs off onto the snow and then melts and runs into our pristine wilderness every year - and that is just one million visits at a single resort! Apparently, Canadian ski-resorts have about 20 million visits a year.
Luckily, this problem isn't that difficult to address. More and more snow-sport companies and winter sports enthusiasts are becoming increasingly aware of the impacts that these products are having on the environment and thus, due to consumer demand, more eco-friendly alternatives are becoming available.
There are a lot of companies that are catering to skier/rider demand and are now offering these more sustainable alternatives to traditional wax. One such company, Greenwax, is one of the forerunners and most recognizable PFC-free brand. Greenwax, who's slogan is "shred lightly," offers wax that is organic, biodegradable, petroleum-free, PFC-free, sustainable and, as an added bonus, they use 100% recycled, minimalistic packaging.
This is a small thing you can do to help protect fragile mountain ecosystems! So, next time you wax your board/skis, be sure to use an environmentally-friendly, biodegradable wax that won't hurt your health, the technician's health or the health of the mountain environment!
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfluorocarbon
http://www.greenskiwax.com
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/01/your-ski-and-snowboard-wax-could-be-seriously-harmful-to-you-wildlife.php
http://www.enviromountain.com/Dangers/Dangers.htm
http://360guide.info/snowboarding/bluebird-snowboard-wax.html?Itemid=1
never would have thought of this
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