Photo: Bernhard Ritzer
Jeremy wants to save turns like this - can't blame
him!(As seen in USA Today) - Beyond the athlete vignettes and gold medal glory of the Olympics, a major story from Vancouver is the warm weather and lack of snow. Not just an ironically timed anomaly, decreasing snowfall and above average temperatures have, in recent years, been a plague on winter resorts and the $6 billion dollar ski industry.

Jeremy at Capitol Hill in January.

In an effort to raise awareness, 8-time Big Mountain Snowboarder of the Year Jeremy Jones recently took his passion for the slopes to a different kind of hill - Capitol Hill.

Jeremy on top of the world still frozen.

On January 27, 2010, Jones, founder of the environmental advocacy group ProtectOurWinters.org(POW), joined a coalition of scientists, environmentalists and activists, to present a film, Generations, which documents the impact of Climate Change on resort economies.

Jones with Congressman Inslee.

Among the film's viewers were representatives from mountain states, where the ski economy is crucial. Included were Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), Representative Peter Welch (D-VT), Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA), senior energy and environment staff for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM).

Politically motivated by the current American Clean Energy and Security Act, passed by the House last Fall and which is now held up in the Senate, the coalition intended to offer a voice to the millions of alpine enthusiasts worldwide that depend on snowfall not only for recreation but also their livelihood.

Just last week, on February 18, Jones also launched a call to action campaign titled 60 Days (http://www.60daysto.org/), referencing that the Senate now has 60 days to vote on the Bill.

"I've been snowboarding for 25 years and traveling the world for 15 years and seen definitive change in these mountains," says Jones. "The next 60 days are critical. For the first time we have the ability to pass the Climate Bill which has regulated definitive carbon reduction."

- James Sullivan