Digital Commons Network^™

Warming Winters And New Hampshire’S Lost Ski Areas: An Integrated Case Study, Lawrence C. Hamilton, David E. Rohall, Gregg F. Hayward, Barry D. Keim

Sociology

New Hampshire’s mountains and winter climate support a ski industry that contributes substantially to the state economy. Through more than 70 years of history, this industry has adapted and changed with its host society. The climate itself has changed during this period too, in ways that influenced the ski industry’s development. During the 20th century, New Hampshire’s mean winter temperature warmed about 2.1° C (3.8° F). Much of that change occurred since 1970. The mult‐decadal variations in New Hampshire winters follow global temperature trends. Snowfall exhibits a downward trend, strongest in southern New Hampshire, and also correlates with the North …

West Greenland's Cod-To-Shrimp Transition: Local Dimensions Of Climatic Change, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Benjamin C. Brown, Rasmos Ole Rasmussen

Sociology

Abstract

West Greenland's transition from a cod-fishing to a shrimp-fishing economy, ca. 1960-90, provides a case study in the human dimensions of climatic change. Physical, biological, and social systems interacted in complex ways to affect coastal communities. For this integrated case study, we examine linkages between atmospheric conditions (including the North Atlantic Oscillation), ocean circulation, ecosystem conditions, fishery activities, and the livelihoods and population changes of two West Greenland towns: Sisimiut, south of Disko Bay, and Paamiut, on the southwest coast. Sisimiut prospered as a fishing center through the cod-to-shrimp transition. Paamiut, more specialized in cod fishing, declined. Their stories …