Climate Change and Tourism in NH

According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Science, the leading contributor of greenhouse gas emissions is transportation (contributing 42% of total emissions).

We are aware that environmentally friendly ways to travel in New Hampshire can be difficult. According to New Hampshire Employment Security, the average commute to work for a New Hampshire citizen is 25.5 minutes.

However, there are alternative methods of transportation that can cut back on greenhouse gas emissions. We suggest using NH Rideshare, a service that offers more environmentally friendly transportation options in New Hampshire.
NH Rideshare: https://www.nh.gov/dot/programs/rideshare/

Sources:
“New Hampshire Commuting Patterns.” New Hampshire Employment Security, www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/statistics/documents/com-pat-nh.pdf.
“New Hampshire Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory.”
NH Department of Environmental Services, www.des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/air/tsb/tps/climate/ghg-emissions.htm.

NH Rideshare Program | NH Department of Transportation NH Rideshare - Your Source for Transportation Alternatives

You may be wondering why reducing your carbon footprint is so important to preserving our environment. Read this article by Kira Jaines to find out what all the fuss is about.

Effects of Carbon Footprint A carbon footprint is a measure of carbon dioxide emissions associated with an entity’s activities. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a carbon footprint includes direct emissions, such as from driving a car, as well as whatever emissions are required to consume any goods and services. Often, a...

One of the first steps towards stopping climate change in it's tracks is reducing your carbon footprint. Here's an article written by Jesse Holth at Huffington Post that will give you some suggestions on how you can reduce your own carbon footprint.

7 Instant Ways To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint 1. Stop Eating (or Eat Less) Meat The single most effective action you can take to combat climate change is to stop eating meat. Just limiting your mea...

Curious about how much climate change alters the fall season? Check out this chart provided by Polly's Pancake Parlor that shows when peak foliage season hits this well known New Hampshire tourist attraction.

Foliage Color Chart - Polly's Pancake Parlor Fall foliage chart as viewed from Pollys Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill New Hampshire

You may be wondering, why do we care about climate change effecting tourism? This article by Rusty McLear and Alex Ray might answer that question.

Tourism promotion is essential to our economy - New Hampshire Business Review - May 1 2015 Tourism promotion is essential to our economy

We will be presenting at the First Year Seminar Symposium at AllWell North on Wednesday, December 5th from 5:30 to 7:30. Come check us out!

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It's a fact that climate change is messing with New Hampshire, and not in a good way. Here's an informative article written by Rick Ganley & Mary McIntyre.

How Climate Change Is Already Affecting Infrastructure In N.H. The U.S. government released its Fourth National Climate Assessment report at the end of last week that shows the effects of climate change are already

Climate change is hurting us more than we think. Check out this article written by Sen. David Watters to learn more.

Another View: Climate change is already hurting New Hampshire Last week, 13 federal agencies released a report describing how climate change is already affecting every state in the union, including right here in New

Think climate change isn't happening in New Hampshire? Think again! This graph represents actual data of New Hampshire average temperature. The blue line that goes through everything is a trend line using data from 1995-2015. It's there to show you the positive correlation on the actual average temperature line (which is the purple line). The more insignificant grey line in the back represents the average annual temperature from 1901-200.

Source: “New Hampshire, Average Temperature, January-December.” UMass Amherst Geosciences, Accessed 30 October 2018,https://www.geo.umass.edu/climate/stateClimateReports/NH_ClimateReport_CSRC.pdf

While there are some great short-term benefits to the temperature change, there's a possibility that it could hurt us in the long run. The warmer temperatures lead to distressed maple trees, which could eventually kill off the maple tree population and leaving us without most of our red trees during peak foliage. This also tampers with the money we get in the spring from maple products.


Source: Margolis, Jason. “'Leaf Peeping' Is Huge In New England. Will Climate Change Alter Tourism?” 25 Oct. 2018, www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/leaf-peeping-is-huge-in-new-england-will-climate-change-alter-tourism-1.

Image: Rintels, Peter. “Fall Foliage, Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire, 2016.” Flickr, www.flickr.com/photos/off-the-road/29606356333.

When climate change hits, fall season is also affected. The actual season for leaf peeping gets shifted, causing seasonal businesses to plan out when exactly they should be open and expecting their max number of customers. Contrary to popular opinion, climate change has actually been good for tourism in the Fall. The peak season for foliage is actually longer than it's ever been, and out of state visitors are taking full advantage.
NHPR projected a total of $1.4 billion in out of state spending for Fall 2018, which is the most it's ever been.

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS. “N.H. Tourism Office Projects $1.4B in Fall Visitor Spending.” New Hampshire Public Radio, p. 1,

N.H. Tourism Office Projects $1.4B in Fall Visitor Spending Tourism officials in New Hampshire are projecting a slight increase in the numbers of visitors and the amount spent this fall in the state. The New