At Risk From Climate Change: Golf?

At a Congressional hearing about concerns tourism officials have about climate change, you'd expect testimony from National Ski Areas Association, which is looking out for slopes that have grown so warm even making their own snow is sometimes impossible. But Congress yesterday also heard from golf course owners, fishing and boating enthusiasts and people concerned that sandy beaches that attract tourists today will be underwater tomorrow. Tourism officials from throughout the south, where an already mild climate could turn downright tropical, told Congress that a warmer climate could strain freshwater supplies -- threatening the greens and fairways that attract golfers, and the steady water levels needed to sustain popular sportsfish -- even as sea level rise eats away at the region's beaches. Then there's that pesky mosquito, which along with some of its fiercest biting cousins would no doubt enjoy the tropical weather more than the golfers, according to a story in the May 25 Atlanta Journal-Constitution.