‘Winter in jeopardy’ say Olympians pressing for climate change action

Olympians are speaking out on climate change at the Sochi games.

U.S. cross-country skier Andrew Newell, who competed in his event on Tuesday, posted a letter addressed to world leaders calling for action on climate change.

{mosads}Roughly 105 athletes from 10 countries have signed the letter, including 85 from the United States.

“Winter is in jeopardy,” the letter states. “Inconsistent weather patterns caused by a changing climate are causing destruction around the world, and the economic impact is being felt in both large cities and small mountain communities.”

The letter adds that the Winter Olympics will be a thing of the past if no action is taken.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Tuesday that Sochi is on track to be one of the warmest cities to host a Winter Olympics.

Athletes say they have also noticed that their training areas are warming.

“The fall training camps that I used to participate in when I was a student at Stratton Mountain School in Stratton, Vermont, are not really feasible any more due to lack of snow and warmer conditions,” U.S. snowboarder Alex Deibold told USA Today.

“I want my kids and their kids to be able to enjoy the outdoors the same way I did.”