ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Global warming in the Adirondacks, regardless of the
severity of this winter, is underway and is bringing a greater Lyme disease
threat and an ''atmospheric sewer'' ringing the peaks most popular with
hikers, according to a report scheduled for presentation to the Adirondack
Park Agency.

''Global warming isn't something that will happen 100 years from now,
it's happening now,'' said Barrett Rock, a professor and researcher with the
University of New Hampshire in an interview. He was to present the study
Thursday. ''It will change the character of things.''

The report, ''Preparing for a Changing Climate,'' predicts a
''significant warming'' of the average annual temperature by 6 to 10 degrees
over the next 100 years. By comparison, he said that over the last 100 years
the Adirondacks' average temperature rose 0.7 of 1 degree. The report states
that even a few degrees change can be significant.

The most serious change in the Adirondacks could be in public health,
according to the report. Warmer temperatures year round provide a better
breeding ground for insects, including ticks that carry Lyme disease, often
on deer. Warmer winters will also likely increase the deer herd already
often considered too large for the species and residents.

But the mountains' warming would mix with existing problems of acid
rain, ozone depletion and air emissions to create an ''atmospheric sewer''
of extremely poor air at an elevation of about 3,000 elevation. Rock said
the phenomenon is already beginning to form in New Hampshire's Mount
Washington, where one study predicts a hiker's lung capacity would diminish
after three hours of hiking in the ''sewer.''

''Much of the Adirondacks are in the sewer,'' Rock said. ''With
warming, there's a good chance air quality would simply become worse.''

More forest fires, flash flood and ice storms also come with higher
temperature.

The economy of the region that has drawn vacationers, philosophers and
artists for more than a century would also change.

Moderate winters and longer, warmer summers would mean a four-season
tourism season and, perhaps, a boost in summer, the most lucrative season.
For some, the Adirondack summers are already getting too crowded and the
state has limited some hiking on the most popular mountains because too many
boots trod on the sensitive ecosystems.

''The biggest problem around the Adirondacks is being able to host
people,'' said James McKenna of the Lake Placid-Essex County Visitors
Bureau.

McKenna said 65 percent of his area's economy is tied to warm-weather
activities, which could be good news for a longer summer season. But McKenna
noted other factors must be considered as well, for example, will visitors
have enough leisure time or vacation money for extended seasons?

Warmer winters would come just as the Adirondacks, after years of
trying, are seeing a rise in winter sports including snowmobiling, skiing
and snowshoeing.

Even the look of the park would change, with towering evergreens
giving way to scrub pines. Cold water lakes would warm which could help
water sports but likely hurt or alter sport fishing, the research shows.

McKenna noted, however, that not everyone believes global warming is a
foregone conclusion. Rock also said reductions in industrial and automobile
emissions among other measures could significantly reduce the ''greenhouse''
effect.

''I think it's imperative for folks in the tourism industry to realize
the global warming issue is upon us and if we are going to be good planners,
we have to take that into account,'' McKenna said. ''I guess we haven't
faced changing weather patterns and that now has to be part of the mix.''

Jan Pendlebury
NH Global Warming
NH office National Environmental Trust
28 S.Main Street
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
p 603.224.1955
f 603.224.0613
janpend@totalnetnh.net