Few businesses feel as threatened by global warming as the ski industry.

And few resorts are poised to go to the same lengths -- and expense -- to combat it as Kirkwood and the hardy folks who make their homes in the snowy, windswept Kirkwood Meadows near South Lake Tahoe.

According to the National Ski Areas Association, the ski season has been shrinking by about one day a year, despite dramatic improvements in snow-making. One study found that by century's end, the Sierra snowpack could be just 20 percent of what it is today, with snow falling later in the season and piling up only in the highest reaches. In the face of those predictions, resorts around the world have plunged into the fight against global warming. To cut down on their own contribution to greenhouse gases, they've built windmill turbines, invested millions in renewable energy credits and granted discounts to skiers who carpool or drive hybrids to the slopes to ski.

Read the full story at sacbee.com.