Artificial snow causes real problems 21/04/2007 By Danielle Demetriou

The use of artificial snow to compensate for a lack of the real thing in Alpine ski resorts is seriously damaging the environment and putting pressure on water reserves, scientists said this week.

"If river discharges continue to fall, it could also have an enormous impact on the Mediterranean Sea," Dr de Jong told the European Geosciences Union in Vienna.