Monday, 21 June 2010 09:12

Gradually, a glacier in a remote area late in the Peruvian Andes seems to return to its original form, not because of snow or ice regeneration, but to a bath of white paint. This is the pilot phase of an innovative plan to recover the Peruvian glaciers, which are disappearing as a result of climate change. However, the idea has generated controversy and many describe it as stupid ..

... But others think it is a simple but brilliant solution, or at least an alternative for testing

The World Bank believes that the idea has merit because it was one of the winning proposals in the competition "A hundred ideas for saving the planet", sponsored by the international body.



Edward Gold, who conceived the project, not a scientist, but has carefully studied the subject of glaciers and thinks it's time to put his theory into practice.


Although not yet received the $ 200,000 that was awarded the World Bank, the pilot project is underway at the top of Mount Chalon Hat, to 4756 meters above sea level, located in Ayacucho.


For some time, the glaciers in the mountains of this area disappeared.



Four men Licapa community, a village in the valley adjacent to this mountain, mix three ingredients are not harmful to the environment: water, lime and egg white to form a kind of white cement has been used since colonial times in Peru.


Men use jars of this mixture to cover the rocks on the top of the hill. It is a laborious process, yet they have painted two hectares in two weeks.


The plan is to paint the entire top of Chalon Hat and later another two peaks, covering an area of 70 hectares.



The coldest cold generates



Gold's idea is based on a simple principle: when solar energy is reflected on a white surface, it's bouncing back into space, instead of heating the terrestrial surface.

The energy secretary of the United States, Steven Chu, has endorsed a similar plan, which involves painting roofs white, which at first seems a more pragmatic idea to paint mountains.



Gold notes that paint the white rocks lead to cooling of the surface of the top, and this in turn would create a cooler microclimate around the peak.


"The coldest cold generates, as the heat generates more heat," said Gold.

"I have hope that we will regenerate the glacier because we would re-creating all necessary conditions for the formation of a glacier," he added.

Hope Community



Licapa's population, which depends on the Chalon Hat for their water supply, did not think twice to support the idea.

"When I was 15 or 20 years, Chalon hat was a large glacier, all white, and then gradually began to melt," says Paul Park, 65, one of the promoters of the project.

"After 40 years, and the river is at its lowest level, the nights are very cold, but very hot days. It was not so during my childhood, the weather was always tolerable during the day," Parco adds.

"We are pleased to see this project underway to paint the mountain. I can assure you that this morning there was snow on the ground, something you rarely see."

"Up here we live by our animals, no work no crops. When there is less water, less grass and that means fewer animals."


Seeking Solutions



In Peru, where the 70% of tropical glaciers, has lost 22% of them in the last thirty years, according to a World Bank study.

The remaining glaciers could disappear within 20 years unless steps are taken to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to the international organization.

The impact would be felt far beyond the Andean communities, with dramatic consequences in terms of water supply and hydroelectric power for the people of the Peruvian coast.

In May, the Environment Minister of Peru, Antonio Brack said the country needs about $ 400 million a year to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The official is one of those who doubt the merits of the plan to paint the top of the hills as proposed by Antonio Gold.

"I think there is much more interesting projects to mitigate climate change and is in these that we can invest money," said the minister.

But if the project succeeds in lowering the temperature at the top of the hill Chalon Hat, Antonio Gold plans to expand its plan to Peru's glaciers threatened.

"I prefer to experiment and fail and not start preparing for life without the glaciers, as if the situation is irreversible," said Gold.