JUN 22

We've all heard about painting roofs white to keep buildings cooler, but will the same idea work for a mountain?  The World Bank is funding an experiment in Peru to see if whitewashing mountains can slow glacial melt.

The 15,600-foot Chalon Sombrero mountain near Licapa, Peru is the testing ground for this project.  A team, led by inventor Eduardo Gold, have already covered two hectares with an earth-friendly paint made from lime, industrial egg white and water.  The goal is to cover the entire summit in the solution -- about 70 hectares.

Gold won $200,000 in funding for this idea through a "100 Ideas to Save the Planet" competition.  The hope is that as sunlight is reflected off the white surface, back into the atmosphere, the peak's surface will become cooler, creating a cold micro-climate that will regrow its glacier.

The Peruvian people have supported the project.  Chalon Sombrero supplies fresh water for the Licapa village, and many other villages around Peru -- home to 70 percent of the world's tropical glaciers -- are dealing dwindling water supplies from disappearing glaciers (22 percent have melted in the last 30 years).

The idea has its share of critics, with glaciologists saying that although there may be a positive impact on a very localized level, it's highly unlikely that it would work on a larger scale across the Andes.

via BBC

Comments (8)

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Too small scale to have an effect
written by Kevin, June 23, 2010

I like the thinking, but it is too small in scale to have any effect.

I think the best way to cool the planet would be to stimulate a large number of volcanoes to erupt around the world. This could be done by deploying nuclear weapons, either by direct drops into craters or by drilling into their flanks and delivering the weapons through the bore holes.

There may be some minor localized collateral damage, but it would be nowhere as severe as the damage and loss of life that the US has caused in the pursuit of oil resources in the Middle East.

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Similar study on this was done...
written by Josh, June 24, 2010

...in Greenland and was on Planet Earth (Discovery Channel). See http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/pr...nland.html and it shows their results.

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...
written by Rob, July 02, 2010

Unintended consequences . . . painted mountains belong on walls - the moutnains, themselves, should never be painted.

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Reminiscent of cargo cults.
written by DrTom, July 03, 2010

70 hectares of uneven whitewash cannot create a micro-climate. I cannot imagine anyone buying into that idea as science.

@Kevin: Ummm...no. Volcanoes cannot be 'stimulated'. They are not like carbonated beverages which can be uncorked.

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Save the Glaciers
written by Carol, July 03, 2010

Hey, any idea at this point is worth a try. These folks are in danger of losing their fresh water supply. As long as the paint does no harm, go for it.

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if it works larger scale could be deployed
written by sarah, July 07, 2010

if the study shows i that it works, we could all have yard canopies or some such that reflect white ( or whatever color proves the best). Each home owner will be responsible for their square yardage. in winter it will look closer to snow anyway. in summer it can be raised up like a yard sized pagoda. could really cool the home and keep the lawn-mowing needs down.

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Absurd -- why did white glaciers melt in the first place?
written by greg, November 28, 2011

If a white surface perpetuates glacial growth, why did they glaciers melt in the first place? Restoring the white color will not reserve whatever local or global factors caused the original glaciers to melt in the first place... what a ridiculous waste of resources.

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Re: greenland
written by greg, November 28, 2011

The Greenland experiment (linked by Josh) is completely different -- that insulates an existing glacier, and prevents it from absorbing more sunlight. As soon as one fleck of snow falls on this whitewash it will bare the full brunt of the sun and bury the whitewash underneath.

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