Germany's Only Glacier Likely Gone By 2025, Despite Herculean Efforts - Reuters

[hatrack]

ZUGSPITZE, Germany - The winds are cold at any time of the year on Germany's highest mountain but the country's last glacier is melting away despite Herculean efforts to counter the effects of climate change.

Spreading giant anti-glare shields over the glacier each April after piling tonnes of loose snow upon it, workers at the Zugspitezebahn cable car operator are fighting a losing battle to keep their glacier alive -- for business and ecology reasons.
"We're doing all we can to preserve it as long as possible, but I'm not God and there's only so much we can do," said Frank Huber, the manager of cable car and skiing operations on the 2,962-metre peak in the northern Alps. "I grew up with the glacier and it's sad to think one day my children's children won't know what it feels or looks like."

The effort to stave off the demise of the Zugspitze is considerable, but begs the question why Germany, the world's sixth largest producer of greenhouse gases, does not do more to tackle the cause of the problem instead.

In her speeches, German Chancellor Angela Merkel often cites the Zugspitze's state -- predicting the national treasure may be gone within 20 years -- as an argument for the industrial world to take bolder action against climate change.

EDIT

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/41636/story.htm

[NNadir]

1. Chancellor Angela Merkel could, of course, try to cancel the new 26 coal plants

her country is building.

That would be a start.

[hatrack]

2. Now, there you go again, being all "logical" and "causal"

Stop that!

:hi: