The Missing Snow-Caps of Meran

     We just spent the past 5 days in Meran (or Merano, if you are Italian). Meran is located in in the Süd-Tirol region of Northern Italy, and I have to say...it was beautiful! Winding narrow roads through hillside villages, one thousand year old fortresses no matter which direction you look, food that marries the best of Italian cuisine with the best of German cooking, and vineyards that promise the best local wines. Spectacular!

     But, you know me. I was looking at place from a science viewpoint. I noted the slopes of the mountains and the lines of trees in the valley to figure out where the water was flowing. I looked at the mountain tops in the distance and wondered how long they had been without snow. I noted that water from every mountain and hillside stream that we crossed was channeled, diverted and collected. Human fingerprints were all over this valley; they had changed it, molded it to their liking and to do their bidding over a thousand years ago.

     Here you can see the mountain trail we climbed to reach the Hochmut Station on the Mutspitze. Those rocks were arranged by human hands to not only provide footing for the 2.5 hour climb (which was exhilarating and exhausting), but those rocks also channel the water toward collection pools and irrigation trenches. All of the mountain streams below 1100 meters were lined with large blocks and carried the water into the valley.

 (I did not take more pictures of streams and irrigation channels--an oversight.)

     I am Pro Snow. The Climate Reality Project training I went through last summer in Chicago emphasized the positives of snow on the environment in there "I Am Pro Snow" campaign last Summer. Mountain top snow fields and glaciers reflect sunlight back out into space and help cool the planet, for one. As more and more of these snowcaps disappear, less heat is reflected back into space and the planet gets warmer. There is no debate about this; this is sound science. So I couldn't help notice the gray gravel slopes that spill down from the gray-brown peaks. How long had it been since the snow had melted? Sure, there were a few patches here and there on scattered mountain tops, but not that picturesque image many have of the Alps. Growing up, when I saw the pictures and TV shows about the Alps, they had snow all summer. So did the Rockies and the Cascades in the US. But, as has been discussed and documented, mountains all over the world were losing their snowfields.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140610-connecting-dots-dust-soot-snow-ice-climate-change-dimick/

I wanted to know if what I was seeing here in Meran was normal.  

     I dug around and found this photo from August of 2008. Without doing a full on scientific study, but rather a preliminary evaluation comparing this photo form six years ago to the one I took last Friday. This was 2008. Note the snowcaps on the mountains to the right and in the center of the photo:

And here is the photo I took last Friday, from a similar vantage point:

     Six years. That's quite a difference. Not a perfect comparison, but you can see for yourself. There is some snow on the mountain in the background, to the right of the peak. The mountain to the left is devoid of snow, just six years after these peaks were covered. Is that normal for this area? Is it seasonal and not indicative of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Global Warming? I have hunted around (and am still hunting) for photos that go farther back into the 90's or 80's or back even more to get a better sense. So this is, mind you, just an observation and me posing a question. I know from my Climate Reality training that I cannot jump to conclusions here, but to look for this type of thing and ask the right questions. 

     There are those that are out there--the ones who believe humans are not affecting climate change and is arrogant to think we could have such an effect on the planet--who will say that melting snow doesn't mean anything. They say its just part of the natural cycle. They may point to the unusually dry and warm winter and spring the region had and dismiss the lack of snow as an anomaly. They will say snow melts, the Ice Age is ending and I am being alarmist. They often dismiss me due to my association with former Vice President Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project. (I mean come on, they must give just anyone a Nobel Prize these days, eh?) And besides, I was in a beautiful place for vacation; shouldn't I just relax and enjoy?

     What they fail to realize is that we are contributing to the warming Climate, despite what the deniers say on TV or the Internet. The ramifications for us go beyond rising seas and loss of ski slopes. Snow isn't just beneficial for reflecting heat and sunlight away from the Earth. It also is a major source of fresh water. Which means when the snow melts and none is left, what we have is a looming water shortage. If the trend continues, and we are contributing as much as the science suggests, first the snow will disappear from the mountain tops, and then the mountain streams will dry up. No more waterfalls. No more melting run-off. Seasonal snows will melt come spring, and then the streams will only have water after it rains. Mountain streams disappear. Rivers shrink up. Water becomes scarce. People start getting angry. 

     This may all sound alarmist. I like to think of it more as pragmatic. Society behaves in predictable ways when their necessities aren't met. Water shortages affect food production. Less productive fields and farms mean less food for restaurants and schools and homes. That affects people's jobs, which reduces income. You can see where this is going, right? Maybe it is alarmist or dramatic to think it through to social upheaval. But, if the trend continues, and the snows become less and less frequent, and water dries up...do you think people will really act rationally when their very survival is at stake? Or will they do what ever is necessary to protect themselves and their families?

     That's why I scoff at the notion put forth by some people that humans are not contributing to Climate Change, that it is arrogant to think that we--such a small and insignificant species here on Planet Earth--could contribute to such huge changes. I just spent five days in a valley where every river, every stream, every flow of water was diverted, channeled, piped under streets, and utilized with very little waste in order to keep the vineyards healthy, the orchards productive and the toilets flushing. If humans are capable of doing amazing things like that, as well as this man-made lake in Rechen, Italy, where a whole town lies beneath the surface...

     ...why is it so hard to accept that we could be having a similar albeit far more dangerous effect on our atmosphere? 

(You can learn about Climate Reality here www.climaterealityproject.org )