Community | April 12, 2010 | 3 comments

Peru glacier collapses, destroys 20 nearby homes

source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20100412081525406C538886

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WakeUpPeople
Around 50 people suffered injuries on Sunday when part of a glacier broke off and burst the Hualcan River banks in a development the local governor attributed to climate change.

The mass of glacial ice and rock fell into the so-called "513 lake" in the northern Ancash region, causing a ripple effect down the Hualcan, destroying 20 nearby homes.

"Because of global warming the glaciers are going to detach and fall on these overflowing lakes. This is what happened today," Ancash Governor Cesar Alvarez told reporters, linking climate change to the disappearance of a third of the glaciers in the Peruvian Andes over the past three decades.

A 2009 World Bank-published report warned Andean glaciers and the region's permanently snow-covered peaks could disappear in 20 years if no measures are taken to tackle climate change.

According to the report, in the last 35 years Peru's glaciers have shrunk by 22 percent, leading to a 12 percent loss in the amount of fresh water reaching the coast -- home to most of the country's citizens.
  1. groups:
    Community,   Green,   Earth and Science,   Humanism,   1 more
  2. tags:
    Climate Change,  Peru,  Glacier Melt
  3. recommended by:
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3 comments // Peru glacier collapses, destroys 20 nearby homes

  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  

    • Switching a coal fired plant to natural gas produces the same amount of energy, but less than 1/2 the CO2.

      And there is no need for expensive and energy robbing scrubbers.

      And there is no acid rain.

      And there are no acids or heavy metal toxins leaching into waterways and the food chain.

      And there are no strip mines.

    • 2 years ago
  • captainplanet71
    • 0
      captainplanet71  

    • Wow, I haven't seen many reports on Peruvian glaciers. I'm going to have to start following this more closely. Let's hope these folks know about their next door neighbor Bolivia's summit on climate change!

    • 2 years ago
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  

    • "...in the last 35 years Peru's glaciers have shrunk by 22 percent, leading to a 12 percent loss in the amount of fresh water reaching the coast -- home to most of the country's citizens."

      Shall we pretend we haven't noticed yet, or should we do something?

    • 2 years ago
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