Hot Ice!

Hello world! My name is Arnor and I am a snow & ice helper here at KISC. That means that I am responsible for activities such as ice climbing and crevasse rescue on the amazing Fründen-glacier, just outside Kandersteg. I consider myself very lucky, as working on a glacier is both challenging and awesome and glaciers are among my favourite things in the world. However, there is a darker side to the story. The fact is that glaciers everywhere in the world are disappearing fast, due to climate change caused by humans.

How fast are the glaciers melting?

Fast enough for you to care, even if you’ve never even seen a glacier.

My home country, Iceland, is home to dozens of glaciers, including the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull. Current estimates suggest that Vatnajökull will have completely disappeared in less than 200 years. Earlier this year, glaciologists in Iceland declared that one of the most famous glaciers in Iceland, simply named Ok, does not qualify as a glacier anymore.

Another example of this fast melting is the fact that in the year 1850 there were more than 150 glaciers in Glacier national park in Montana, USA, but now there are only 25 left.

Out of 140 glaciers in Switzerland, only 2 are not currently retreating. Even my work place, Fründen-glacier, retreats about 10 to 20 meters every year. At that rate, it will have completely disappeared in a few decades and the KISC snow & ice programme may be a thing of the past.

Why does it matter?

If all glaciers on earth melt, the sea level will rise an estimated 64 meters. Almost all of the great populated areas on earth are by the sea, so this will have a devastating effect  on places like New York, Beijing and all island nations.

Glaciers have a huge impact on weather patterns in high altitude and high latitude areas, and their disappearance will make the weather in these places hotter, dryer, and more extreme.

About 80% of all freshwater on earth is bound in glaciers. If this freshwater melts and flows into the sea, it can alter the salinity and temperature of the oceans. This will make the sea less habitable for many types of sea creatures, cause extinctions, and change ocean currents, such as the Gulf stream that gives northern Europe its gentle climate.

What to do?

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much we can do to save the glaciers. Most climate scientists agree that the damage already caused by climate change is irreversible and it is probably too late to save the glaciers.

On the other hand, more and more people are becoming aware of this development, and fossil fuel usage (which causes climate change) is on decline.

Whether we will be able to save the glaciers or not, I have one advice for you: Use every chance you get to enjoy the wonders that glaciers have to offer. Go glacier-trekking, go ice climbing, experience the amazing feeling of strapping on a pair of crampons and wielding an ice axe. I promise you, it will be awesome. Enjoy the glaciers while they last, and have a safe and successful mountaineering.

By Arnór Bjarki Svarfdal (IS)
SNICE 2015

Eco fashion

No matter how much or how little we are interested in fashion, we all wear something.  But where do our clothes come from, what are they made of and what do we do with them when we’re finished with them?

Be Careful with Cotton!

Cotton farming uses a lot of water.  Since the 1960s badly planned cotton farming in Central Asia caused the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan to dry up. It used to be 68,000 km² wide, the 4th largest salt water body in the world.  Now only 10% of the water is left.

Cotton farming also uses lots of chemicals.  In California alone, over 3 million kilos of chemicals are used in cotton farming.

 

Stranded boats on what used to be the Aral Sea.

Synthetic Fabrics

Many synthetic fabrics such as polyester and nylon are made from petroleum products and their manufacture is harmful to the environment. They often contain harmful chemicals and do not biodegrade when they are disposed of. A lot of outdoor clothing is made from synthetic fabrics.

Disposable Fashion

More and more people are buying very cheap clothes which are of poor quality.  When they wear out they just throw them away and buy new ones. This is a big environmental problem. On average every person in the UK dumps 30 kg of clothes and textiles a year!

The Good News

Many companies make clothes from recycled materials.  For example, fleeces can be made from recycled PET bottles.

Don’t forget to recycle your PET bottles while at KISC! Recycled polyester and nylon are available which use no crude oil and use less energy to produce than new polyester  and nylon.

 

Organic cotton uses no harmful chemicals. 

Responsible cotton farming saves water and protects ecosystems.

What can you do?

• Buy secondhand clothes when you can

• Swap your clothes with your friends.

• Buy less clothes that are more durable and look after them.

• Wash your clothes less often and at lower temperatures.

• Use eco-friendly detergents like we do here at KISC.

• Repair old clothes rather than throwing them away.

• When you dispose of clothes, recycle them or give them to a secondhand shop.

 

Sources: “Well dressed?” Cambridge University (2006) ¦  www.patagonia.com

  

Remember, what you wear matters.  Think about your clothes before you buy them.  What are they made of, where did they come from and how long will they last?

By Annie Lewis (UK)

Eco Assistant

Eat-able Plants in Switzerland

Since ancient times, humans have had to find a way to feed themselves. They couldn't go to McDonald's or order a from Papa Johns'. Instead, they used other methods before they learned how to sow the seed's and make the plants grow. The only way to get their own food was by hunting or foraging . The Alps are made up of very different weather in areas very close together. This makes the environment very diverse, letting us find different kinds of plant's, some of them are edible or give fruits. We show you next some of the edible plants or alpine fruits that you can eat.

Alpine strawberry's (Jerry's favorites)

You can find them on the ground, little plants of about 15 cms long, each one give an average of 6 or 7 strawberries. These fruits are eaten by the marmot's because of their sweet taste, it's a treat for it.


Pine needles

This tree is very common in Switzerland, it can be found along the whole country. A difference between this tree and others is that it doesn't have leaves, instead it has needles. At the end of these needles you can find other ones that have a lighter green colour, which ones you can eat or boil for tea. The needles have a citrus flavor, which indicate that it contains some percentage of vitamin C.


Wood sorrel

Theses little plant's grow on the ground, and usually you can find lots of them all together, similar to the shamrocks but with some difference's, the wood sorrel have a citrus taste, you can eat them directly from the ground or you can put them inside boiling water to prepare tea. Just be careful not to mix them up with the Clover plant leaves, these ones have white stripes and can give you diarrhea.

By Jerry Venegas (MX)
Summer 2015

Water water everywhere!

Electricity is integral to almost every aspect of modern life – from lighting our homes & schools, charging our mobiles and tablets, to keeping the food we keep in our fridges and freezers fresh. In this series of blogs, the Pinkie team at KISC will investigate the different ways in which we can generate electricity and power our world.

Water is one of the most important substances in our world. Here are some key facts to get you started:
• 71 % of the Earth’s surface is water
• Up to 75% of your body is water
• The average person in Switzerland consumes 162 litres of water every single day

Humans have used water not only for drinking and washing but also in a wide number of technologies; for example water mills have been in existence since 250BC! However it is only recently that we have started to use the incredible natural power of water to generate electricity.

There are numerous ways in which this can be done, with a common theme that they all use water falling under gravity to turn a turbine:
• Dams – storing water behind a barrier and using it's energy as it flows downhill
• Tidal – using the natural twice-daily tidal power of rivers and seas
• Wave – using the natural constant power of waves in the seas

Globally, electricity generated through one of the above mentioned methods accounts for just 16% of the total electricity generated, with the vast majority of the rest made up by fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, nuclear etc). However, Switzerland is a noticeable exception to this, with their electricity being generated by:
• 56% hydro
• 39% nuclear
• Approx. 5% - All other forms

Why is hydro so popular you ask?
One of the main reasons is also one of the main things that makes KISC so special – the Alps! The natural rivers and streams that start from the highest mountain peaks must make their way to the ground eventually, and so not only do they supply water to us (the water from KISC’s Ueschinenhutte comes directly from a mountain stream) but we can also capture the energy stored in the water and generate the electricity required by us.

How does it work?
Imagine being at a swimming pool with one of those dunk buckets that slowly fills with water and, once full enough, tips over and dumps a whole load of water on your head. As you may be able to guess, the further off the ground the bucket is, the faster the water will be travelling when it hits you and the greater the energy contained within the water. It is a similar principle in hydro-electricity generation:
1. Big powerful rivers high up in the mountains flow down and pick up speed
2. This water is directed down pipes containing turbines
3. The water flowing past the turbines causes them to spin
4. This spinning motion is used to generate electricity

Kandersteg has its very own hydro-electricity plant, which is fed by the river Kander. For more info on this plant please visit our blog page. When you are at KISC, try and take a hike from the centre up to Gasterntal: on this hike you can see the normally gentle looking Kander crashing down the mountain with tremendous force, and really understand the incredible power that is stored within the water.
As a renewable energy source (i.e. it is not a finite resource which may run out), electricity generated by hydro-generation fits in with many of KISC’s and Scouting ethos – including our membership in the SCENES group (Read more about them here). Keep your eyes open for the next blog in which we’ll discuss other renewable energy sources and how they impact KISC.


By Andrew Pridding (UK)
Summer 2015