Climate change: Test: Sheep's wool instead of plastic to protect glaciers
Sheep's wool stops glacier melting just as well as plastic - and protects the environment. However, why this can hardly stop the decline.
A recent experiment conducted by the University of Lausanne and the Summit Foundation in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, found that sheep wool blankets can reduce glacier melting just as effectively as synthetic covers. The "Keep it Wool" experiment covered 100 square meters of glacier with different types of sheep wool blankets and synthetic geotextiles, achieving a 50-70% reduction in melting.
The use of sheep wool is considered a more environmentally friendly option as it is a natural, renewable, and biodegradable resource. However, covering glaciers with textiles is not a viable solution to halt their decline, as it would require extensive and costly efforts, and would only save a small fraction of the snow that is lost each year. Between 2000 and 2024, Swiss glaciers have lost nearly 40% of their volume.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
