News
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Dust cover speeds up snowmelt
A new study reveals that dust blown hundreds of kilometres by the wind from erosion zones or dry regions is capable of speeding up the snowmelt in the mountains of Colorado/USA by around one month. Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder were surprised not by the fact that the dust-covered snow cover was found to melt more quickly but by the extent to which this occurred in measurements and simulations.
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An outgoing airport for the Allgäu
In the view of the project's initiators the opening of the Memmingerberg regional airport in the Allgäu/D on 28 June represents the "opportunity of the century". Bavaria subsidised the project to the tune of €7.3 m, with total investments amounting to €20 m.
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International Conference: The Alps beyond Kyoto
CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, is organising an international conference on energy efficiency and renewable energies in the Alpine region from 20 to 22 September.
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The Alps ideal for generating solar power
According to a study by the EU research laboratory for the environment in Ispra/I the profitability ratings for solar power installations in Alpine regions are similar to those of solar installations in southernmost Spain. Solar irradiance in the hills and mountains of Austria for example reaches an intensity of up to 2,000 kilowatt-hours per square metre.
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Car-free holidays - information and offers
(24.5.2007) The homepage of the "Alpine Pearls", i.e. 21 tourist resorts in the Alps fully committed to the idea of soft mobility, is offering a new service.
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International trade fair and conference on renewable energies in Aosta
The trade fair and conference entitled "Rigenergia: Renewable energies and energy-saving in architecture and construction in the mountains" is being held in Aosta from 7 to 9 June.
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New publication on Alpine Towns
In 2005 CIPRA, the International Commission on the Protection of the Alps, organised a large conference on Alpine Towns and has now published the collected findings in a conference book.
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Alpine glaciers melting ever faster
The glaciers of the Alps could well disappear sooner than expected. Researchers now believe that in thirty years' time only the largest and highest glaciers will be left.
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New measures for combating and managing particulate matte
Every winter, de-icing salt is scattered on the roads despite its negative impact on the environment, groundwater, infrastructure and cars. But now Klagenfurt/A has come up with an alternative: Instead of salt it is to spray calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), a de-icing agent made from calcium, magnesium and acetic acid.
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1.5 tonnes of artificial fertilizer for skiing competitions?
The impact of climate change on skiing areas is the subject of the OECD study published on 13 December 2006. It concludes that if a region's average annual temperature increases by one degree, only around 500 of the 666 skiing areas in the Alps could be assured of snow.