It's been about 5 days since I showed you our neighborhood "snow mountain" - that ugly pile of dirty snow beside a parking lot near my home. In this picture you will have to click on it to see the pile in the distance.
I have often wondered how mounds of snow like this (and larger ones in some parts of the city) affect our weather - all that cold snow beside warm black pavement, which absorbs heat. After all, lakes and oceans next to land create breezes since the sun heats both differently. So I sometimes wonder: is it cooler in our neighborhood, or breezier, because we have this mound of ice and snow?
But to tell you the truth, I never thought that these piles could be viewed as "green solutions" - energy savers. Apparently in Sweden and Japan, snow piles like this are carefully protected from melting - covered with wood chips and a shelter - and then used for air-conditioning in the summer!
If you don't believe me, here is the article from the Ottawa Citizen.
I think it's a wonderful idea!
Now what about our snow pile? I wandered over last night and took pictures of it. It is definitely melting. We've had coolish weather and rain for the past few days, but this afternoon the temperature is supposed to go up to 20 degrees Celsius (or 68 degrees Fahrenheit) - so that means it will probably go down faster these next few days.
You can see that the path is almost clear on this side. Next time, I'll no doubt have to stand closer to the bigger part of the snow pile, as this side will have melted. When do I plan to photograph it again? When I suggested a contest, I promised to take pictures of the snow pile on all the dates people guessed at - in our snow pile contest. (It's not too late to make a guess...)
So far, I've had guesses for May 3, May 12, May 17 - and May 30. So I plan to show it to you again on May 3.
Next year, if they decide to follow Sweden's and Japan's example and use the winter snow pile for air-conditioning, it might last all summer!
No comments:
Post a Comment