The largest postcard in the world, located on the Aletsch glacier, is a cry for help (but also a message of hope)
In Switzerland, in the cantons of Bern and Valais, the Aletsch glacier is the largest in the Alps. It has a surface area of 120 square kilometers, and it is a real spectacle to see.
Today, however, in addition to thrilling with its beauty, the Aletsch glacier also wants to be a warning. Here, at 3400 meters above sea level, one has been installed giant postcard (its surface area is 2.500 square meters) created with over 125 thousand messages and drawings from children, and promoted by the Swiss Directorate for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the WAVE (World Advanced Vehicle Expedition) Foundation.
The goal of the huge postcard? Draw attention to the problem of climate change. Because, despite its grandeur, the Aletsch glacier has shrunk over time. Every year, it retreats by 12 metres. Every year, he suffers a little more. And experts warn: the ice expanse, now 23 kilometers long, has undergone a three kilometer recession from 1870 to today. And, going forward at this rate, by the end of the century it will disappear. The acceleration of the melting is increasingly strong, and the responsibility lies solely with man.
Flying over the glacier today, two clear messages can be read: “#1.5°C Stop global warming” (stop global warming) and “We are the future: give us a chance” (we are the future: give us a chance). Why a degree and a half? Because, according to experts, it is the maximum degree of thermal increase to avoid the real catastrophe that would occur if the temperature rose by just half a degree more, reaching 2°. That postcard is therefore aimed at adults. It gives voice to future generations, who represent hope for the Planet and who need each of us to play our part.
Because if today's children are the ones who will suffer the most from the effects of climate change, they are also the only ones who can remedy it. Hence the idea of giving them a voice with what it is the largest postcard ever made in the world. A postcard created by children from 35 countries and a copy of which will be sent from the highest post office in Europe (located on the Jungfraujoch pass, in the shadow of the Aletsch glacier) to the participants of the COP24, the next international conference on summits which will be staged in Poland next December. A cry for help, which has the voice of a child.
Source: I see Virgil
