{"id":1131,"date":"2009-03-28T06:23:59","date_gmt":"2009-03-28T11:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=1131"},"modified":"2022-01-23T08:00:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-23T13:00:29","slug":"ice-melts-border-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/ice-melts-border-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice Melts, Border Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Borders based on natural features cannot last forever. Topography changes over time, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, but invariably it happens. You may have seen a recent article that appeared in CNN, Melting glaciers in Alps forcing Italy and Switzerland to redraw their borders<\/a>, that proves this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a fascinating account although the headline is perhaps a bit overstated. There’s no forcing involved; perhaps “prompts” might have been a better choice. The Italian parliament is drafting legislation to redefine its boundary with Switzerland in a cooperative effort between the two countries. The affected areas are situated along uninhabited alpine ridge lines. No private individuals own any of the land and nobody will have to change citizenship. It’s primarily a cartographic effort. As explained in the article,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The 1941 convention between Italy and Switzerland established as criteria [for border revisions] the ridge [crest] of the glaciers. Following the withdrawal of the glaciers in the Alps, a new criterion has been proposed so that the new border coincides with the rock.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Reaction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The article got a lot of coverage in the media and on the blogs because of its Global Warming angle, the implication being that rising temperatures are melting the glaciers and erasing the basis for portions of the border between Italy and Switzerland. Twelve Mile Circle has an interest in a different angle, not to discount Global Warming and all it entails, but because I love stories about wacky borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Boundary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n