Save the glaciers

Dear Fellow Human:

I want to share with you something that my son Patrick Vaca wants to accomplish. It is the most wonderful idea that has the potential to make a change for  the future of humanity, it can be really meaningful for the world.

The idea the way I understood and the way he has conceived is as follows:

1) Implement a plan where hundreds of WATER wells will be drilled ( a geothermal movable drilling rig will be needed) along the top of the Andes hills and cordilleras at an altitude where trees grow along several mountains (Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia) to have the capability of watering trees. It will literally will create new forested hills in lands that are presently not been used for any purposes. Small wind turbines or solar panels also installed on the top of the hills at certain locations will be able to power and control some irrigation, sprinklers or drop watering systems to feed the trees, plantations, wineries etc. The added benefit is of course that clean water will also be available for those that are at the bottom of the valleys and often times suffer of the need of water for their farms.

2) Plant at least eight million trees in Ecuador initially and on each country mentioned. The importance of such reforestation is to be able to cool off the ever more intense heat waves along the mountain ranges, and the moisture of the trees, the new vegetation not only will increase the beauty of such mountains but it will help slow down the glaciers melting along Andes mountains because the ever increasing heat is the main contributor of melting glaciers. Lakes are drying out, Rivers are disappearing. Therefore, it is imperative to grow trees in lands that are not being used with any purpose and the vegetation will create moisture and bring back the normal rains, new vegetation will act as filters for the ever growing pollution in ever larger cities. That in turn will increase the flow of water to the rivers. It may also increase agricultural production in all those countries when we need more than ever more food.

3) Ecuador enjoys a unique position in the world due to the fact that the Amazon river is fed by the rivers of Ecuador: Napo, Coca, Pastaza, Santiago and many more, However, those rivers come from the glaciers of great mountains such a El Cayambe, Cotacachi, Illinizas, Antisana, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Reventador etc. If those glaciers in Ecuador continue to disappear as they are being reduced dramatically and the world is ignoring this fact without realizing that if Ecuador glaciers disappear the whole Amazon jungle disappears, which will cause the most dramatic ecological disaster of human history as 80 percent of fish live in the Amazon river. But even more important is the fact that this whole region acts as the lungs of the world.  We need to do something now and Patrick has come up with a solution.

4) The fact is that there are entire mountain ranges in Ecuador and in all Latin America for that matter that have being cut off bare of trees. Entire hills with not one single tree or even plants in them. While our cities have the absurd tendency to be built with concrete and asphalt and barely any trees are present, except in a few parks in the middle of such cities. There are not enough conservation programs. We need to raise the level of consciousness of people to realize that the solutions are in our hands and we fail to take action. This plan will serve to raise such level of consciousness as we will get people involved in making their own land and hills that are currently "naked" to become beautiful once again.

If every student of every High School in Latin America plants just one single tree, then we will have millions of trees. If each student in the United States donates or raises just $20 dollars then that could mean at least ten trees planted in Latin America. We are talking about the possibility of fighting directly against global warming, against pollution, against deforestation. It is only just as literally each tree planted will be providing air for your to breath for many years to come.

It is a project that indeed Mayors of several cities must participate. I am certain I could convince the prefect, the mayor of the city and the governor of at least one province in Ecuador to take part of this project. We just need to serve as example. The rest will follow and I need your help.

5) High Schools and all schools must participate to serve as an education tool and raise the level of consciousness. School must participate in an active manner where some will create the audiovisuals, graphics, videos to promote the idea. Of course once funds are provided we will do our best to make it as professionally as funds allow. Study the possibility with other schools in Ecuador, but they will also learn first hand about renewable energy, irrigation systems, the importance of this region in the world as it serves as the lungs of the world. From a very young age kids will help plant trees and will learn how to work together is a human endeavor to save humanity itself.

6) Create a non profit organization that will promote the conservation, reforestation and planting of trees all over the world by High School students. However, the uniqueness of the plan is how to go about it. it is important how to plan those trees and where to plant them. Ecuador is vital for the Amazon river. Most people do not seem to be aware of this fact. Lakes have disappear in Bolivia, Chile and the levels of water of most Lakes in the whole continent are suffering. We have before us a planet screaming for help but we have corporations just afraid of losing money on the stock markets, while the world is going fast to a point that the air we breath is no longer safe. The rivers depend on these glaciers and humanity depend on water, on clean air and for our own sake we must preserve the region and help save those glaciers to save ourselves.

I am very proud of my 18 year old son Patrick to have come up with the idea. I believe so much in the idea that I have started contacting some people to be able to make this happen, together with some ideas of my own to make a great change. I believe it will be best to start small in the Province of Imbabura pretty close to the equator, to be able to get the proper experience in how to coordinate all the details and to become more efficient in the implementation of such plan.

7) Create an ipad, iphone, tablet app that will help coordinate things so that people can monitor, share, talk about, the whole project. Patrick did not realize that what he was proposing is a true solution to one of the most difficult problems in the planet today. The entire Pacific ocean blows on the mountain ranges of the Andes. Therefore if we plant trees all along the Andes, all these mountains literally can create new oxygen and get rid of massive quantities of carbon dioxide being processes to act as a filter for the rest of the world. Therefore his idea is simply genius as all those winds of the Pacific move as the world turns and they are spread to the rest of the world along the equatorial jet streams.

8) The incorporation of wind turbines or solar panels is very important because it will be a self sustaining enterprise because eventually people will stop donating and forget about the concept. This way trees can still be purchase or grown, and the system can continue helping preserve the organization. While we can get enough power without cost or dependency on government or contributions to pay to keep the power of the irrigation systems on, we may actually be able to sell some energy to the government to keep the organization protecting those new forests. 

 I have taken the precaution to copyright such idea and I have asked the patent office of the United States to allow me to patent such idea as I have been robbed of several ideas many times before. This time I will not allowed it to happen with my son's ideas. I would like to know if you will be willing to help because it will truly be the participation of our youth, governments, educational institutions and big business and enterprises (the biggest polluters) who must come together to work is such a remarkable project.

I will be contacting some people and I will be creating a website and the non profit organization in the next few days. In fact I will also be selling the trees in nine acres that I own to be able to plant trees that can be later donated to plant either in Ecuador as the rest of the world or in the USA. I also want to acquire a large farm in Argentina to be able to grow the necessary trees for this great goal. Anyway that your organization can help will be truly appreciated.

If you want more information I will be glad to meet with you and I will ask my son Patrick to share more of his idea. Thank you and have a wonderful day.