“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
Albert Einstein
During our western road trip, my husband and I were lucky enough to spend time in Glacier National Park. It is a place of jaw-dropping beauty. But one sad fact I learned is the size and number of its namesake glaciers are shrinking. Disappearing glaciers have a story to tell.
What are glaciers?
Glaciers are huge sheets of ice on land that move slowly under their own weight. They have formed over centuries in polar regions like Greenland and Antarctica, and also on various mountains around the world. How big are they? The minimum size to be considered a glacier is around 25 acres.
Beyond their beauty, glaciers are important to surrounding ecosystems and economies. They are our largest reservoirs of freshwater, providing water for drinking, agriculture, and power for vast areas.
Disappearing glaciers
Most of the glaciers in existence today formed during the last ice age, and they go through natural cycles of growing and receding. However, in recent decades, glaciers around the world are shrinking at an accelerated rate.
For example, in 1850 there were 80 glaciers in what would become Glacier National Park. In 2015 there were 26. Some of those are likely not big enough to be called glaciers today. Faster melt is tracking along with the trajectory of rising global temperatures and higher CO2 levels.
A recent study found if the current warming trend continues, 1/3 of the world’s glacier mass, and 2/3 of the glaciers will be gone by 2100. This much melting would create 4.5 inches of extra sea level rise.
A story to tell
Glaciers are considered “sentinels of climate change” because they give us such visible and measurable evidence of how the planet is changing in response to warming temperatures. They are telling us a story if we’re willing to listen.
What can we do?
Humans are making it warmer, but that means we can also change course. If we turn down the thermostat, we will protect glaciers and their important role. The good news is, each fraction of a degree is meaningful, so everything we do to cut our individual and collective emissions matters.
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.