In 2006, I read a disturbing article in the January/February issue of Sierra magazine entitled “Climate Chaos Has Arrived,” by Bill McKibben. In it, the author reports on various examples showing that global warming is indeed a fact: a scientific revelation in September 2006 that reported satellite images showing that the polar icecap is now 20% thinner than historical averages, the increasing frequency and severity of weather–based disasters, and most convincing, historical before and after photographic evidence of the melting of our largest glaciers. Take a look at these photos and say they aren’t a little scary, I dare you!
Grinell Glacier, Glacier National Park, 1911
Grinell Glacier, Glacier N. P., 2000
Pasterze Glacier, Austria, 1875
Pasterze Glacier, Austria, 2004
Rhone Glacier, Switzerland, 1859
Rhone Glacier, Switzerland, 2001
Portage Glacier, Alaska, 1950
Portage Glacier, Alaska, 2001
Showing these “before” and “after” photos side by side really drives the point home! This is scary stuff! Environmental photographer Gary Braasch has made a career of photographing many of the world’s ecosystems, especially in the areas of climatic change and biodiversity. Thanks to people like him, the truth is becoming clearer and clearer. Dramatic photos such as these shots of the melting glaciers provide all the proof I need that the climate is indeed getting warmer! For more on this topic, please take a look at worldviewofglobalwarming.org.