What remains - For the past 148 years, Yosemite’s Lyell Glacier has taught us about the Earth — how it was created, where it was going, and now, how it might end
I knew even before clicking this article would make me sad. Having visited Yosemite's back-country a few times, and explored just a small part of the boundless beauty it has to offer, it's...
I knew even before clicking this article would make me sad. Having visited Yosemite's back-country a few times, and explored just a small part of the boundless beauty it has to offer, it's heart-wrenching to know that beautiful places that may be seldom physically untouched by humans, are still changing because of our actions nonetheless.
Glaciers are the most amazing thermometer for the climate, receding and expanding as minute variations in long term weather play out; but globally, glaciers continue to shrink. I've had the displeasure of seeing that right here in New Zealand, where some of the South Island's glaciers are now miles further inland & uphill than what they were even 20 to 30 years ago, leaving behind grey & brown strewn rocks in their place.
But we're not just affecting glaciers. Reductions in snowpack & runoff are resulting in more & more droughts annually, and many species rely on these caches of water in the summer months as they melt and keep the lower regions fertile. Temperatures are increasing, causing deserts to expand, and alpine climates to shrink. Trees are moving uphill. Humans have scattered invasive species across the globe, disrupting a perfectly calibrated natural balance. Erosion is increasing, even in national parks, because of these changes; and outside of national parks too, thanks to industrialization & farming.
It's clear to me that we're irreparably degrading the planet through overconsumption & overpopulation; and it's really not a positive outlook either. So you know what? I've really decided I'm going to refuse to have kids & spend as much time as I can outside admiring the small amount of beauty we have left.
Let's not forget the permafrost either. There is a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide and methane trapped in it, and as it thaws that releases it, further accelerating the problem....
But we're not just affecting glaciers. Reductions in snowpack & runoff... Erosion is increasing...
and permanent sea ice, which sooner or later there probably will not be at the current rate of disappearance, opening up all sorts of new fun geopolitical conflicts as people battle it out for oil...
and permanent sea ice, which sooner or later there probably will not be at the current rate of disappearance, opening up all sorts of new fun geopolitical conflicts as people battle it out for oil rights.
I knew even before clicking this article would make me sad. Having visited Yosemite's back-country a few times, and explored just a small part of the boundless beauty it has to offer, it's heart-wrenching to know that beautiful places that may be seldom physically untouched by humans, are still changing because of our actions nonetheless.
Glaciers are the most amazing thermometer for the climate, receding and expanding as minute variations in long term weather play out; but globally, glaciers continue to shrink. I've had the displeasure of seeing that right here in New Zealand, where some of the South Island's glaciers are now miles further inland & uphill than what they were even 20 to 30 years ago, leaving behind grey & brown strewn rocks in their place.
But we're not just affecting glaciers. Reductions in snowpack & runoff are resulting in more & more droughts annually, and many species rely on these caches of water in the summer months as they melt and keep the lower regions fertile. Temperatures are increasing, causing deserts to expand, and alpine climates to shrink. Trees are moving uphill. Humans have scattered invasive species across the globe, disrupting a perfectly calibrated natural balance. Erosion is increasing, even in national parks, because of these changes; and outside of national parks too, thanks to industrialization & farming.
It's clear to me that we're irreparably degrading the planet through overconsumption & overpopulation; and it's really not a positive outlook either. So you know what? I've really decided I'm going to refuse to have kids & spend as much time as I can outside admiring the small amount of beauty we have left.
Let's not forget the permafrost either. There is a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide and methane trapped in it, and as it thaws that releases it, further accelerating the problem.
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/01/11/thawing-permafrost-matters/
and permanent sea ice, which sooner or later there probably will not be at the current rate of disappearance, opening up all sorts of new fun geopolitical conflicts as people battle it out for oil rights.