The Global Warming
By Igor Gromada
The Chacaltaya ski area in Bolivia used to be the highest in the world. Although it was less than a kilometer long, it hosted international ski competitions. Today the snow has almost gone, and so have Chacaltaya's days as a popular ski resort.
The ski area sits upon a small mountain glacier, which was already getting smaller when the ski area opened in 1939. In the past ten years, however, the glacier has been melting at an increased rate. As the glacier melts, dark rocks beneath it are uncovered. The sun then heats the rocks, causing faster melting. Despite attempts to make snow with snow machines, this cycle seems unstoppable in the long run.
As experts debate how to solve the global warming problem, ice in mountains such as Chacaltaya and near the North and South Poles is melting faster than even the most pessimistic environmentalists may have once feared. Rising air and sea temperatures are two well-known causes, but researchers have recently discovered other unexpected processes that take place as glaciers melt. The effects are having an impact on humans even now, and they could change the face of the world in the future.
The glaciers of the Himalayas and the Andes could disappear in this century. As a result, the millions of people in India, Bolivia, and Peru who now depend on melting water from mountain glaciers could find themselves in a critical situation. The ice sheet of Greenland is also melting more quickly than scientists predicted. Greenland's largest outlet glacier is moving toward the sea twice as fast as it was in 1995. One cause could be meltwater that runs down to the bottom of the glacier and gets between the ice and the rock below. This water makes it easier for the glacier to slide along to the ocean.
Many ice researchers believe that Greenland's melting, if it continues, will add at least three feet to global sea levels by the year 2100. If the ice sheet of Antarctica, now largely unaffected, begins to melt, the next few centuries could see a six-foot rise in sea levels, forcing tens of millions of people out of their homes.
A white arctic fox hunts for baby seals in the ice of Norway. Scandinavia's arctic fox population, with fewer than 200 animals remaining, now faces serious threat of extinction. How can we avoid these dire consequences of global warming? "We have to have a serious and immediate shift in attitude," says Laurie David, producer of the prize-winning movie An Inconvenient Truth, which helped to raise awareness of the problem. Many believe that an attitude of hope and a desire to stay informed make a good beginning. An informed public is in a better position to help address this critical issue.
The ski area sits upon a small mountain glacier, which was already getting smaller when the ski area opened in 1939. In the past ten years, however, the glacier has been melting at an increased rate. As the glacier melts, dark rocks beneath it are uncovered. The sun then heats the rocks, causing faster melting. Despite attempts to make snow with snow machines, this cycle seems unstoppable in the long run.
As experts debate how to solve the global warming problem, ice in mountains such as Chacaltaya and near the North and South Poles is melting faster than even the most pessimistic environmentalists may have once feared. Rising air and sea temperatures are two well-known causes, but researchers have recently discovered other unexpected processes that take place as glaciers melt. The effects are having an impact on humans even now, and they could change the face of the world in the future.
The glaciers of the Himalayas and the Andes could disappear in this century. As a result, the millions of people in India, Bolivia, and Peru who now depend on melting water from mountain glaciers could find themselves in a critical situation. The ice sheet of Greenland is also melting more quickly than scientists predicted. Greenland's largest outlet glacier is moving toward the sea twice as fast as it was in 1995. One cause could be meltwater that runs down to the bottom of the glacier and gets between the ice and the rock below. This water makes it easier for the glacier to slide along to the ocean.
Many ice researchers believe that Greenland's melting, if it continues, will add at least three feet to global sea levels by the year 2100. If the ice sheet of Antarctica, now largely unaffected, begins to melt, the next few centuries could see a six-foot rise in sea levels, forcing tens of millions of people out of their homes.
A white arctic fox hunts for baby seals in the ice of Norway. Scandinavia's arctic fox population, with fewer than 200 animals remaining, now faces serious threat of extinction. How can we avoid these dire consequences of global warming? "We have to have a serious and immediate shift in attitude," says Laurie David, producer of the prize-winning movie An Inconvenient Truth, which helped to raise awareness of the problem. Many believe that an attitude of hope and a desire to stay informed make a good beginning. An informed public is in a better position to help address this critical issue.
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