Since 1959, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has tracked the health of South Cascade glacier in Washington and the Wolverine and Gulcana glaciers in Alaska. The American land mass covers a wide variety of climatic zones and the three aforementioned glaciers contain important information because they themselves are found in different climatic zones and at varying elevations.
The 50-year update to the USGS report on the glacier was released a few weeks ago. It told a very grim tale. Glaciers not only are melting fast but far faster than even the worst case scenario which many climatologists predicted just a few years ago. For example, during the 50-year period, the South Cascade glacier in Washington States has lost half its volume, half!
Since glaciers are so vast and change so slowly, it’s easy for skeptics to dismiss statistics such as those just published by the USGS but our posture needs to be the exact opposite. Glaciers play a vital role in providing fresh water to literally hundreds of millions of people and endangered species the world over. In fact, they act as giant, above-ground aquifers. Once they’re gone, people and species which rely on them for water will have no suitable replacement and will be forced to relocate or perish.
The experts at the USGS have attested that global warming is to blame for this horrific loss. However, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can read the entire report online for free. The URL is
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3046
Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line
Corbett Kroehler
photos courtesy of: United States Geological Survey
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