Urban America and Melting Glacier Fields

Most people in the United States live in areas that are industrialized, urban and otherwise tamed. Because this “Age of Steel” type environment is not always the type of environment that is welcome to live in, people will wander into the wilderness to have a vacation. And this vacation is usually designed with the purpose of looking at the natural world within a controlled environment.

The natural world is a world known for its sprawling beauty and its unique ability to instill an interesting sense of order within a world that is increasingly disorderly. Now, this disorder can be man-made or it can be a natural disorder – as is the case of melting glacier fields. The natural forms of disorder can result from natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes and their ilk.

In contrast, these same forms of disorder can be man-made. For instance, if we look at a graph of CO2 content in the lower atmosphere and average temperatures, we can see a clear correlation between the two; however, until the industrial revolution, human beings did not significantly influence the CO2 content in the lower atmosphere. According to scientists today, this influence has been poorly – and this influence is directly responsible for many a melting glacier.

Glaciers have a beauty that is quite amazing; unlike many transitory things, the majestic glaciers took millions of years to form. Unfortunately, after the many millions of years needed to aid in the formation of glaciers, they are now becoming a casualty of Global Warming caused by the man-made increase in CO2.

If we do not take an active role in decreasing CO2 emissions, we may find that the melting glacier becomes the rule – and not the exception. Unfortunately, as with many things we undo, we cannot fix the melting glacier fields; once the melting glacier fields have been assimilated into the oceans, they cannot be returned without another major climate change.