On Richardson Highway just outside Valdez is Worthington Glacier. It was our first Glacier sighting. Worthington Glacier flows down the 6,130 foot high "Girls Mountain". It was almost dusk when we visited the glacier. I'm glad be got to see it before it's gone.Here's an interesting Youtube video:
You find few people in Alaska who don't believe in Global warming. There was an interesting letter to the editor in the Valdez paper during our visit. The writer was commenting on a recent TV demonstration in which someone had measured the water level in a glass of water with ice in it, waited for the ice to melt, then measured the water level again. Of course, the levels were the same, making the argument that when the polar ice cap melts, the ocean levels will not change. She commented that a better demonstration would be to place a tray with ice next to a full glass of water and allow the ice to melt into the water. Measure the level of water before and after that demonstration! She said she could understand people in other areas not understanding 70% of the world's ice pack is located on land, not in the ocean, but how could people in Alaska not understand since all they had to do was look up?
97% of the world's water is in the ocean. Of the remaining 3% of fresh water, about 70% is in glaciers and permanent snow. The remaining 30% of fresh water is ground water. Glaciers currently occupy 10% of the world's total land area. Glaciers appear on every continent, even in the tropics (high mountains are everywhere).
10% of Europe's ice melted in the heat wave of 2003. The real problem, as I see it, is not rising sea levels. (Of course, I'm not part of the 80% of the world's population who live within 200 miles an ocean.) And the problem isn't that the glaciers are melting (they've always melted). The problem is that they are melting faster than falling snow can add new ice. And while this would eventually raise sea levels, other things would start to happen first.
The real problems will probably start when the increased cooler ocean temperature slows or shuts down thermohaline circulation, altering ocean currents which act to stabilize earth's temperature and weather (air and ocean currents transfer warmer air to cooler areas and cooler air to warmer areas). Dry areas will become drier, wet areas will become wetter and more hurricanes and tropical storms will develop. Also ice, whether in the ocean or on land, acts as reflectors preventing excessive warming of water and air.
I asked Chuck why some people refuse to acknowledge a threatening condition which could result in their or their children's death, despite overwhelming evidence and warnings. Chuck thinks it's cultural. If you are a Democrat, it is true. If you are a Republican, it is false. He feels neither side base their belief on facts or evidence. People just follow party lines and what they have been "told" to believe rather than searching for the truth. Even those who believe in global warming usually can't support why they believe it. And those who do not believe in global warming just repeat things they've heard a pundit on TV say. That's all!
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