Tag archives for glaciers
Posted by Inspired by an Arctic assignment for National Geographic, photographer James Balog chronicled disappearing glaciers through a three-year, three-million-dollar project called the Extreme Ice Survey that resulted in the new film Chasing Ice. He spoke to Pop Omnivore about the surprising drama and otherworldly beauty of glaciers—and about confronting the reality of climate change.
Chasing Ice: Documenting Climate Change in Pictures of Retreating Glaciers
Posted by Chad Lipton on November 14, 2012 Five years ago photographer James Balog collaborated on a National Geographic magazine story called The Big Thaw, documenting the retreat of the world’s glaciers in what has been the most popular National Geographic article on the environment since then. This led to further visual documentation and most recently a film called Chasing Ice. At the…
Climate Change Questions From Glacier National Park
Posted by David Robinson on March 26, 2012 “Climate Connections” is a video series produced by the U.S. Geological Survey, in which scientists answer questions about climate change from across the nation. The latest episode focuses on Glacier National Park in Montana, and the repercussions of global warming on the park’s eponymous glaciers.
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We have the knowledge that can contribute to finding solutions to the crisis of climate change. But if you’re not prepared to listen, how can we communicate this to you? — Marcos Terena, Xané leader, Brazil. The precipitous rise in the world’s human population and humankind’s ever-increasing dependence on fossil fuel-based ways of living have…
U.S. May Be ‘Saudi Arabia of Natural Gas,’ But Shale Gas Rush Is Slowing
Posted by Mason Inman on February 2, 2012 Following on last week’s State of the Union address that supported hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” in shale gas deposits, President Obama called the U.S. “the Saudi Arabia of natural gas” and unveiled a new proposal to provide tax breaks to boost the use of natural gas as a fuel for trucks. But the market has…
Glacier Close Up
Posted by Daniel Grossman of Environmental Journalist, News Watch Contributing Editor on May 20, 2011 Nearly all the world’s tropical glaciers cap mountains of the Andes. If you wonder why, look at where the highest peaks in the tropics are located and you’ll have your answer. About three quarters of these glaciers top Peruvian peaks providing the South American country with a natural resource of immense value and justifiable pride.…
Lima’s Brown Coast
Posted by Daniel Grossman of Environmental Journalist, News Watch Contributing Editor on May 19, 2011 Lima and its contiguous suburbs and shantytowns sprawl between a sand-brown desert of undulating hills on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Today, accompanied by my translator, Dado, and driver, Juan Carlos, I sped down an avenue that hugs the shoreline. A cliff of crumbly soil impregnated with small stones towered above…
How Will Lima Slake its Growing Thirst?
Posted by Daniel Grossman of Environmental Journalist, News Watch Contributing Editor on May 19, 2011 Lima is one of the cities of the world most immediately threatened by global warming. The capital of Peru was built on the edge of a desert, one of the driest in the world. And its primary source of water is a small river, the Rimac. The Rimac’s water trickles off glaciers high in the Andes which, unfortunately for Limeños, are rapidly melting. Peru has lost about 30 percent of its glacial ice in the last 40 years.
Posted by Crossing the Mera La (5400 m) into the Hongu valley. Photo by Daniel Byers Cut off from the world while crossing treacherous mountain passes in deep snow was all in a day’s work for a father-and-son team determined to trek through the remote Hongu Valley in the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal. Alton Byers, mountain geographer…
Update: Dangerous Trek Begins, October 21, 2010 From Alton Byers: We just arrived in Lukla and head out to the the Hongu valley tomorrow, and will be out of touch for three weeks. Once we enter the valley over the 4200 m Mera La pass, we’ll trek up valley, climb to and film the dangerous…
By Mason Inman This post is part of a special National Geographic News series on global water issues. Some of Asia’s mighty rivers will be hit hard by climate change, with nearly 60 million people facing potential food shortages as a result, but other rivers will see little change, as was previously predicted, according to…
An Icelandic Summer Saga: Day One
Posted by Ford Cochran on July 2, 2009 Late-night twilight greetings from Iceland! I’m here with Nat Geo Student Expeditions and a group of (I asked what adjective to use to describe them, and they chose) extraordinary teens. We’ve come to photograph this island, to study the wild geology that put it here just south of the Arctic Circle. We’re documenting the effects…
Posted by Malaspina Glacier in the Gulf of Alaska (created from a Landsat satellite image and NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) —Image courtesy NASA I was stunned to hear that ice loss from glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska adds up to 84 gigatons a year, or about five times the average yearly flow of the Colorado…
