Heated Arguments

Here's another picture of the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska. It's a close up view from down low. When you look at a glacier from this angle you can see how much material is mixed in with the ice. I hope I get another chance to visit Alaska and hike this wonderful spot again. But the fact of the matter is Alaskan ice is disappearing, some say at an alarming rate. By the next time I might get back to Chickaloon I'll have to hike farther to climb on this glacier. Talk about global warming and you'll raise the temperature of almost every room in which this debate begins. If you want my opinion, I'll begin by saying I think the global warming debate is like this picture. To get the low down, look at all the details close up and down low. You'll see a lot of material that's mixed in with the general arguments. For example, one group contends man's greehouse gas emissions are the root cause of global warming and melting glaciers. But they seem to leave out the Pleistocene Epoch. The period of time between 1.8 million years ago up until about 8,000 years ago. (If you would have had a car back then, it would have needed all wheel drive and some pretty awesome snow tires. At least if you wanted to drive anywhere north of the Ohio River.) That's when an ice sheet covered the northern half of the United States, including a little piece of ground where I grew up in Northern Illinois. Yet those massive blankets of ice melted. I'm pretty sure man didn't have much to do with that. But there is compelling scientific evidence for the "greenhouse effect." So I'll include a link someone has put together that includes 250 glacier links. So maybe you can get up close and down low to see some of the details for yourself. http://www.mysteries-megasite.com/main/bigsearch/glacier.html Whatever your stand we can make green choices. I believe the earth's climate is a giant cycle we don't fully understand. But I also try to tread lightly while I'm around. I chose to drive a smaller pickup truck rather than the full-sized one. Our other car is a low emission vehicle. Next time around we might go hybrid. The ice is melting. I hope others will be able to enjoy a glacier someday. The ice has melted before. I'm glad it wasn't covering up my hometown while I was there.