Alie Toppa
News Report take away
Title: As More Rain Falls, Greenland Is Melting Faster
Author: Chelsea Harvey
Source: Scientific American
Who: This problems of ice sheets melting in Greenland does not only affect those who live there and wildlife that inhabits that region, but the world as a whole as it contributes to the global sea level rise and warms our oceans.
Where: Greenland
Why: Due to an increase in atmospheric temperatures, more cyclones are occurring and as a result, dumping warmer precipitation as rain rather than snow to these arctic regions. This results in slush which is melting glaciers and having massive impacts on our environment.
What: This article is published about two new studies coming out on contributors to the polar ice caps in Greenland melting.
How: Similar to why, this is a direct result of climate change. An increase and rainfall and the position of the snowline moving to be exposed omre to sunlight is causing glaciers to melt quicker than ever before.
When: Since especially the industrial revolution, our planet has been warming ever so slowly. It has not been up until the last couple of years that we have really notices these negative side effects to all of our humanitarian accomplishments. The atmosphere has been experiencing a rise in temperature for a long time now but if we do not make major changes we will only see these problems become worse. This article on these two new studies was published on March 8, 2019. Although it has not even been a month since this was released, it is no secret to us about the dangers our glaciers are in.
Relevance to Society: Most people might not think this issue impacts them but our glaciers are way more important than people see them to be. Without them, our oceans will become way warmer causing all sorts of issues pertaining to climate change as the ocean regulates all sorts of ecosystems. Also, as mentioned before, glacier melting is a huge contributor to global seal level rise which is becoming a large concern for many coastal areas.
Relevance to the course: I found this news to be relevant to our course in multiple ways. To start, it is a large environmental concern that has much impact on the success of our planet’s future. Ice cap melting is a result of us humans heating up our planet from all that we do. So as we had the power to create this issue, it is likes to be believed that we can also undo it. If we want to see change in the future than we must act now and turn our words into actions to reverse climate change. Sustainable practices and reducing our individual carbon footprint are ways in which we can do our part to help solve this massive issue of our glaciers from melting.
Works Cited:
Harvey, C. (2019, March 08). As More Rain Falls, Greenland Is Melting Faster. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-more-rain-falls-greenland-is-melting-faster/
I quite enjoyed reading this summary of the article because it is just another example of tangible evidence that the planet is suffering, and more attention must be paid to said issues. With that being said, you point out some great things about how this is affecting glaciers, and why glaciers are so important. However, in the “Relevance to Society” section of your summary, you say, “Most people might not think this issue impacts them but our glaciers are way more important than people see them to be,” and I want to explain why this is a harmful mindset. By saying this, not only do you separate humans form nature, but you also make it seem like humans are not the ONLY thing that can solve these problems. Humans are a part of nature, as we come from nature. And, if we have this separation, it is easy to disregard the responsibility we have to fix the issues we caused. To further this, humans are actually the only thing that can fix the part, for if we do not extinction is right around the corner.