On Global Warming, National Parks, and the Glaciers of Prince William Sound

Prince William Sound I am just recently returned from my adventure through Alaska. As I spoke of in my last post from Fairbanks, Alaska faces serious challenges in managing and preserving the vast natural resources of the land and sea.

Much of Alaska is, of course, wilderness, and most of that is managed by the U.S. federal government through the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Game, or the Bureau of Land Management.

As most people reading this blog already know, the far northern (and southern) latitudes of the planet are most sensitive to the effects of climate change.

This is something I could see and even feel as I traveled through Alaska. Though it is only empirical, and as we all know, climate is not weather, I was struck by how warm the temperatures were through most of our travels, especially in the far north of Fairbanks, where it was downright balmy (mid to upper 70's Fahrenheit). Obviously, one tourist’s two-week journey is no harbinger or gauge of climate change. More to the point were the comments from the natives of the unusual weather they’ve experienced more often in the past few seasons.

But more importantly are the scientific observations. Rising average temperatures, melting sea ice, and disturbances in forest and ocean eco-systems are just a few of the ongoing and increasing signs of climate change in Alaska and the entire Arctic region.

A recent report by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office essentially states that much of the lands administered by the U.S. government show dramatic changes due to ongoing climate change and that federal leadership in addressing these changes and disturbances is lacking (despite claims to the contrary from the Bush administration). From the Florida Keys to Alaska's Chugach National Forest, ecosystems are increasingly stressed and showing signs of decline.

Many people have already heard that Glacier National Park in Montana will likely be without glaciers in just a few decades (barely the blink of an eye in glacial time).

And the decline is, of course, not just in Montana. I had the very good fortune to spend an afternoon sailing through Prince William Sound and experiencing a breathtakingly dramatic landscape shaped, molded, and still covered with ice.

The glaciers of Prince William Sound
But the ice is receding, and glaciers are retreating. While any glacier has a thaw/freeze cycle and naturally retreats in the warmer months, the overall pattern is now one of retreat.

Down here in the “lower 48” the debate may still continue between “deniers” and “believers”. Frankly, much – perhaps most – of that debate is worthless - just people shouting at each other.

I think the best thing a person can do is step off the media and noise machine, if just for a moment, and if they aren’t as lucky as I am to experience the jagged glacial peaks of Prince William Sound (something for which I am eternally grateful), then to quiet themselves and contemplate a tree, a flower, a meadow, any aspect of nature that is available. That connection with nature is vital and essential, and we lose it, both as a society and as individuals, to our own peril.

Sources and Further Reading:
Alaska Climate Change
San Francisco Chronicle - Global Warming and National Parks
Climate Change and Arctic Impacts

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On Global Warming, National Parks, and the Glaciers of Prince William Sound

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