SLIP SLIDIN’ AWAY: Global Climate Change
by Molly Regan
Although
“Slip Slidin’ Away” is the title of a great song by one of my top three
all-time favorite singers, Paul Simon, it also describes the current
conditions of most glaciers. Not necessarily directly related to
IOWA now, it could be, someday soon.
This
past Friday, February 10th, on Public Radio’s “Science Friday,” the
discussion was about MARK BOWEN’s newest book. It is called ‘THIN ICE: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF CLIMATE IN THE WORLD’S HIGHEST MOUNTAINS.'
This
writing is about what has been happening to the world’s glaciers.
It is an account of Bowen’s adventures in researching the ice of
tropical mountains as he follows climber Lonnie Thompson. The
inside flap of the book states:
“While
mainstream science has focused on polar ice to find clues about climate
change, Lonnie Thompson has been risking his career and life on the
highest and most remote ice caps along the equator. In the
process he has changed the science of climatology.
“The
idea guiding Thompson’s research is deceptively simple: climate is
about energy flow and because the sun’s heat enters the atmosphere at
the lower latitudes of the tropics, it follows that the equator’s
mountain glaciers are the ideal place from which to map the course of
climate change. Layers of snow that have been laid down year by year
can be read like tree rings, providing detailed information about
climate history reaching back 750,000 years….
“Scientist
and expert climber Mark Bowen joined Thompson’s crew on several
expeditions, including an eye-opening ascent in East Africa that
revealed why the snows of KILIMANJARO will be gone in fifteen years….
“Exciting
and brilliantly detailed, THIN ICE explains what Thompson’s hard-won
data tell us about climate systems that have long perplexed the
scientific community. Even more important, we learn what the
equatorial ice reveals about global warming and the Earth’s probable
future.” (Copyright 2005/Henry Holt and Company). See also www.sciencefriday.com
Though I
haven’t read this book yet, it sounds intriguing. An adventure
that I will never be able to go on, but I am glad others have. Global
repercussions do seem to be at hand, and maybe this book will wake up
those who can help stop the trend.
Please become involved in your local civic functions. Now is the time. We can all benefit from your ideas.
And, don’t forget to CPR… CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE
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