Perhaps the clearest and most visible sign of climate change in America won't be around for much longer: The glaciers of Glacier National Park in Montana are melting and will be gone within 30 years, scientists say. Dan Fagre, the 49-year-old leader of the U.S. Geological Survey team studying the problem, says, "It's not just going to happen in my lifetime. It's going to happen during my career." More than a century ago, there were 150 glaciers in the high alpine-valley park; today, there are only 35. Ice fields are vanishing from mountain ranges everywhere, from the Andes to the Himalayas. Still, with all the data amassed by scientists, mystery abounds: For example, even as most glaciers in Glacier head toward extinction, a few still cling inexplicably to their mountain peaks.
straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Usha Lee McFarling, 18 Nov 2002
only in Grist: Now you see them, now you don’t —in the Andes Mountains, the pace of climate change is far from glacial—in our Main Dish section
Feed the world sustainably by 2050? Yes, we can!
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