ALASKA'S MELTING GLACIERS
Glaciers are huge masses of ice formed by the accumulation of snow on mountains over thousands of years. The impressive glaciers of Alaska are known to most people, even if they've never been there. However, visitors expecting to see beautiful glaciers may find only bare mountains in some places because all the ice has melted and the water has flowed into the oceans. Unfortunately, climate change is causing glaciers around the world to melt and gradually disappear. This is not only a loss of beauty: for thousands of years, the glaciers of the world have helped keep the Earth cool and have prevented the sea level from rising.(lines 1–7)
Research has found that Alaska's glaciers are melting a hundred times faster than the rate predicted in the past. In fact, glaciers everywhere are disappearing. Scientists believe that in the next few decades the world's glaciers will probably melt so fast that the water flowing from them into the oceans will cause the sea level to rise about 25 centimeters. This rise is one of the most serious results of climate change and it will have a huge effect on society. Large areas of farmland will disappear under the rising oceans. Also, millions of people around the world may be forced to migrate because of the flooding of large coastal cities like New York and Tokyo. The consequences of these disasters may be hunger and water shortages in the near future. Some researchers believe that Alaska's glaciers play an especially important role in the rise of the sea level. This is because many of them are so close to the ocean, where they melt even more quickly.(lines 8–17)
Volunteers at the Glacier Visitor Center in Juneau, Alaska, use displays, lectures and videos to teach about the dangerous effects of climate change. "People are shocked when they see a video showing one glacier getting smaller and smaller over time," says John Shane, a volunteer at the Visitor Center. "The videos make it clear that the glaciers are disappearing so quickly mainly because of human-caused climate change. Therefore, we hope everyone realizes that the future of our planet mostly depends on our actions today."(lines 18–23)