Caroline Colavita                                                                                             May 23,2014
Current Event                                                                                                 C EVEN

The Big Melt Accelerates    

            This current event is mainly on how the glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland are rapidly melting. Even if global warming were to halt, the changes in the Earth's climate have already reached a tipping point. Most of the glaciers will continue to shrink until the greenhouse gas emissions are reined in. Some scientists believe that within the next couple of centuries, more land will be covered by water and nature will be severely disrupted. There are two ways that the scientists can measure the glaciers in order to obtain this information. the first way is to put a stake in the glacier and then, using surveying tools, measure the distance in which the glacier has travelled. The second way is by satellites. the satellites take pictures of the glaciers. By using one of the two methods, scientists are able to conclude that if Antarctica were to completely melt it would raise the sea level about 215 feet. This is because it makes us 90% of our Earth's ice. Greenland, with 10% of the world's ice would raise the sea level by 23 feet. Also, using the satellite photos, scientists can observe that, on average, the glaciers in all regions are withering away and are dumping 260 billion metric tons of water into the ocean every year. Scientists have also been able to discover that the warmer the temperatures are not the only cause of the melting of the glaciers. Forest fires are also a major cause for this. This is because when there are fires in Greenland, the soot will land on the snow, causing the snow to become a darker color. Now, since the snow is darker, it absorbs heat quicker and melts faster. Scientists also say that the melting will continue as long as the heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues.
            If this ice and glaciers continue to wither away, there will be a severe increase of water in the world. It will also disrupt the nature on the land with it. Our land will keep decreasing and decreasing as the sea levels increase. For example, on Long Island and in New York City. If the sea level continues to increase in height, these areas will be completely submerged under water. Any animals or plants or people that live there will either be hurt or will be forced to leave their homes. Also the animals that live in Greenland and Antarctica will no longer have homes and will eventually be extinct.
             I think that overall, this article was well written. However, the author did not provide some good backup information for his theories. I would have liked to have seen some more examples and evidence for this topic. Also throughout the article, he would jump from one topic to another and then go back. It would get confusing sometimes. Besides these minor critiques, I enjoyed this article and learned a lot.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/20/science/the-melting-isnt-glacial.html?_r=0