Melting glaciers

Snow is melting, and the earth is crying

 Index
Introduction
 How is the earth declining?

 What is the melting of glaciers?

Causes of Glacier melting

 Human impact

 Environmental impact

 Global warming

Impact of Glacier melting

 Humans

 Animals

 Environment

What will happen if glaciers melt? What is the worst that can
happen if the glaciers melt? And why are we concerned now?
Organizations
Our initiation
Quotes
Conclusion
Introduction
What is happening to our earth?
We are under urgent threat from the loss of earth’s natural life. Humans are now unconsciously destroying our
magnificent planet. Our environment faces several problems and these seem to be worsening with time. Some of the
key issues are global warming, glacier melting, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity, pollution, deforestation, ozone layer
depletion, ocean acidification, and lastly public health issues.

 Glacier melting:
Ice acts as a protective cover over the earth and our ocean, these bright white spots reflect excess heat into space and
keep the planet cooler. According to worldwildlife.org the planet is rapidly warming causing fast glacier melt in areas like
Antarctica and Greenland. This is massively influencing the rise in sea levels, ocean currents, ocean temperature,
wildlife, and weather patterns. This turbulent and hurried melting of polar caps has become one of the most
catastrophic and dangerous crises that the world is now facing.

The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth. Therefore, it is our collective and individual responsibility to
preserve and send to the world in which we all live.
Causes of Glacier melting
Human Impact:
CO2 emissions: The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
produced by industries, transport vehicles, deforestation, and burning fossil fuels, warm the planet and
cause glaciers to melt.

Ice-breaking ships: During the months of summer, icebreaking ships head to the arctic ocean,
breaking through the ice at sea and leaving a trail of open waters. The arctic ice can reflect most heat but
the open waters have lesser ability to reflect sun rays and end up taking more heat. This ends up heating the
water and in consequence melting more ice.

Oil and gas drilling: The oil and gas extraction process also emits Methane, which is the main
constituent in natural gas. This gas is more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide, locking in
heat more efficiently and escalating global warming.

Nature Impact:
Ocean warming: Oceans absorb 90% of the Earth's warmth, and this fact affects the melting of
marine glaciers, which are mostly located near the poles and on the coasts of Alaska (United States).

Global warming:
Global warming results in defrosting of the polar caps.
 Impact of glacier melting
Bill Nye has said
“Climate change is happening, humans are causing it, and I think this is perhaps the most serious environmental
issue facing us.”
Rapid glacial melt in Antarctica and Greenland influences ocean currents, as massive amounts of very cold
glacial-melt water entering warmer ocean waters is slowing ocean currents. And as ice on land melts, sea levels
will continue to rise. The speed of melting has increased and we are losing 31% more snow and ice per year than
we did 15 years earlier and our mistakes are not only forcing us but also the environment and animals to suffer
the consequences

Humans – countries and our life:

Our simple and normal human life will have major changes because of glacial melt and rise in sea level.

Shortage of electricity: A lot of places all over the world depend exclusively on the constantly flowing water
from glaciers that are melting in producing electricity. Reducing or stopping the flowing of water will mean stopping the
production of electricity.

Scarcity of freshwater: After years of research, studies show that only 2% of the water available is
consumable freshwater.

Coastal region: The global average sea level has risen about 7-8 inches since 1900 and only keeps getting worse.
The rising level endangers coastal cities and small island nations by exacerbating coastal flooding, coastal erosion, and
storm surge, making weather events like typhoons and hurricanes.
Food: The increased heat waves and unpredictable weather caused by ice loss have caused significant damage to the
crops on the global food system. This instability will result in higher prices and another growing crisis for the world in the
coming years.

Animals:
As the sea levels rise the death of the animals increases as well. In the Arctic, as sea ice melts wildlife like walruses, arctic
foxes, snowy owls, reindeer, and many other species who depend on sea ice and glaciers are losing their home and polar
bears are spending more time on land, causing higher rates of conflict between people and bears.
  
Coral Reefs: Coral reefs need sunlight for the process of photosynthesis, enabling their survival. When water
levels increase due to glaciers melting, sufficient sunlight will not be able to reach the corals. This will result in their
weakened state and probably end up killing them in the long run. Many fish species also depend on them, so they will
also perish.

Environment:
Temperature: Since the white snow and ice are melting at a rapid speed, they have caused the balance to disrupt.
Less ice means less heat is reflected into the space and increases in heat waves. This also results in extreme weather
conditions like the polar jet stream-a high-pressure wind that circles the Arctic region—is destabilized by warmer air, it
can dip south, bringing the bitter cold with it. 
Permafrost: Permafrost is the ground that is permanently frozen. They store large amounts of methane gas. When
it thaws, the methane is released at an alarming rate.

Organization
Organization 1: ice911
Aim: The group has proposed blanketing key parts of the Arctic in millions of hollow, glass microspheres to
form a protective layer that reflects sunlight and insulates melting ice.
When was the organization founded and by whom?
In 2007 ice911 was found by Dr. Leslie Field  
What they have done?
In the last two years, Ice911 has brought the microspheres to the Arctic, where they spread the material over a
frozen lake near Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska. The results, some of which were reported in a May 2018 study,
suggest the silica beads did indeed increase ice reflectivity and thickness
Organization 2: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC)
Aim: The group's mission is to provide scientific assessments reports on climate change impacts, future risks,
adaption, and mitigation options.
When was the organization founded and by whom?
IPPC was created by the World Meteorological Organization in partnership with the United Nations
Environmental Program founded in 1988
What they have done?
IPCC climate scientists stress that they do not tell governments what to do, but rather assess possible policy
options. They also say their conclusions for the future are projections — based on different warming scenarios
— not predictions. 

Organization 3: Green Climate Fund (GCF)

Aim: to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.
When was the organization founded and by whom?
The organization was created in 2014 within the framework of the UNFCCC with Executive Director being
Yannick Glemarec
What they have done?
While paying particular attention to the needs of societies that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate
change, in particular, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and the
African States, the GCF builds a bridge between private investment and climate action. GCF show some
interesting concerns, such as ensuring a 50:50 balance between mitigation and adaptation investments over time
and 50% of the adaptation allocation for particularly vulnerable countries. The Fund’s current portfolio counts
with 73 projects, reaching 217 million people, avoiding the emission of 1.3 billion tCO2 avoided, through the
investment of USD 3,5 billion.
What will happen if glaciers melt? What is the worst that
can happen if the glaciers melt? And why are we
concerned now?
Melting glaciers isn't just a future problem, they are already causing problems all over the world right now.

There are about 200,000 glaciers all around the world and communities are dependent on them for their survival. In
Africa, glaciers were once so big, they fed the Nile. Over the last century, those glaciers have shrunk by almost 85
percent, and by 2030, they could be completely gone.

In Switzerland, glacial runoff powers the country's hydroelectric plants. These glaciers provide more than half the
country's electricity. But by 2090, glaciers are expected to be gone, and that power will have to be replaced by
something else.

In South America, in the Andes mountains, the glacial runoff supports Peru's population during times of drought. But in
recent decades, the melting ice has created a massive influx of water. New lakes are appearing where they never existed
before, and some of them are overflowing, routinely hitting communities with floods and landslides.

By 2100, half of the world's glaciers are expected to vanish and the effects will ripple through the globe. We'll have far
too much water in the near term and far too little when we need it the most.
Our initiative:
Quotes:
“Climate Change is no longer some far-off problem; it is happening here; it is happening now.” — Barack Obama
Conclusion:
Concluding our research in a nutshell, we shed light on the ailing condition of the earth that has been affected by
numerous factors that are still not known to us. Through these years, we have come across vast changes in the way our
environment has responded to human activities. Humans have contributed substantially towards the rise in global
warming levels which in turn has led to the melting of glaciers. If this pattern continues, the life expectancy of living
beings will reduce as well as the perishing of the earth will be sooner than expected. Through this project, we learned
the importance of keeping our environment safe at all costs because we all live in symbiosis with it.

Bibliography:
1. What is the IPCC and what does it do? | Environment | All topics from climate change to conservation | DW |
26.07.2021
2. Green Climate Fund - Wikipedia
3. ice911 to the Rescue — eco-nnect
4. 36 Organizations Helping Solve the Climate Crisis – Food Tank
5. Organizations Fighting Climate Change: A quick guide | by Thales Dantas | Medium
6. https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/six-ways-loss-of-arctic-ice-impacts-everyone
7. https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting
8. https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting
9. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56921164