Shy Glaciers No Match for USGS Voyeurs

Retreat of South Cascade Glacier (USGS)

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar emailed us this morning about our nation's glacier problem. Ken's all, "Seattlest, can you do something?" And we'd love to, but we totally have plans for tonight. Otherwise we'd form an ice-cube brigade or something.

For the past 50 years, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have been--there's no better word for it--stalking Alaska’s Gulkana and Wolverine Glaciers and Washington’s South Cascade Glacier. As we understand it, the glaciers have been doing their best to get away (see photo above), but they are simply too slow. Now the USGS has caught them melting on video (we see no release form).

Whatever. We're not rubes, Ken. We know many glaciers are advancing, not shrinking.

“In addition to these three glaciers, more than 99 percent of America’s thousands of large glaciers have long documented records of an overall shrinkage as climate warms,” said USGS scientist Bruce Molnia. “Many people are surprised to learn that a few glaciers are thickening and advancing. These glaciers are responding to unusual and unique local conditions, including having large, high elevation areas where snow accumulates."

Oh. Well, we'll just make up some other thing because we're not interested in having a real discussion. But you go ahead with your charts.