Recently some of my unscientific friends have been carried
away with wonder by a movie “Chasing Ice” filmed by an environmental
photographer, James Balog, who is not a scientist. Among the obvious flaws not
noticed by its gullible viewers is that it only spans a four-year period, and
mixes photography shot in May with September. Obviously, this produces dramatic
differences in glacier dynamics, although not nearly as dramatic as the period
for the same glacier from 1780 AD to 1948 AD. During that period, glaciers in
Glacier Bay, Alaska, and in particular the glacier in the Muir Inlet, retreated
over 60 miles. Since 1948, the retreat has only been 6 miles, and all this
information is courtesy of a very informative US government map, which I am
pleased to include for your use and admiration. Truly a picture is worth 1,000
words.
Concerning “Chasing Ice”, I’m reminded of a saying
mistakenly attributed to Samuel Johnson that I will paraphrase: “I’ve heard it
is true and original. However, what is true is not original, and what is
original is not true.”
Laissez les bons
temps rouler!
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