
As Glaciers Melt in Alaska, Landslides Follow - cookscar
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/06/science/alaska-landslides-glaciers-melt.html
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japhyr
The original article in Alaska Dispatch News has more pictures of the
landslide in Glacier Bay, it's pretty impressive.

[http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2016/07/02/massive-
landslide-...](http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2016/07/02/massive-landslide-
crashes-onto-glacier-in-southeast-alaska/)

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_nalply
Similar problems in Switzerland. After the Lower Grindelwald Glacier partially
melt to generate a lake, there were worries that a sudden outbreak would flood
Interlaken. Also there were landslides. A short tunnel to drain the lake has
been bored.

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nvahalik
It is amazing how both adaptable and yet resistant to change we are. We are so
afraid of change—yet what comes just might be better than what we have now.

~~~
theothermkn
In a vacuum, you might have an excuse for saying that. But we are not in a
vacuum. We know what bad things are coming via climate change, and we are
seeing bad effects already. Furthermore, we have every reason to believe that
the interaction between current geopolitical systems and the technological
systems that support food production will be severely strained by what's
coming, and is strained by what's already here.

It is simply too late in the game for deliberately uninformed speculation
about what utopias await us after the global demise of saltwater shellfish,
for example, or after the collapse of thermohaline circulation, or the thawing
of methane hydrates. This isn't some game of chicken that will be won by not
being "afraid of change." This is the recognition of an unfolding global
catastrophe, and it's irresponsible to bury our heads in the sand with wild
essentialist speculation about how "resistant to change" we are. Whether we
survive or not will not depend on essences like "adaptability" or
"resistance"; it will depend on contingencies like whether the boreal forests
burn in spring or fall of 2023, or whether political instability in a
crumbling Russia results in the launching of nuclear weapons and how the West
responds.

~~~
ciconia
There's no need to go as far as nuclear war. Climate change will manifest
itself in political instability and mass migration (see Syria and Africa), and
perhaps even more fundamentally, rampant desertification which is liable to
lead to food shortages in poorer countries.

But yes, it _is_ a global catastrophe and sadly few people seem to care enough
to do something about it.

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GarrisonPrime
Keep in mind that glaciers always melt. And cause landslides. And new ones
form. Been happening for millions of years.

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theothermkn
> Keep in mind that glaciers always melt. And cause landslides. And new ones
> form. Been happening for millions of years.

Keep this in mind, from the article:

> Scientists say the slides will most likely continue as warming temperatures
> cause more glacial melt.

Also, keep in mind that mussel shells were 27% thicker in 1970 than they are
now, due to ocean acidification. Keep in mind we just came out of a streak of
the 12 hottest months on record, and, lest we feel complacent, that's only
because the 13th month was the second hottest on record. Keep in mind that
we're about 4 years away from having no glaciers in Glacier National Park.

In the completely neutral spirit of keeping things in mind, keep all those
things in mind, too. As a matter of fact, I recommend to you, and to everyone
here, go online and find climate-related things to keep in mind.

Thank you for your concern.

~~~
Turing_Machine
"Keep in mind we just came out of a streak of the 12 hottest months on record"

Keep in mind that "on record" covers less than an eyeblink, geologically
speaking, and that we have evidence that the earth has been both much warmer
and much colder than it is now.

Not just millions of years ago, either. On the warm side, the Vikings had
dairy farms in Greenland, some of which are only now emerging from the ice.
That's only 1,000 years ago, and the temperatures were clearly warmer than
they are now (not only are there no dairy farms in Greenland today, but quite
obviously the farms were not frozen in the ice when they were in operation).

[http://naturalhistory.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/greenland...](http://naturalhistory.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/greenland/archeo.html)

On the cold side, most of the American Midwest and central Canada was covered
in several miles of ice as recently as 11,000 years ago.

