Recapping Movie: Chasing Ice

Throughout my environmental science course, the class was given a chance to do any combination of movie reviews, field trips, movie nights on campus, visit the garden day on campus, book reviews, and 5 hours community service for a separate 5 points each to equal 20 points cumulative available extra credit. Therefore, I chosen a movie called "Chasing Ice" and I can say it really did open up my eyes on the matters of Global Warming or Climate Change. James Balog was the person who directed this movie, and he is an professional scientist in the geography and geomophology, but he always had the love and passion for photography with natural environmental surrounding. He love the subductive fashion to help people to be pulled into, and forces people to think about our environment. One thing he knows for fact about Global Warming was that Climate Change it connects behind ice. National Geographic is where Mr. Balog worked at for his career, and one of its company most popular and well read magazine in five years was his glacier and ice work "The Big Thaw Cover Magazine Story".  

James Balog had a goal to capture all the changes among glacier ice melt in 6 months apart, so he would scatter cameras around to get the images. Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) was a company that created at the beginning of his mission. The company was to provide 25 cameras for every 3 hours only daylight, download pictures into video clips to show people how the landscape was changing. There was a big group of teammates to be assembled for this mission such as Adam Lewinter - EIS Engineer, Svavar Jonatanson Photo Assistant, Dr. Jason Boy Climatologist Ohio State Univeristy professor, and Dr. Tad Pfeffer Glaciologist and best known as the grandfather of glacier in Alaska. There goal was to help people believe in global warming by visualizing it's happening through ice melting photo magic images. EIS cameras are suppose to withstand some harshes part of the environment such as Hurricane Force wind, -40° temperature, not the nicest environment for technology.They ended up installing a dozen cameras in Greenland, 5 in Iceland and Alaska, and 2 in Montana. There were also some trouble shooting that were caused by voltage and computer timer to tell the camera to shoot pictures. Several other technical problems were such as rocks crushing on them, buried under snow 15ft to 20ft, pixie glass window,sand blasted, battery explode inside camera boxes, birds peak at them, foxes chew up the cable chords, and a lot of money wasted. Luckily, their engineer Adam was able to work with National Geographic to redesign controllers, new circuit that use less power and was lot more reliable because simple electronic circuitry inside it. Then it was the was the turn around part, so they had to wait for a new season and to make sure they were working.

Cryconite Illustration

Now I can start talking about the evidence that James Balog and his crew had gather through the successful photography. The facts are worrisome bare the truth because we mankind are destroying the glacial ice. In fact, 800,000 years ago or so atmosphere carbon dioxide were never higher than approximately 280 parts per million. Humans added way more carbon dioxide to our planet, so it's 390 parts per year and 40% higher. Now carbon dioxide is 5,000 parts per million+. Mass extinction on plants and animals can occur from this about in 200 to 300 years from now. They are going extinct already 1000 x"s faster now than 10,000 years ago. Glacier does a trimming and thinning motion, such as air letting out of a balloon. In 1984, the trimming in Alaska was as tall as the New York Empire Statue.Melt zone up and down the edges of the sheet that melts and stored water is running out to the sea.100 thousand years ago ice been entering into ocean. Now Greenland been dumping even more ice into water. The term ice caving (when glacier break gigantic ice bergs into the ocean) it can cause rise of sea level. James Balog also notice that there were Cryoconite Holes surround Greenland snow. Cryconite are caused by natural dust from the Dessert Central Asia, carbon wildfire, fine particle of soft wildlife, and algae. Black and absorbs a lot more heat than the surrounding ice. Melting away and filling up with water, ancient bubbles now being released as the ice sheet melts. Greenhouse gases are one of the biggest reason for Climate Change because it can create way more carbon dioxide. Then it eventually melts the ice sheet around the edges and cause seal level rises. Dr. Tad mentioned "Climate is warm it can shrink, and Climate is cooler it can grow. Too warm and thin volume drops and cross tipping climate will not matter because it will be unreversible. 

Store Glacier Biggest Ice Calving Event

There were some amazing moments through the Chasing Ice movie that on my own believe made me enjoy watching this movie. I was amazed how fast the glaciers were melting in a short amount of time, and I know there is nothing to reverse the motion of this action. The only thing we can do is stop what human impacts that is being done at this moment. One thing I did like was the video capture of Store Glacier in Greenland because it's the mother of all glacier in the Western Hemisphere. Store Glacier was rumored to be the glacier to put out an ice berg to sink the Titanic. The video camera crew captured the longest ice calving event on tape within 75 minutes.The cabin faces was 300 ft -400 ft tall, pieces of ice were shouting up 600 ft and falling. Pretty much like Manhattan breaking up in your eyes. James Balog is one big risk taker and dare devil because he do whatever it takes to capture the breathe taking moments into his pictures. Not even a bad knee or a doctor words would not keep him doing his love passion in life, and this  is why this movie is one to watch.

He mentioned about "Taking a picture at night, places mind on a surface on a planet. No longer a human being walking around on a regular world, your a human animal striding around the surface of the planet. Out on the insight of middle of galaxy." "As a culture we forgetting we are actually naturally organism, very deep contact with nature and depend on it."