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Climate change is happening right before our eyes, but the problem is that we can't quite see it. Not with our own eyes, anyways--unless those eyes happen to be spending months and months in Arctic and Antarctic regions. Fortunately for us, the nature photographer James Balog owns one such pair of eyes, and with the help of a set of cameras, he's captured some of the most compelling pictures of global warming to date.
In fact, he's undertaken an entire multiple-year long project with the aim of capturing the images of global warming. See, he's of the opinion (as am I) that the main problem people around the world have with climate change is a perceptual one--we may read about the problems it's going to cause, note the statistics in an article, or ignore/deny the issue altogether. But the one thing that 99% of the world's citizens have in common regarding the issue is that we simply can't accurately perceive of what climate change is actually doing. To us. To our planet.
The video below is perhaps the best way to change all that that I've ever seen. It's a clip of a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk that Balog gave on his climate project, and in it, he shows some of the most stunning images of glacier retreat and melting ice ever put to tape. It's indisputable.
The whole thing is worth watching, but if you want to jump right to the jaw-dropping images, click ahead to the 9 minute mark, or the 7 minute mark if you want a quick overview of global warming science as well. Without further ado, here's the video:
In the beginning of the clip, Balog talks about the need for science to allay itself with art to bring the message of climate change to a wider audience. His work here goes a length in accomplishing exactly that--we need more visual depictions of climate change to start getting the message across better and faster. I'll be forwarding this video to my family and friends--I encourage you to do the same.
