A startling new look at the state of the United States's glaciers reveals little to be excited about. This new report confirmed what scientists have been telling us for a while now: that global warming is hastening the melting of the nation's glaciers. Not only does this glacial melt contribute to rising sea levels, but it also means an unstable water supply in places such as Washington that rely on the glaciers for water.
One glacier in Washington's Cascades lost a quarter of its mass in the last 50 years. The glacier data also revealed that the melting has accelerated over the last 20 years. In addition to dwindling supplies for irrigation and drinking water, a decrease in glacial runoff could mean trouble for the hydroelectric plants so prevalent in the Pacific Northwest.
