But The Glaciers Are Not Melting

This is just one of dozens of responses to common climate change denial arguments, which can all be found at How to Talk to a Climate Sceptic.

Objection:

Sure, some glaciers are melting. But if you look at the actual studies, most of the ones that have data are actually growing!

Answer:

This is simply not true, rumours on "the internets" aside (that link is very worth reading, BTW).  According to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre and their State of the Cryosphere division, on their Glacial Balance page they report an overall accelerating rate of glacial mass loss. The World Glacier Monitoring Service has similar findings, the most recent data coming from 2004. While there surely are some growing glaciers, studies like these above are designed to determine a global trend by ensuring glaciers from all regions of the globe are assessed. There are 67,000 glaciers in the World Glacier Inventory.  Not all, or even most, have quality data for decades and decades, but there are enough that do have adequate data located in enough regions of the globe to know the average trend.

Don't forget that there is similar evidence from other parts of the cryosphere.  It is also worth noting that given the right circumstances, warming can actually cause glacier growth due to accumulation of the resulting increased winter snowfall out weighing the increased summer melting.

Check this page for some good before and after images of glaciers over the last century, as well as other images of the different visible effects of Global Warming. There are also some very compelling animations of changes in Glacier Bay National Park here.

This is just one of dozens of responses to common climate change denial arguments, which can all be found at How to Talk to a Climate Sceptic.

"But The Glaciers Are Not Melting" was first published here, where you can still find the original comment thread. This updated version is also posted on the Grist website, where additional comments can be found, though the author, Coby Beck, does not monitor or respond there.