Honoring Life, Giving Care, and Bringing Comfort
Por / By George Tukel
By George Tukel
Alaska
and the
receding
glaciers
Glaciers can dwarf the human imagination because of their size and magnificence and Alaska is known as a subarctic and arctic bioregion where many glaciers can be explored and understood.
Today, Alaska’s glaciers are rapidly receding and, consequently, are one of the most direct ways to gauge the warming
of the environment and the changing of weather patterns.
As importantly, disappearing glaciers can also deepen our focus on the loss of biodiversity because species extinction and planetary warming share many common causes. An example is the conversion of forest to farmland and pastures for industrial agriculture. The loss of habitat and increased carbon in the air result from the same actions.
.Departing glaciers invite a crucial
conversation. Can we cultivate daily
perceptions, or ways of seeing, that
help embed the human into the long-term health of ecosystems?
Can we call the fulfillment of this necessary reciprocity what is beautiful about a place?
This conversation is explored in the visual essay “A Lament for Vanishing Ice.” And can be found at the YouTube channel “living in place know how” (together with other videos concerned with how the human community can broaden itself into a life community respectful of different peoples and species).