The Melt 大消融:亚洲水塔正东流

No matter what comes out of this year’s UNFCCC negotiations, now in session in Cancun, Mexico, the glaciers keep melting faster as the world loads more and more earth warming gasses into the atmosphere. As government representatives across the planet bargain to find common ground – if any, the earth spins and the air, water, mountains respond to the influences of life on the surface and below. Changes occur and our environment responds as physics dictate. As renowned author, environmentalist and 350.org founder Bill KcKibben puts it, “Nature doesn’t meet us half way.” As the human negotiations continue in Cancun and elsewhere, with results positive or not, we inevitably end up running against the most formidable challenge of all time, the laws of Nature whose rules are inflexible.

In this package a short video and a panel of comparative images of glaciers encompass the entire debate and transport you from past to present. You will have the chance to both savor the untouched natural beauty of the Tibetan Plateau and see the changes starting with glaciers in the most powerful visual form, which is available only online. Enjoy and share along.

Producer: Michael Zhao     Associate Producer: David Barreda     Executive Producer: Orville Schell

Special thanks to: David Breashears, Royal Geographical Society, Yang Xin (Green River), Ru Suichu (People’s Pictorial), Wang Hairong (2 Degrees Project/CCTV), Bob Moseley (The Nature Conservancy), and the other photographers who helped with this project.

Originally published on December 1, 2010

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