Hello everyone, and welcome to my podcast. My name is Grace Wilkes-Ball and I am a Freshman at The College of Coastal Georgia. Today we will be talking about an article written by Chris Mooney and Andrew Freedman on The Washington Post, published on January 25th, 2021 called, “Earth is now losing 1.2 trillion tons of ice each year. And it’s going to get worse”. Have you ever wanted to see the glaciers of Alaska and the snow caps of the Himalayas? I chose the topic of global warming with its specific effects on glaciers because I want to reiterate the magnitude of how quickly they are disappearing. This Washington Post article has very interesting facts that put the intensity of this topic into layman's terms so that we can get a grasp as to how bad this situation really is. An ice-sheet expert, William Colgan, at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland said three percent of all energy trapped within the Earth's system being concentrated on the melting of ice is equivalent to "more than 10,000 'Back to the Future' lightning strikes per second of energy melting ice around-the-clock since 1994"(Colgan). Today, I will be attempting to take you through the evidence given to us by The Washington Post to analyze and guide you through the reality of losing a part of Earth that is approaching a million years old. The author uses logos to persuade the readers with things like facts, statistics, studies, and historical data. Such as a recent study that shows the large amount of 780 billion tons of ice melting per year in the 1990s, then later growing to 1.2 trillion tons of melted ice per year in the 2010s. Throughout this article the author's persona seems to be concerned, however it is not biased, it is just providing neutral evidence to support his claim of the ice melting at a rapid rate.
I think this article provided a well rounded perspective on the issue of global warming and its specific effects on melting ice. I agree that this article covers an important issue that needs more attention, and believe it should be read by all so more people can understand the crisis the world is truly in. I enjoyed reading the article and learning of the multiple facts and studies provided, however it was a long read which made it difficult to stay engaged. Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoy your day.