By: Rishaan Chowdhury
From the Glaciers in Alaska to the Coral Reefs in Hawaii, the world has magnificent natural beauty. But these gems of nature are not all that lies there. Coral reefs all over the world have been dying due to global warming, plastic pollution, and trawling. Gray reefs are not an uncommon sight. And Hawaii’s natural counterpart, Alaska has an immense number of glaciers all of which are melting. The glaciers in Alaska are marvelous ice sheets of blue and white. Yet in 30 minutes one can see -two times- chunks of ice collapsing with a thunderous roar into the ocean. Surrounding these glaciers are rocky scars, where these amazing sheets of ice once reigned, and today are only marks. Meanwhile in Hawaii, where nature is pristine and ocean is a pure blue, the coral reefs, that have a reputation of red and orange coral, today are a bland brown with the occasional orange rock. Fish in Hawaii’s reefs are still extremely present, but their habitats are dying.
Heading onboard an Alaska Railroad train to the tiny port town of Whittier is an exceptional ride. Mountains surround you and the ocean flows within a foot of your window. The trees of Chugach State Forest overwhelm you and climate change seems unimaginable. Seeing the glaciers up close in Whittier is unbelievable. Sea Lions roar on rocks while Sea Otters swim next to your boat with their young. On either side of your boat green is unavoidable. At all times you can hear waterfalls pouring into the ocean, feeding the minerals of glacial water into the big blue sea. Approaching the glaciers, ice chunks bob around the boat while birds try to catch dinner. When staring at the blue wall of ice you imagine the realities of climate change, previous glaciers have left their mark on the area and seeing the glaciers melt up close is startling and awakening to your senses, climate change is real, this experience may not exist in 20yrs. The happiness and the joy of seeing glaciers up close is not forever and speaking to Becky Stephan, the owner of Stephan Fine Arts, Anchorage Alaska she recalls playing on glaciers in her childhood but now there is “nothing, nope nothing” remaining of that glacier. This account from her proves how quick and realistic climate change is.
In Alaska’s natural counterpart, Hawaii, cool ocean water laps around your feet as you wade into the Pacific Ocean. The weather is pleasant, and the water temperature is perfect. Massive sea turtles swim near the shore feeding on oceanic vegetation while colorful schools of fish dart into rocks. The beauty in these places is exceptional and the aquatic life is as common as stars on a clear summer night. The coral is deprived of colors aside from the sporadic red or orange rock. These sights still contain the magnificence that they once had, yet deteriorating oceanic environments continues to be a large portion of climate change. Wildlife is still found in specific locations but were once more common than they are today, severely. Watching Spinner Dolphins on the Nāpāli Coastline is gorgeous. The dolphins make sounds as they jump out of the water together, catching their breath before submerging once again. The excitement and happiness that nature provides is irreplaceable, and when climate change takes full effect, we won’t just experience longer summers, we will lose a source of happiness that many of us crave and that many of us use to derive the joy that keeps us going. Whether it is taking a walk in a city park or swimming at a tropical beach, our mental health and our lives depend on nature and we can’t let these unimaginable, breathtaking sights all over the world disappear and slip through our hands.