The End of Ice

In early 2019 I read the book The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption by Dahr Jamail, an American war correspondent and mountaineer. Jamail reports from ecosystems at the frontlines that are worst hit by human-caused climate disruption. He describes the staggering scale of change in Mount Denali, islands in the Arctic Circle, the Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon rainforest, and other ecosystems.

The book crystalized the vague sense of dread I used to feel about climate change. It was clarifying to read the author process his shock and grief on seeing drastic changes, especially on personally witnessing the disappearing ice on his beloved Mount Denali on successive mountaineering trips. He tells the story from the frontlines, and like a good war correspondent, makes the abstract real. Except, unlike in a distant war, this one keeps creating new frontlines and all of us are vulnerable to different degrees.

I do not live on the frontlines of climate change. I have neither experienced nor seen the kind of disruption described in the book. Warnings about global warming have drifted in and out of my awareness in the years before I read the book. I remember watching the documentary An Inconvenient Truth back in 2008. Yet, for nearly a decade I relegated the implications to the edges of my consciousness leading to the aforementioned vague sense of dread. The problem seemed too big, too distant and I was caught up with life’s more immediate demands.

I am thankful to reporters, activists, scientists, and writers who write and work to get our attention despite the sheer number of distractions that work against them. What we are doing to the environment should be part of popular culture. It is now, to an extent (thanks in large part to striking school-kids). It is on the news at least, more than before, but it should be talked about so much more: on sitcoms, family dramas, late night shows, comedy sketches, songs, movies, etcetera.

I have started to seek out work and writing by people working on understanding the situation we are in, trying to find solutions, and imagining futures. Here are stories that moved me or taught me the most:

1. The End of Ice by Dahr Jamail (available for purchase here)
2. A Life on our Planet, documentary by David Attenborough (stream on Netflix)
3. Podcasts How to Save a Planet and A Matter of Degrees (both are U.S.-based)
4. Usha Alexander’s essays on Climate Truth and Fiction on 3 Quarks Daily
5. Earthseed Series (consists of two books) by Octavia E. Butler (link to series on Goodreads)

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I am still on a journey of learning and processing the implications of climate change. The above are my initial, incomplete thoughts on this subject. One of my goals over the next year is to read, write, and, hopefully understand some more.