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Washington's glaciers are disappearing. Can anything be done to save them?

caption: The Coleman Glacier on Washington's Mount Baker on July 10, 2021
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The Coleman Glacier on Washington's Mount Baker on July 10, 2021
John Scurlock / Jagged Ridge Imaging

A recent report is showing the Olympic peninsula could lose 80% of its glaciers in the next 50 years. Forecasts for our Cascade glaciers show a similar grim trajectory. What happens when one of our most distinguished geographical features vanishes?

Host Libby Denkmann speaks with Andrew Fountain, professor at Portland State University and lead author of a recent report on the long term stability of Olympic peninsula glaciers. Then, Denkmann talks with Mauri Pelto, a professor at Nichols College in Massachusetts and the director of the North Cascades Glacier Climate Project, about his 50 years observing the health of Cascade glaciers.

Read and hear more about Northwest glaciers from KUOW environment reporter John Ryan, including his two part series on the loss of Mt. Baker’s glaciers and the his recent report on Olympic glacier health.


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