Originally posted by Roger Ebert on the Sun Times There have
been several mass extinctions during the unsettled history of
planet Earth, but mankind is the first species with the
intelligence to observe one in its early stages. “Chasing Ice”
documents the melting of glaciers, sometimes at startling speed
over a short time, and it links this activity to global warming
with an opening montage of flood and drought. No one who
survived Hurricane Sandy and its subsequent blizzard will
require such a montage. But let’s say you already accept the
reality of climate change. Or that you don’t. Either way,
“Chasing Ice” by Jeff Orlowski is heart-stopping in its coverage
of the brave and risky attempt by a scientist named James Balog
and his team of researchers on the Extreme Ice Survey, where
“extreme” refers to their efforts almost more than to the ice.
At a time when warnings of global warming were being dismissed
by broadcast blabbermouths as “junk science,” the science here
is based on actual observation of the res