“Thank you for visiting Exit Glacier! We hope you enjoyed the views and will visit again in the near future. Have a nice day folks!” The tour guide waved goodbye to his group.

Meanwhile, Exit Glacier was watching from far above, feeling melancholy and blue even though it was a warm summer day in Alaska. Every time he thought about his huge problem, he broke out in a cold sweat. The truth was that recently, Exit Glacier had noticed that he was receding! He didn’t know what to do and felt helpless as he contemplated his gradual shrinking, gazing down sadly now as yet another tourist group dispersed to take a couple more pictures before boarding their tour bus. Soon, they would be gone and nobody would be there to admire his pure white beauty.

That day, Carrie was also visiting the glacier with her parents. She noticed the glacier calving just as she turned around to leave. It almost felt like the glacier was crying…

“No, of course, glaciers can’t cry,” Carrie thought as she started walking away from the vista point. Just then, a deep, rumbling voice from behind stopped her in her tracks.

“Sob… Everyone keeps leaving. No one stays to admire me. What’s wrong? Am I really that ugly?”

“Wow,” Carrie exclaimed in her head. The glacier was actually talking to her! Just then, she heard something again.

“I used to be such a massive and beautiful glacier. I’m so tiny now and no one appreciates me anymore. I don’t know what is happening to me.”

Carrie felt bad for the poor glacier and wondered if there was anything she could do. Hesitantly, she started speaking to him. 

“Hi, I’m Carrie,” she squeaked. The glacier rubbed his watery eyes and looked down, confused and surprised. She cleared her throat and continued in a louder voice, “I’m so sorry you are melting. I really want to help. Actually, I think I know what is happening. I’ve visited some glaciers in the U.S. and read about others all over the world. You and all the ice caps are melting due to global warming, which is causing climate change.”

“Global warming? What is that?” asked Exit Glacier, still sniffing.

Carrie explained, “The earth is warming up due to human activities. Mainly, it is caused by the burning of fossil fuels in factories and automobiles such as the tour bus that just left. These fuels like petroleum and coal emit greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, which is causing all the ice and polar caps to melt.”

The glacier froze and looked at Carrie in awe.

Carrie elaborated further about how all the glaciers around the world had been melting rapidly. “The average loss of ice per year is 0.8 - 1.2 trillion tonnes. Unfortunately, humans do not fully understand the impact of their actions yet, even though some scientists and activists are trying to convince people,” she sighed.

Exit Glacier and Carrie exchanged a worried look.

Carrie continued, “Glaciers and sea ice are crucial to Earth’s systems since they reflect excess heat back into space to keep the earth cool. They are also home to many animals.”

The glacier burst out and started wailing, “Humans will destroy the planet unless they take action! I don’t want to dieeee…”

Carrie agreed. For the rest of the day, she sat by the glacier and brainstormed to help before it was too late. She shared her proposals with the glacier and left it feeling like fresh snow. That evening, her mind was brimming with ideas and she could barely wait to get started on her work. 

She decided to bring awareness to the issue by writing and publishing a story about her encounter and the importance of glaciers to ecosystems. She felt that reaching out to teens and young adults will educate them about their carbon footprint and encourage them to spread the word. After all, children are the future inhabitants of Earth and they will be here, along with the glaciers, in the times to come. It is their collective responsibility to make sure that Earth’s natural resources are taken care of in the future and fresh water supplies are maintained, which are necessary to sustain life on Earth. Water makes life possible on Earth and it is what differentiates Earth from all the other planets in the Solar System.

Carrie sat back in her chair, satisfied with her progress for the day. She knew there would be a lot more to do, but she was determined to save Exit Glacier and all the others like him. As she snuggled into her warm blanket and started to doze off, she decided, “There is still hope for mankind and the glaciers.”