The debate about climate change is over, the facts are in, the effects are evident and more people are on board to take on the challenge. The movement is strong and growing with every new weather-related disaster, but we need to get everyone on board.

The new documentary Chasing Ice (which opens today in New York City and later this month in several other cities-see schedule for more info), details the great lengths at which one man, James Balog, went in the pursuit of providing conclusive visual evidence of what opened his eyes to the very real threat of climate change. A seasoned photographer, Balog has spent his life looking through the lens. He knows the value of tangible images in telling a story and he set out to use his expertise to give the world a photographic record of climate change.

Through his foundation of the Extreme Ice Survey, Balog setup more than 25 multi-year time-lapse cameras across the world to capture the loss of glacial ice cover.

The results are breathtaking, but the realities are frightening. In a matter of seconds you can see our vanishing glaciers over the past several years and the rate at which the ice is melting is made undeniably clear. As you sit back and watch massive sections of glaciers break off (or calve), and hear the tremendous noise of such a monumental occurrence, the severity of our changing climate is brought to life. The animation of these images and videos reflect a world that is changing drastically and is increasingly becoming a foreign planet.

A chunk of ice the size of the entire lower tip of Manhattan and 2 ½ to 3 times as tall breaking off into the ocean can bring to mind a frightful image, but to actually see it in real-life and time hits home unlike any analogy or statistic. Glaciers offer a unique perspective on the immediacy and scale of climate change because of our ability, as demonstrated through Balog’s work, to visibly see these massive formations dwindle into nothing. This is why Balog chose to tell the story through images and ice.

Chasing Ice leaves a truly haunting impression on viewers, but not a futile one. As Balog says, there is still time to act, but there is no more time to argue. If we want to leave a positive legacy and provide a livable future for our species and all of the Earth’s wildlife, we need to act now.

Chasing Ice premieres November 9th at Cinema Village in New York City. It will have limited release across the country and will be in Washington, D.C. at the Landmark E. Street theater beginning on November 16th. Check out the website for showings near you.

Opening in select theaters this weekend is the documentary Chasing Ice, which chronicles photographer Balog’s worldwide journey to accumulate visual evidence of the effects of climate change. We can’t necessarily see carbon pollution, but we can see what it does. And we can see it most clearly in the chilliest places on the planet–Iceland, Greenland, Alaska.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Balog and his team of scientists and engineers travel from glacier to glacier setting up cameras, bolting them to mountainsides or nestling them between boulders and out of the hurricane-force winds. The cameras are part of a high-tech, specially-constructed package made to (mostly) withstand harsh conditions, while still capturing an image every sixty minutes during daylight hours. The team checks back on the cameras periodically, downloading the files and fixing technical difficulties. Then they compile all the images, a virtual flipbook of sorts, showing the changes in glaciers over time; in this case, several years.

Since I am a mind-reader, I know you are thinking, glaciers are huge! Does a glacier’s size really change that much in such a short amount of time? 

You know the term “moving at a glacial pace,” used to infer that something is happening so slowly that it’s only noticeable on a geologic time scale? Based on Balog’s time-lapse images, it’s probably time we clarify that term…”moving at a glacial* pace” (*pre-industrialized-era glacier, that is). So yes, a glacier’s size really does change that much in such a short amount of time. Yes, because moving at a glacial pace is not quite as slow as it used to be.

The compiled images are really something else, something that we literally have never seen before, and the footage of Balog and Team tramping around ice fields and rappelling into crevasses is enough to make any cautious person’s stomach drop. But on a level far greater than promoting the aesthetic beauty of far-off places, Balog manages to bring the average person to far corners of the world, and closer to the ice-melting realities of our carbon-polluting society.

After you see this stunning documentary, visit the Chasing Ice website to spread the message and encourage high-profile members of our society to give it a watch.

• Find a screening of Chasing Ice near you
• Listen to the Fresh Air interview with James Balog, during which he asks, “If a glacier vanishes in the arctic and no camera is there to witness it, would anyone ever know if it was ever there?“ 
• Watch James Balog’s TED Talk

Connect with Campus Ecology on facebook, and follow @CampusEcology and @YouthforClimate on twitter. 

Looking for an environmental documentary to raise awareness of environmental issues and kick off your campaign this fall? May I suggest Shattered Sky?

You might be thinking, “oh no, another environmental documentary…let me get the tissues and the punching bag…” but, based on my extensive experience watching environmental documentaries (and feeling subsequently angry and/or depressed by their content and our society) let me reassure you that Shattered Sky is different, offering a positive story of teamwork and success. A fairy-tale ending. But every silver lining comes with a cloud, and the full truth is that Shattered Sky tells two stories, one from once-upon-a-time, and one from the sooty, polluted pages of today.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shattered Sky is an account of the worldwide collaboration among nations (ALL the nations, to be exact) to address the issue of the hole in the ozone layer in the late 1980s. The leader of the pack was the United States of America. The President at the time? Ronald Reagan.

You may or may not be familiar with the story of the Montreal Protocol–some really cold scientists in Antarctica ran some tests in the ’80s and figured out that the ozone layer (which protects us from harsh UV rays) was getting thinner (so the scientists were also really sunburned…), probably as a result of people using hair spray in aerosol cans, so in 1987 a bunch of dudes went to Montreal and ultimately signed a piece of paper agreeing to use hair gel instead of spray. Okay, okay so actually it’s a little more serious and complicated than that. Real quick:

• 1970s:  Scientists Rowland and Molina begin studying the effects of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere.
• 1980s:  Studies by several agencies across the planet show significant depletions in the ozone layer, specifically over Antarctica
• 1986:  DuPont (one of the top manufacturers of CFCs) testifies in front of Congress that this is really not a big deal
• September 1987:  Montreal Protocol is signed to phase out the use of CFCs.  By September 2009, the Montreal Protocol is universally ratified

If that chain of events reminds you of, say, today’s big polluters denying climate science, you’re not the only one to make that connection. Shattered Sky filmmakers Steve Dorst and Dan Evans intersperse the story of international efforts addressing CFCs with the modern mayhem surrounding worldwide legislation on, for instance, CO2 emissions. The parallel is uncanny, but at the same time, inspiring. We need a reminder that we have all worked together before, that American politicians have taken a stand on behalf of the planet, and with actual results to show for it. Did you know, for example, that members of Congress received more letters about CFCs than any other topic except for the Vietnam war? Consumers even initiated boycotts on aerosol products.

Call to Action for Campuses

While we may need more than just a few screenings to revitalize efforts for climate legislation, Shattered Sky can be used as a call to action for college and university presidents to sign the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Committment (ACUPCC).  And if your president has already signed, Shattered Sky could offer the motivation to increase the scale or scope of campus projects.

In 2011, nearly 20 million students were enrolled in institutions of higher education. That’s almost equal to the number of people in all of New York state, or all of Florida. Or the sixteen least-populated states  combined.  Imagine if all the electricity they used were powered by wind? Or if all the food waste in their dining halls were composted, instead of going to landfills? These goals are achievable, and universities can be leaders in the movement against climate change. In fact, they already are.

Ozone-protecting legislation was achieved by bipartisan perseverance–hard work on both sides of the aisle. Similarly, Shattered Sky appeals to a broad spectrum, from international affairs to political science majors, from business students to the crunchiest-granola environmental studies major, as it well should. Addressing climate change through policy can’t be left to one group in particular. It will only be through a confluence of our efforts that we make real and measurable progress toward a sustainable future.

The Shattered Sky facebook page is third on the list of documentary films with the most “likes.” Help bring it to number one! 

You can also help get Shattered Sky off the ground by contributing to their Kickstarter campaign before Friday, September 21.

Tweeting about Shattered Sky? Use the hashtag #ozone2climate to spread the word.

Shattered Sky will air on PBS this September, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol. Check your local listings!

Keep in touch with Campus Ecology via facebook or send us an email (campus@nwf.org) for information on hosting a screening on your campus.