Study: Humans are responsible for nearly 70 percent of recent glacier melt

In the latest scientific affront to climate-change deniers, a new study suggests that nearly 70 percent of recent glacier melt can be attributed to man-made causes. The research was published Thursday in the journal Science.

According to the study, scientists did not detect evidence of human effect on glacier melt until the mid-1900s. At that point, only one-quarter of warming seemed to come from unnatural causes. It wasn't until 1991 that humans seemed to make a dramatic impact — researchers found roughly 69 percent of the glacier melt in the last 23 years to be man-made.

While there's a wide margin of error in the study, glacier expert Richard Alley, who was not part of the research, said the results make sense. He told Bloomberg Businessweek, "The authors have quantified what I believe most scientists would have expected."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up