THE MELTING WORLD by Christopher White tells the story of the recent years of Glacier National Park in Montana. Since Aug 2008 the author has been following the studies of Dan Fagre of the U.S. Geological Survey which have been showing a dramatic decrease in the size of the glaciers in the park, so much so that, as the author says, the park may soon have to be renamed; there will be no glaciers left in it.

The causes of the shrinkage are principally more melting in summer and less snowfall in winter, both due to climate change. The consequences of shrinking glaciers are many- fold and, due to the complications of eco-systems, often very difficult to predict but there are some identifiable trends. For example smaller glaciers mean less fresh water melt downstream, when it is most needed, which leads to farmers and ranchers having problems. In addition animals native to the area, like snowshoe hares, may depend on the snow for camouflage while others, like bears and wolverines depend on it for winter dens. Many other species are very sensitive to temperature and the raising of the temperature level put them at serious risk.

There is also the important issue of losing so much of the beauty which led to this area being designated a National Park in the first place and the author's evocative descriptions of the mountains and glaciers make you very aware of what we still have and how much there is to lose.

THE MELTING WORLD is an excellent description of some of the results of climate change and the effect they can have on our environment together with great descriptions of the area and its beauty.