During the Ice Age 700 million years ago, temperatures plummeted. The planet remained frozen and white for 20 million years before melting under a powerful greenhouse effect triggered by volcanic carbon emissions. Ice ages came and went, followed by cycles of warming. What remains of those periods are vast cold zones at the North and South Poles—natural coolers for Earth’s immense climate system.
In the polar regions, permanent ice is melting under the influence of global warming. Yet here, there are no factories, no machines. This warming is caused by my own carbon emissions. The fossil fuels—the oil my civilization depends on—are overheating the ocean. But this phenomenon has an even greater consequence. In the north, the melting of permanent sea ice is revealing open ocean. These dark waters absorb the sun’s heat, which the once-white ice used to reflect. And the cycle feeds itself—the warming accelerates on its own.
In Greenland and Antarctica, glaciers that once covered entire landmasses are melting, sending torrents of freshwater into the salty sea. The great oceanic current—the vast flow that circles the globe and regulates the climate—is slowly breaking down.
What will the consequences be? In all of human history, we have never witnessed a change like this before.

Excerpt from the film A Thirsty World
by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Baptiste Rouget-Luchaire, and Thierry Piantanida
© 2012 Hope Production

The Great Ice

A long, long time ago—before people even existed—the Earth was white, covered in ice. Then, one day, the volcanoes woke up and warmed it. The ice melted, water flowed, and the planet changed.
Today, a little of that great cold still remains—at the North Pole and the South Pole. There, the ice protects the Earth like a shield, reflecting the sun’s light. But little by little, it’s disappearing, and the ocean is taking its place. Dark water swallows the sun’s heat instead of sending it back. So the Earth warms even faster… bringing storms and scorching summers.
What will happen next? No one really knows. But now that we understand, we can protect the ice—and with it, our planet.

© Couleurs Grands Lacs – Text | © Armand Amar – Music