NPR: Environmental Photographer Focuses On Protecting The Climate — And Its People
Our guest, James Balog, is an award-winning photographer, whose work explores the relationship between humans and nature. It's a subject that's taken on increased urgency, he believes, with growing evidence of the impact of climate change. He was last on our show to talk about climate change and the melting of Arctic glacial ice, which he documented through time-lapse photography. That led to his project the Extreme Ice Survey and his film Chasing Ice.
Now he's featured in a new documentary called The Human Element, which follows him as he documents places and people affected by rising oceans, wildfires and air pollution associated with climate change. The film is available for streaming on iTunes and other digital platforms. James Balog is founder of the Earth Vision Institute and is the author of eight books. He spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies.
We have already fully entered the “climate future.” Rise in average temperatures and recurrence of extreme heat, melting glaciers and sea ice, droughts, modification of the distribution area of certain animals and plant species, destruction of rare and precious ecosystems, rise in sea level, and ocean acidification.
Fragile snow bridges, helicopters in danger of falling: In the GEO interview, James Balog explains why his glacier photo project is so complex and dangerous—and why he wants to continue, even though the numerous expeditions have left painful marks on his body.
New York Times Magazine: Watching the Planet Burn
‘‘In wildness is the preservation of the world.’’ Henry David Thoreau coined this adage in the 1850s, the same decade during which Edwin Drake drilled America’s first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Wilderness conservation and the hydrocarbon economy have been uneasy bedfellows ever since, with protected lands often viewed as compensatory gestures for our voracious remaking of the landscape elsewhere. Read more ...