In April 2022, PBS reported that many Miami residents living in waterfront homes were considering relocation due to frequent flooding. At the time, scientists believed it was unlikely that Miami would be severely impacted by sea level rise. But now, those residents may have to follow through on their plans. One of the major drivers of rising sea levels is the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, located roughly 7,000 miles from Miami. During a September 2024 British Antarctic Survey (BAS), a team of US-UK scientists discovered something deeply concerning about the glacier.
Image Source: Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, melting due to the climate crisis. (Getty Images)
The researchers warned that the Thwaites Glacier is on the brink of irreversible collapse, posing a catastrophic threat to the world. It is melting so rapidly that scientists estimate the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet could disappear within the next 200 years. Dubbed the “Doomsday Glacier,” Thwaites is not only one of the largest and fastest-changing glaciers but also one of the most dangerous. Its collapse could cause sea levels to rise by 65 centimeters—or potentially even several meters—triggering disastrous consequences for coastal cities around the globe.
Speaking to PBS, glaciologist Kiya Riverman, who has been actively studying Doomsday Glacier for years, said that glaciers usually respond to climate change over a timeframe of a couple of years. This is particularly true in the case of glaciers that are especially weak and vulnerable, and the Doomsday Glacier is one of them. Riverman explained that the ice sheet floating in the ocean acts “like a dam” that holds the bulk volume of water within it. But when this ice experiences cracking and melting, it becomes sensitive and unable to hold that much water, leading to rapid flooding.
Given that the glacier poses a major concern, researchers have been investigating it since 2018 as part of a project called “International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC).” In 2019, a team of researchers, including Riverman, used a robot called Icefin to drill a 2,000 feet (600-meter) hole in Thwaites ice, so they could collect images of what was going on beneath the glacial ice. The instrument was supposed to reach at a point where ice met the ocean water. What they found was nothing short of horror.
Lurking beneath a hundred-mile-long patch of cracked glacial ice and glassy pieces was a thermal reservoir that threatened the surrounding ice. Adding to this, they discovered a whole new landscape encapsulated under ice. Cracks and crevasses ran down in stairlike formations, piercing deep into the ice sheet. Peter Davis, a researcher, told CNN in 2023 that their study revealed “a very nuanced and complex picture.” However, the rate at which the ice was melting wasn’t that much a figure of concern.
But the latest revelation has changed all the previous proportions and made the “Doomsday Glacier” a source of worry. “Thwaites has been retreating for more than 80 years, accelerating considerably over the past 30 years, and our findings indicate it is set to retreat further and faster,” Rob Larter from the Science Coordination of the ITGC and a marine geophysicist at BAS, said.
Representative Image Source: Ice Mountain (Getty Images)
According to BAS, the accelerating melting of this glacier could put hundreds of millions of people on coasts from Bangladesh to low-lying Pacific islands, from New York to London, in danger. “It’s concerning that the latest computer models predict continuing ice loss that will accelerate through the 22nd century and could lead to a widespread collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd,” said Ted Scambos, US science coordinator of the ITGC.
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Representative Image Source: Painting from a series by Ernest Untermann in the museum at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah.
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President Donald J. Trump and photo of a forest.
Public united and adamantly opposes Trump’s plan to roll back the Roadless Rule
There doesn't seem to be much agreement happening in the U.S. right now. Differing moral belief systems, economic disparity, and political divide have made a country with so many positives sometimes feel a little lost. Everyone desperately seeks a niche, a connection, or a strong sense of community to which they can feel a "part of," rather than just "apart."
But there seems to be one thing that the country strongly unites over, and that's the "Roadless Rule." With the Trump Administration attempting to roll back conservation policies that protect U.S. National Forests, Americans are saying in harmony an emphatic "No." A nonpartisan conservation and advocacy organization, the Center for Western Priorities, reviewed a comment analysis on the subject. After receiving 223,862 submissions, a staggering 99 percent are opposed to the president's plan of repeal.
What is the 'Roadless Rule' policy implemented in 2001?
The Roadless Rule has a direct impact on nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rule prohibits road construction and timber harvests. Enacted in 2001, it is a conservation rule that protects some of the least developed portions of our forests. It's considered to be one of the most important conservation wins in U.S. history.
America's national forests and grasslands are diverse ecosystems, timeless landscapes, and living treasures. They sustain the country with clean water and the wood products necessary to build our communities. The National Parks protected under their umbrella offer incredible recreational retreats and outdoor adventure.
Why does the administration want to roll it back?
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins told the Department of Agriculture in a 2025 press release, “We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands. Today marks a critical step forward in President Trump’s commitment to restoring local decision-making to federal land managers to empower them to do what’s necessary to protect America’s forests and communities from devastating destruction from fires." Rollins continued, “This administration is dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America. It is vital that we properly manage our federal lands to create healthy, resilient, and productive forests for generations to come. We look forward to hearing directly from the people and communities we serve as we work together to implement productive and commonsense policy for forest land management.”
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz explained the Roadless Rule frustrated land management and acts as a challenging barrier to action. It prohibits road construction needed to navigate wildfire suppression and properly maintain the forest. Schultz said, “The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities."
Why are people adamantly opposed to the proposed rollback?
A 2025 article in Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, expressed its concern over the protection of national forests covering 36 states and Puerto Rico. A rescinded rule allows increased logging, extractive development, and oil and gas drilling in previously undisturbed backcountry. Here is what some community leaders had to say about it:
President Gloria Burns, Ketchikan Indian Community, said, "You cannot separate us from the land. We depend on Congress to update the outdated and predatory, antiquated laws that allow other countries and outside sources to extract our resource wealth. This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless. We are not willing to risk the destruction of our homelands when no effort has been made to ensure our future is the one our ancestors envisioned for us. Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”
Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, stated, "Roadbuilding damaged salmon streams in the past — with 240 miles of salmon habitat still blocked by failed road culverts. The Roadless Rule protects our fishing economy and more than 10,000 jobs provided by commercial fishing in Southeast Alaska.”
The Sierra Club's Forest Campaign Manager Alex Craven seemed quite upset, saying, "The Forest Service followed sound science, economic common sense, and overwhelming public support when they adopted such an important and visionary policy more than 20 years ago. Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he is willing to pollute our clean air and drinking water, destroy prized habitat for species, and even increase the risk of devastating wildfires, if it means padding the bottom lines of timber and mining companies.”
The 2025 recession proposal would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the national forests. With so many people writing in opposition to the consensus, the public has determined they don't want it to happen.
Tongass National Forest is at the center of the Trump administration's intention to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule. You can watch an Alaska Nature Documentary about the wild salmon of Tongass National Forrest here:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The simple truth is we elect our public officials to make decisions. The hope is they do this for all of our well-being, although often it seems they do not. Even though we don't have much power to control what government officials do, voicing our opinions strongly enough often forces them to alter their present course of action. With a unanimous public voice saying, "No!" maybe this time they will course correct as the public wishes.