14 DAY TRIAL // A decades-old message in a bottle is now said to be proof that, contrary to what some might argue, global warming and climate change are as real as its gets and are reshaping natural ecosystems around the world.
The message was written back in 1959 by a geologist named Paul Walker, Grist tells us. It was put inside a bottle, and hidden under some rocks at a distance of 168 feet (51.2 meters) from a glacier in the Arctic.
The message asked that whomever found the bottle re-measured the distance to the glacier, and let Paul Walker know just how much the block of ice had shrunk due to global warming since the message was written until it was discovered.
The bottle was discovered this past summer by a Canadian biologist by the name Warwick Vincent, who did exactly what the geologist instructed in his letter and found that the distance from the message to the glacier was one of over 400 feet (almost 122 meters).
This meant that, when compared to its size back in 1959, the block of ice in question had shrunk by about 233 feet (71 meters).
Sadly, Paul Walker passed away about six months after he had written his message and hidden it in the bottle, so Warwick Vincent was unable to tell him about his discovery.
The good news is that, after discovering the bottle and doing what the geologist had asked, Warwick Vincent wrote a new message and hid it in the very same place.
The person who finds this second message in a bottle is kindly asked to also take the time to measure the distance to the glacier, and let people know about his finding.