Global Warming and Alaska Glacial Retreat

For those of you who have been wondering if global warming is fact or fiction it appears to be fact when you observe the details. Alaskan Glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate. The Mendenhall Glacier named after Thomas Corwin Mendenhall a superintendent to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in the late 1800’s; the most visited glacier in Alaska is retreating at an alarming rate. A glacier begins to retreat when the melt rate exceeds the rate of snow accumulation. It's estimated that the Mendenhall Glacier began retreating in the mid 1700's and has retreated 2.5 miles since. Although the glacier as a whole is now retreating between 100 to 150 feet per year it was reported to have lost over 600 feet on it's east side in 2004 and over 260 ft on it's west side in 2005. This is but one example related to Alaskan Glacial retreat. Apparently the rate of glacial retreat is increasing in essentially every Alaskan glacier (the exception being the Taku Glacier which is actually advancing.) It's unknown how many glaciers exist in Alaska, we know that over 600 have been named but there are several that remain unnamed.