The news that the country's glaciers are shrinking at a rate of 4.2 percent annually, is evidence indeed that there has been an acceleration in the melting of glaciers around the world.

And the findings of a team of scientists from home and abroad that the rate has increased over recent decades once again point to global warming as one of the major culprits.

The message is that the glaciers are facing extinction. Then what will happen to the major rivers that originate from them?

As everyone knows, all human civilizations started along river valleys, where water made it possible for them to grow crops and raise animals.

That is also why we Chinese call Yellow River "Mother River" in reverence to its functioning as a cradle for our ancient ancestors.

The fact that ecological conditions where the meltdown took place is deteriorating in the form of desertification and degradation of grassland is an ominous sign that the ecology will be even worse in the lower reaches of the major rivers if they ever dry up.

It is almost undisputable that human activities have contributed to global warming. We have tried in all conceivable means to advance the convenience of our lives regardless of the damage we have done to nature.

If the disappearance of major rivers caused by the meltdown of glaciers becomes a reality some day, we humans will be left to stew in our own juice.

We are supposed to know what we are doing. If we do, we should recognize the real threat posed by the accelerated shrinking of glaciers and do something to at least slow down their demise.

The negotiation of the Kyoto global warming pact in 1997 and its taking effect in 2005 is a sign that global warming has become an international concern. It also calls for concerted efforts by all countries to effectively control it.

But it will take a lot more effort and time before all countries, or even just the major ones, actually take steps to seriously reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

But we cannot afford to wait.

The project to designate as nature reserves the sources of the three major rivers, Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang in Northwest China's Qinghai Province in 2000 was an action the country took to protect the environment in the vicinity of glaciers to slow down their meltdown.

But that is not enough. We need to do more.

(China Daily 07/24/2007 page10)