ANTARCTICA '09: 2009/03

3.29.2009

Terra Firma II

A few more photos. The lighting has been absolutely amazing - as you can see.

Well, here I am, finally back on solid ground! The Drake Passage - the sea separating Antarctica and South America, where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans "collide" - lived up to its billing as one of the roughest on Earth during our return. It sure feels good to have my appetite back.

Antarctica was AMAZING (no surprise there), but the highlight has to be the friends that I made, and dealing with being on a ship in a remote part of the world, completely out of contact with the rest of civilization for 10 days. A crazy experience to be sure. I'll be posting a lot more over the coming days and weeks, but I wanted to give a little primer of what's to come in terms of photos. These are a few of my favorites:

3.16.2009

Final Post Before We Leave Port...

Hello all, I just wanted to make a final post before we leave with a few more photos since so many of you have asked. I'll try to make some posts from the ship - otherwise check in for the daily "official" updates.

3.15.2009

Tomorrow is the big day. Finally! I have never been on a ship in the Ocean, so naturally my excitement level is running pretty high. Crossing the Drake Passage, which separates Tierra del Fuego from Antarctica, takes two days, and is some of the roughest seas on Earth. It is where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans collide, along with various weather systems. I've been asked several times before this expedition if I get sea sick - tomorrow is the day I find out.

I have been integrated into the operations of the expedition, have been assigned leadership duties as well - which I obviously relish. There is quite a variety of people that have signed on for the expedition (26 countries are represented), and I have already made some friendships that I know will last a lifetime. I'm struck by the passion that everyone seems to have for doing something positive for the environment - from corporate big-wigs that you wouldn't think cared, to students that are fighting the good fight.

I have little idea of what to expect over the next week and a half (I'm sure I'll see a few Penguins), but I do know that I will learn a lot from the other people on the expedition. In fact, I already have.

3.12.2009

Ushuaia, Argentina

Well, here I am - at the "fin del mundo" (the end of the world) as they say here in Tierra del Fuego. After a solid 24 hours of flights from Los Angeles, I am looking forward to stretching my legs on a hike or two before getting on the ship. Needless to say, I am quite excited no matter what we do. We are staying in a pretty nice hotel with stunning views of the town and the Beagel Channel. I was the first member of the expedition to arrive, and have already met many of the team leaders. Everyone is very nice, and we are all excited to get going. I had a nice chat with Robert Swan himself, and I feel really good about what we are doing with the expedition.

Ushuaia is spectacular! It sits right on the shore of the Beagel Channel, and is surrounded by stunning jagged peaks that are just begging to be climbed. I could easily spend...a lot of time...exploring the area here. Although I am on a budget, I am going to have a King Crab dinner tomorrow night - South America style!

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MISSION

Having been invited on an expedition to Antarctica with Robert Swan and 2041, I will use my experience as the foundation for a community education program, covering the main components associated with global climate change as seen through the effects evident in Antarctica, and what we as individuals can do to become part of the solution. I will present this program at Southern California high schools, colleges and universities, community organizations, and businesses.

The program will focus on five central components: environment and science, renewable technologies, international political cooperation, potential solutions, and obstacles to change.

My goal is to show people how they can become part of the solution to the problems we face, and to inspire them to learn about our world by traveling, and to seek careers, lifestyles, and personal goals that make our world a better place.

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ROBERT SWAN and 2041
Robert Swan is one of history's great polar explorers...the only person who has walked to both the South and North Poles. His passion for, and experience in, both polar regions has shown him the realities of climate change in an up close and personal way. He founded 2041, named for the year the Antarctic Treaty System expires, to educate people about global climate change, and to inspire them to do something about it. Through 2041, he has developed the Leadership On the Edge program to bring future leaders and educators on an expedition to Antarctica so they can experience the effects of global climate change first hand.

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PHILOSOPHY

Although my previous work and research has been about the social consequences of western consumer behavior in developing countries -- the reality is that social and environmental consequences are deeply intertwined and equally important. It is imperative that we in the United States take the lead in combating global climate change...and that can only really begin once we as individual citizens and consumers understand all of the components involved. Only then can we make truly informed consumer decisions and lifestyle choices that lead to the kind of change necessary to solve the problems associated with our current consumer path.

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PROGRAM COMPONENT OVERVIEW

Environment:

In this component, I will explain the basic science of global climate change. The simple explanation being that we as humans have dramatically increased our greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide). As the sun’s rays hit the earth, some of them are absorbed, while others are reflected back out to space. The reflected rays then heat up the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and that heat then radiates back to Earth. This is a natural process that keeps the Earth at a habitable temperature. Unfortunately, the massive amount of greenhouse gases that humans have put into the atmosphere, increase the amount of heat absorbed and decrease the amount of heat that can escape back to space.

Antarctica provides many of the most visible indicators, and strongest evidence of global climate change. The most well known indicators are the polar ice shelves and glaciers that are rapidly melting. I will show other Antarctic indicators in this section as well, including prehistoric air analyses of glacial ice core samples, and looking at the penguin habitat and population. On a global scale, I will cover forest fires, drought, catastrophic weather, and the health of our oceans.

An important issue to be covered here are the potential impacts on people living near the ocean due to rising sea levels caused by global climate change. The flood defenses of major coastal cities throughout the world will be compromised, saltwater will contaminate freshwater aquifers, threats of infectious disease will increase, and people will be forced to migrate as a result.

What causes global climate change? Many people understand that it has to do with carbon and methane emissions. Those, however, are merely indicators of a larger problem -- inefficient consumer behavior, the unequal relationship that exists between producer and consumer countries, and a global economic system that has evolved without any real checks or balances. Using my previous research on the oil industry, I will elaborate on this section quite a bit -- which is important, as this is where most of the solutions to global climate change lie.

In this section, I will also address the major arguments opposing global climate change, such as the supposed “lack of scientific consensus.”

Renewable Technologies:

Expanding our understanding and use of renewable technologies is one of the ways we are beginning to initiate vital changes in reducing the human impact on global climate change. This can be accomplished in a number of ways; two of the most important elements are 1) promoting the use of renewable forms of energy (i.e. wind and solar), and 2) reducing the resources necessary for our personal lifestyles and for building the infrastructure of our social, and economic systems.

The E-base at 2041’s Antarctic research station - located in some of the harshest conditions on the planet - manages to incorporate both of these elements into %100 of its construction and operations. One has to ask, if such renewable technologies can be so productive in conditions as harsh as Antarctica, why can we not figure out ways to incorporate them more frequently in more temperate zones?

Global Environmental Policy and Political Cooperation:

Although we have seen an increased amount of global conflict, Antarctica represents a positive example of how the world can come together to work toward a common goal. The Antarctic Treaty System has been signed by over 46 countries representing over 80% of the world’s population. This unique example of international political cooperation needs to be maintained and emulated in other aspects of global governance.

The Kyoto Protocol and the UN Conference on Environment and Development are two other important international treaties dealing with global climate change that will be covered in this section.

Solutions and Obstacles to Change:

There is no one, clear, single “silver bullet” type of solution to this problem. What is clear, however, is that if we are going to do something to solve the global climate change problem, we need to make a committed and concerted effort to do so proactively as opposed to reactively. A combination of honest efforts from industry and government is necessary, but this will only begin with us as individuals -- making our demands known and incorporating change into our own lives. Lifestyle shifts, changes in consumer ideology, and a heightened consciousness of citizenship based responsibility, are all vital elements of solving this problem.

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HOW IT BEGAN

When the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs (CUSA) invited Robert Swan to give his presentation at our UC Irvine campus, I had just returned from a rather intense nine-month stay in Venezuela conducting research for my doctoral dissertation on the oil industry and Venezuela’s “Bolivarian Revolution.” I wasn’t really in the mood to attend a lecture that night, but I had been consistently absent from any CUSA functions for quite a while, and since my advisor is the director, and they have provided me with funding over the years, I figured I should probably attend - if for no other reason than to simply show my face and let people know I was alive. Good thing I decided to go...

I was immediately drawn - not so much to what Mr. Swan was saying (although I thoroughly enjoyed that) - but rather, to what he was about as a human being. He is a man that is actually doing something to make our world a better place. It is all too easy to talk about things that need to be done, but few people actually do anything about it. He said he was going to do something...and he did it. In and of itself that may not sound like much, but he did walk to both the North and South Poles, and has since turned that feat into an influential platform that has educated many people - including heads of state - around the world about the realities of global climate change, alternative energy use, and international political cooperation, and most importantly, what can we - as individuals - do about it.

Having led several expeditions to Central America myself, his presentation reminded me of where I feel most comfortable: going on expeditions that challenge us to ask questions that probe deeper into the root cause of the issues that are most pressing in our world. About half way through his presentation, I found myself wanting to be a part of the next expedition they took. A few minutes later, he mentioned that there was a limited amount of room for a few students that showed the commitment and interest they were looking for, and that if anyone had any interest to talk to him. So I did, and here I am about to embark on, not just another adventure in my life, but a real opportunity to do what I can to help make the world a better place.

ANTARCTICA '09

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3.29.2009

Terra Firma II

Terra Firma! (a primer)

3.16.2009

Final Post Before We Leave Port...

3.15.2009

3.12.2009

Ushuaia, Argentina

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Images

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Jesse Baker

Robert Swan, OBE

The Importance of Antarctica

Program Outline

Learning Together

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