Earth Day, April 22, is a time to celebrate gains and accelerate environmental progress. But every day is a time to act to protect our planet.
Writing about travel for more than 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting over 100 countries. I’ve breathed air thick with noxious gases, seen mountainsides denuded of trees, beaches eroded by removal of dunes, rivers sluggish with refuse.
I’ve also experienced crystal skies thick with sparkling stars, rivulets of drinkable water, hills blooming with wildflowers and spattered with bees and butterflies.
Cities have both cleaned their air and fouled it. People have both rescued and ravaged the land. We have choices. We make them every day.
As some of you know, last year around this time, in the span of six weeks, I traveled “bipolar” -- from 70 degrees latitude south in Antarctica to 70 degrees latitude north in Greenland. I wrote about witnessing the ends of our precious earth, melting away.
In honor of Earth Day, I offer here some dramatic photos I took of Antarctica and Greenland not included in the previous post. They show the beauty and fragility of our polar world, and I hope that they help remind us to treat our vulnerable planet with respect and love.
Political beliefs are irrelevant. All of us-- throughout the world -- must strive to to protect our precious, magnificent earth – on Earth Day and every day.
Antarctica
An island at tip of the Antarctic peninsula.
First major iceberg. But look at the world's most unpolluted sky!
To realize the size of this massive berg, it helps to know that the "dirt" is a penguin colony.
The color of glacial ice; 9/10ths is submerged.
The Andes chain reemerges in Antarctica -- a surprise.
Through a tight channel on our most southern point. We can practically touch the mountains
Greenland
Greenlandic dogs on endless ice fields. I sledge along the white, empty scape. This time see the unpolluted sky is in the northern polar area.
A gray day, and the sad sight of a fast-melting glacier, from our boat. Ground zero for global warming studies.
A composition of red, white, blue and a bit of pink.
We must heed the warnings: This bay used to freeze over every winter. For the past years only a small part is walkable. And this year's long-awaited polar climate studies were more dire than expected.
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Comments
Very funny, BBE. You're right. Commerce conspires. Btw, your post on our awful torture practices and what we need to do about them is must reading.
Thanks alot, Ann. I hope they raise some consciousness.
Thank you for reminding us that we all need to do better. Beginning this very moment.
all I can say is, I'm glad I'm not leaving children to see the horrors that are only just starting to unfold.
I'm sad it's becoming less and less what it was.
Boy, I want a job as a travel writer now. How to make that happen ...
Verbal, you may be right, but we need to keep trying, if only to minimize the destruction. We'll know relatively soon if we can hold back the destruction.
Anni and OR, be patient. It was my dream for a long while, and if you want to enough, eventually you'll go. I just hope there will be something awesome remaining.
Fabflamingo, yes, I can't bear when politics and agendas get involved. We all just need to respect the planet. Period. None of us individually matters -- it's the collective responsibility that counts.
yes the beauty remains. And that's the point. We just have to maintain it and do our best. And yes, it is worth seeing yourself at some point. I hope it doesn't take as long as it took me.
I pray that in ten years time, things will look a little different (as in better, not worse).
Thumbed.
Bill, thanks. Your comments on photos mean alot. And I'm not sure how it will go on our earth. So fragile. And melting away.
I thought of you when I came across a wonderful PBS/Nova special called ‘Extreme Ice’ that just aired @the end of March. Ice sheets are otherworldly places, complete w/strange and mammoth lakes that can disappear over the span of hours once a torrent of meltwater finds its way through to the ice bed below. As you obviously know, pretty cool stuff (um, pun intended?)
Marcela, your country is one of the truly beautiful places on earth. Patagonia, Iguacu Falls ... don't get me started ....
David, thank you for the hint and thinking of me. You are so kind. I will check that out. The world of ice is otherworldly, so to speak.
Beautiful pictures, Thank you for them.
And how do you know it was the color of the blue sea and not the blue sky?
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Anyways- I notice 2 kids(?) in the last photo. I'm sure they had a wonderful trip- but is it really a good idea to take kids to Antartica?
phm, I am not interested in debating about global warming, or bringing out the stats about the Wilkins Ice shelf or the diminishing poles.
Whatever the argument, WE NEED TO RESPECT THE EARTH. It does not hurt to be aware. It does not hurt for the world to try and do its best. There has never been so many of us on earth. We need to care about our environment, whatever the studies people bring out. Let's all do that and forget about arguing.
Boa, thanks. Always nice to see you.
Personally, I've never considered it a "bad" outcome if the poles melt or if Manhattan sinks into the sea or if the human population of the Earth is cut in half over the next century. The Earth and many species and most likely humans will adapt and survive.
All of that said, yes we should pollute less and be better stewards of our planet.
What I find ironic about this post however is that the travel industry, including travel writers bear a certain amount of culpability for global warming. Having billions of people travel all around the world just for "fun" burns a tremendous amount of fossil fuels and has a huge carbon footprint.
And so, I have trouble taking Al Gore and other celebrities seriously (and to a certain degree travel writers) because I have a feeling that despite their evangelizing in the cause of combatting global warming I suspect that their carbon footprint is a lot bigger than mine. If they really wanted to combat global warming and help ecosystems and the environment they'd lose the entourages and stop flying all over the world unnecessarily.
This is also why - despite being a big fan of his - Jimmy Buffet's efforts toward preserving the oceans and the manatee ring a bit hollow. After all, he jet sets all over in his boats and planes and has spent more time then I ever will disturbing the natural habitats of fish and coral and sea birds.
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annimal, yea back. And yea for the earth.
fins2theleft, as I said before, I really don't want to argue. For every argument you have, I have two. And I have no idea if even the roaches would survive if our earth melted.
I do care about maintaining the achingly awesome poles, and doing what I can to make us aware of the need for clean air and water.
As for the carbon footprint, I have written many articles that have reached thousands of people alerting them to wise travel. I hope that helps compensate. But alas, like most of us, I was not aware until lately about the dire problems. I probably would have adjusted. Again, I'm looking forward and intend to spend the rest of my life more aware, and writing about green travel and caring for the earth.
I didn't mean to *attack* you or start an argument. My point is that it seems that we should be responsible stewards of our planet, but not BECAUSE of - what I believe to be - spurious reasons, like global warming. Personally I believe global warming is mostly a red herring and that if we humans can't see that it's not in our best interests to pollute our own air and water and earth, then we're so stupid that we're not going to change our ways just because someone tells us the atmosphere is heating up.
And alas, ultimately we are a collective whether we see ourselves as such or not. And until we can understand that we're all in the same boat and behave collectively toward our collective home, the problem of pollution is going to get worse and not better.
... and again, no knock on you .... I'd travel more if I had the time and money! : )
KOB, thanks for the encouragement. I'm not that secure about my photos, as I'm a writer.
Thanks, Bill.
M Chariot, I would expect you to have a carriage and steed. But to be carriage free, well, I have even more respect for you than ever.
fins2, I appreciate your comment. I'm focusing here on what you're focusing on: better behavior by all of us, worldwide.
I'd like to break into travel and adventure writing myself. The competition is so stiff and the economy so wretched that I figure I would need to accomplish something never done before to get my foot in the door: kayak the entire Northwest Passage.
I'd like to find out the mileage involved first before sending out the query letters.
I'm, right at this moment, working on my graphic novel about crossing the Northwest Passage in 1850.
I've read a couple studies (not that I understand much of it) that polar melting is accelerating faster than previously thought. Not good news. I've heard nothing good, but still try to do my part. There are simply too many people for the planet to sustain. Nature will intervene eventually and I'm afraid it won't be pretty.
That said, (pessimistic, I know) there is no reason not to do all that we can to help slow down the onslaught of global warming.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
Rated. :)
Poet, I will look up your related post.
Screamin, so sorry we missed you at Dave's reading in CG. It would have been Dave Cullen and the Dave Cullen Five!
Bob, I'm not sure how long you'd want to spend near the Pole, north or south. It's cold and pretty barren, but as you can see-- gorgeous.
Travis, it's getting harder and harder to publish. You have to do something unusual and write about it unusually well. (And the pay is unusually small -- they factor in the "glamor" of travel.) Anyway, keep your day job but keep trying.
Michael, yes the latest bi-yearly climate study shows worse stats than they thought. Scary. Let's keep having fun!
Peter, so glad you came. You are close to Antarctica, down under.
Monte
For those worried about the next generation, maybe they're going to do a better job than we did - if they get the chance. A bunch of 4 and 5 yr olds today were talking about Earth Day - about taking care of the Earth, recycling, cleaning up litter, not wasting water or electricity. One kid piped up "Electricity makes the Earth hot which upsets the penguins 'cause their ice melts."
Let's not upset the penguins!
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thanks for sharing these with us Lea. the air must be so clear there,
Unworldly.
NoisyNora, I guess there *is* hope if those children continue their beliefs.
onecorgilover, rick and jimmy, thanks. Let's hope those caps can hold.
gary, I'm sure you would be inspired to create something kinetic!
Nature reacts far more exponentially than we want to admit.
Rated.
It's so sad to hear of the glaciers fast melting. That should be a wake up call. So hopefully with this new administration things will pick up into saving the planet and making it more healthy again.
Great piece and congrats on the EP! It's well deserved!
Carol, I don't think I'll be going back, but there are other places. We can PM.
Luis, thanks. I think this administration will do what it can, but we've lost 8 years.
No polar bears in Greenland? They scare me a little because they would like to eat me.
A friend of mine has done the NW Passage several times. The bears try to come right onto the boat, very curious they are. They will look right into the portholes. They are fearless.
Your choice for the final picture is hopeful. I hope that your optimism is justified.
A large part of my decision not to have children is based on the inevitable destruction of the planet. Sooner than we think?
The tipping point is long gone.
Environmental changes are happening geometrically, not arithmetically.
There was a brief window in the early 70s when we might have been able to slow things down, but that didn't work out and then once China grew up the writing was on the wall.
Unsustainable.
If the space program can ramp it up, they might be able to colonize some humans somewhere. At least then there would be some of us left. Talk about a selection process.
I realize writing is a tough field to break into. Ed Gillet kayaked from California to Hawaii solo and he couldn't even land a book deal. All he got was this lousy interview on a kayaking website:
http://www.canoekayak.com/features/stories/gillet/
Unlike Mr. Gillet, I will try to interest a literary agent first before setting out.
Ablonde, many of you think we have past the tipping point. We can only keep trying.
As I wrote in the essay, I indeed took the photos, as I often do for my pieces. You can tell, I'm afraid by my amatuer horizons, etc. (My friend was not in Antarctica-- I went solo. She was in Greenland. The only photo of these not taken by me was the sledge-- I set it up and my Inuit driver took it. )
As for bears, you're pretty safe unless you travel to certain areas. They are hungry and it is tragic.
Travis, it's hard to get an agent for travel writing. The best idea is to write it, write well and then shop it around. Good luck!
Beautiful post.
Nelly, the light is so clear and amazing. The air is so fresh, the water so pure. You can only imagine from the photos, but I hope you sense the pristine beauty and the tragedy of losing it, if there is time.
It was indeed incredible, Denise. A life's dream, and I was indeed privileged to follow it.
gracielou, it is shameful when we think about the world we are leaving, and the idiocy of some of the environmental non-policies. We can at least remember, and do the small things that might help.
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Congrats!! A well deserved one, too!
rated for your caring and increasing awareness
dcv, the pool wasn't used till we got to South America.
junk1, it's both beautiful and sad.
Luis, yes, it's nice to have people see the photos.
ladyfarmerjed, appreciate it, on behalf of fragile earth.
You are one lucky woman to have had such experience's and journies to write about such as this! Really, incredible, colorful and ther worldly. The red tug boat and your pink, red white and blue photos, my faves!
debqd, that is a beautiful comment. The ice that is melting is millions of years old. Going fast.
Dynomyte, thank you. Earth Day is sobering. The message is sobering. And celebratory, too.
Geebee, I have the same mixed feelings about the beauty --sad and joyous, both.