My first glimpse of Antarctica came suddenly, towering high above me, after 900 miles sailing through the Drake Passage — a stormy body of water that separates South America and the Antarctic continent. 14 million square kilometers of ice one and a half times the size of America, Antarctica is home to no human. Its only visitors are researchers and environmentalists. Host to some of the harshest conditions and the coldest climate on the planet, temperatures can reach -130 degrees Fahrenheit. Nevertheless, from the early 19th century to the present day this vast slab of ice and snow has fascinated the developed world. After all, Antarctica provides roughly 90% of Earth’s ice and 70% of its fresh water. In 1959 the Antarctica Treaty was signed into law by 50 countries. “Antarctica…shall be used for peaceful purposes only,” it reads. 55 years later, the treaty is set to expire, opening Antarctica up to the possibility of exploitation, environmental ruin, and even war. By annually introducing a group of youths, scientists, and business minds to Antarctica, Sir Robert Swan has made it his mission to demonstrate first-hand what we have to lose and create a plan to stop global damage.
In March, after receiving an invitation and applying through 2041.com’s application process, I, along with 88 other “ambassadors for change” from 28 different nations, traveled to Antarctica for two weeks in order to gain understanding of the urgency in protecting this lonely continent. Flying first to Argentina, and after a few days of training in Ushuaia (the world’s Southernmost city), we boarded the MV Sea Spirit and set to cross the famous Drake Passage, a rough voyage by any standard: we experienced waves 9 meters tall, and fierce winds that battered and rocked the ship. For 45 hours we remained anuseous and inert in our cabins, riding on “a roller coaster that you can’t get off,” as Team Leader Adrian “Jumper” Cross put it.
“Where you’re going wants you dead from day one,” Swan explained. Frequent storms, blood-freezing temperatures, and avalanches are dangerous to both animals and humans. But, as the water calmed down and we recovered from the rough passage, the huge slab of ice that is Antarctica seemed to beckon me to leave the sea and come onto land. So, life jackets and waterproof boots pulled on snugly, I embarked on my first Zodiac ride. The water around me shone like glass, reflecting the imposing Mt. Francais looming 10,000 ft above.
I visited Admiral Brown base, 64.53 degrees South, 62.53 degrees West and first made contact with the native Gentoo penguins, who proceeded to peck curiously at my legs. The Gentoo, Adélie, and Chinstrap penguins all seemed exceedingly comfortable with aliens snapping their pictures. Our guides later explained that the wildlife had no reason to fear us. Due to elevated temperatures, the sea ice that provides Antarctic penguins access to food is shrinking and the populations are at risk. How can “Team Inspire” help landlubbers globally see the link between our consumption of fossil fuels and the penguin’s incipient extinction?
I hiked up mountains and saw beautiful Skontorp Cove, Neko Harbor, and Pléneau — a body of water nicknamed the “Iceberg Graveyard” because of huge ice chunks breaking off from the surrounding mountains. On my subsequent Zodiac rides I passed by monstrous, 500 pound Crab-eater Seals who yawned at me while they sun-bathed on floating ice blocks. Their pungent, red fecal matter all too often ruined my appetite for the otherwise delicious food served aboard the MV Sea Spirit.
On day three preparations began for “Survival Night,” a night out on a flat piece of ice far away from the ship. All 88 of us became arctic campers, equipped with little more than a sleeping bag and some hand warmers. After dropping us off, the boat sailed out of sight, leaving us in freshly dug ditches in the snow and ice (engineered to keep out the wind in the absence of tents). Sleep didn’t come easily for me. I was warm enough, but my thoughts kept coming back to the vast wilderness around me, including the 30-foot lion seals just a stone’s throw away. Upon our return to civilization, my teammates and I once again pondered what the 88 of us could possibly do to advocate for the preservation of places like Antarctica.
Some answers finally came to us, but not until after our voyage back through the Drake Passage and to South America. We’d been meeting daily for two weeks, discussing climate change, global warming, and rising greenhouse gas emissions. Everyone knew by this point on the expedition that as a society we were heading in the wrong direction. A recently issued IPCC climate change report projects that there will be an “increased displacement of people” due to extreme weather events caused by rising temperatures. Additionally, the report states, “all aspects of food security [will be] potentially affected by climate change, including food access, utilization, and price stability.” But what is causing these disastrous occurrences? Solar radiation reaching the earth, and the greenhouse effect. In short, we need some radiation to make the earth a habitable place, but an increase in greenhouse gases due to higher carbon dioxide emissions have trapped too much radiation on our planet. This, subsequently, raises the temperature of the earth’s surface causing severe weather like Hurricane Sandy, and $82 billion in damages, according to reinsurance firm Aon Benfield. If the temperature continues to rise, these weather disasters will become more frequent —resulting in increased loss of life and expensive repair costs. So, what can we do about it?
Many of the solutions to our high carbon emissions come in the form of renewable energy. This might sound simple enough — a few solar panels here and there — but it is much more complicated. We still run our planet on the assumption that natural resources are abundant, so that market growth can continue exponentially without regard to the environment.
Mallika Ishwaran, another ambassador on the trip, is a Senior Economist in Global Strategy and Business Environment for Shell International. Shell, the 12th biggest company in the world, is a top producer of oil — dispatching over 3.2 million barrels a day. Why is Shell sending an employee to Antarctica? Mallika’s job is to investigate economically viable options for renewable energy for the company and share them with the world. Shell, Mallika says, understands that the world is moving away from oil and towards renewable solutions. By 2050, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, global greenhouse gas emissions are projected to increase by 50% due to the projected 70% growth in energy-related carbon emissions. Enter Shell Scenarios, a branch of the company tasked with investigating new energy solutions so that it can consider “long-term trends in economics, energy supply and demand, geopolitical shifts and social change.” Shell, along with many of its competitors, realizes that it must adapt or die.
Thankfully, more and more corporations are joining the sustainable train. Intel, for example, uses 100% green power with a mixture of biogas, biomass, hydropower, solar, and wind. But, as I soon realized, the movement has to extend beyond the major corporations and become a global effort, each of us contributing in small and large ways every day. Here are some proposals from Team Inspire 2014:
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Isaac Joy, a student at the GEMS Modern Academy in Dubai, believes in utilizing piezoelectricity — energy generated “in response to applied mechanical stress” He pictures piezoelectric tiles flooring airports, dance floors, and even highways — creating energy simply by doing the things we’re already doing: walking, running, driving.
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Pooja Balaji, another GEMS student, sees “lots of food being wasted in [her] cafeteria.” She wants to recycle the leftover foods by taking them to labor camps in Dubai.
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Jessie Westbury, a youth ambassador from Australia, thinks that the answer will come from putting “pressure on leaders to make good decisions based on the climate.”
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Fanny Dedenbach, a student from Luxembourg, hopes to see all public buildings running on renewable energy.
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Faisal Ariff, a Malaysian Columbia University and Cambridge University graduate, proposed his Global Impact Competition award-winning idea of a “Passport 2.0.” This new passport would “make airport immigration paperless” while also providing a simpler way to organize travel information. The ideas went on and on, including better recycling programs, green energy competitions, and solar energy on schools.
I know, ideas have been out there for some time. Ever since the creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1988, governments and environmentalists alike have been shouting out the need for major environmental reform. What’s changed now, however, is the awareness, evidence, and reality that we are simply running out of time. As quoted in the New York Times, Ottmar Edenhofer, a German economist and co-chairman of the IPCC Working Group III, says that “we cannot afford to lose another decade. If we lose another decade, it becomes extremely costly to achieve climate stabilization.” But, Dr. Edenhofer says, “we have a window of opportunity for the next decade.” Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC’s chairperson, echoed Dr. Edenhofer’s statements, emphasizing that climate change should “jolt people into action.” Our own United States Secretary of State John Kerry recognizes the impending danger, saying in a statement that “you can’t deny the reality: Unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy.”
With this seemingly catastrophic climate change on the not very distant horizon, is there any hope for the future? A recent IPCC report acknowledges that new building codes and reduced car emissions can save energy. According to the report, technological developments in renewable energy will help to address “the key challenge: reducing the costs.” I myself can report that a new grassroots movement, undertaken by the Ambassadors for Change alumni, is underway. They are advocating for renewable energy and other solutions in their respective 28 nations around the world. Some graduates have quit their jobs in pursuit of their missions and others are instituting reform in their schools. Increasing climate change is imminent, but I am optimistic that with alumni like ours (and those from previous expeditions headed by Robert Swan over the past ten years), there is hope for the reversal of damage to our planet. The next generation of environmentalists — from students in Dubai, to economists at Shell, and including this Fieldston student — is driven, innovative and ready to help preserve places like Antarctica and stop harmful climate change around the world. To start, I’m headed to Washington, D.C. for a few days — with my classmates and pictures of my Gentoo penguin friends — to lobby our country’s politicians for climate reform.
