Antarctica is not only the highest, coldest, driest and windiest continent on the planet. It is also a global bellwether of climate change, and a big influencer of the world’s climate.
On thin ice at the top of the world
The Arctic is alive and changing, and many of these changes are hard to measure. We hope we can all remain aware of the changes and keep the health of the people in mind, as well as the health of the lands and waters for the animals we depend on.
A personal commitment
Meeting the climate challenge is our collective responsibility. There is no room within this challenge for politics, or finger pointing. Because if we do not act, there will be no winners. What we stand to lose belongs to all of us.
Reflections on Antarctica
Over the coming weeks, we will share more of the images that we collected along this journey. In the meantime, I encourage you to learn more about how climate change is affecting you in your hometown, recommit yourselves to solving this important problem and to join us at climaterealityproject.org.
Antarctic glaciers and the global water crisis
From the ice melting in Antarctica, to rising sea levels flooding Bangladesh, to the prospect of a compromised drinking water supply in New York City, the world’s glaciers tie together our greatest challenges of the 21st century. This is a problem that binds all of us together, wherever we live. That’s why it’s incumbent upon all of us to solve the climate crisis.
The fate of the Adelie Penguins
There is an important lesson for us in the story of the Adelie penguins. In Antarctica, as elsewhere, subtle changes in the local environment can have devastating impacts on all the living beings that depend on it. As the global climate continues to change, we can expect to hear different versions of these kinds of impacts many times over.
Women in a warming world: Pioneers for change
Women aren’t just impacted by climate change; they’re also critical agents of change. As UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres explains: “We are 50% of the population around the world and we represent more than 50% of the solution.”
Troubled oceans at the bottom of the world
The climate crisis is a problem of multiple dimensions. Rising ocean temperatures alone have the potential to disrupt the web of life in the ocean. Acidifying oceans, a result of the same carbon dioxide pollution that is warming our planet, are magnifying the problem even further.
From Antarctica to Bangladesh: The story of rising seas
Here in Antarctica, it’s easy to feel isolated from the rest of the world. But as I look at this exquisite continent buried deep under the ice, it’s troubling to think about what will happen as this ice melts ever more rapidly.