KEEPING ICE ALIVE
We are focused on cool this week. And, this week, in particular, our polar ice caps have our attentions. Camille Seaman, Native American photographer, captures the harsh beauty of remote Arctic landscapes. Their beauty is bigger and more important than what meets the eye.
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Looking like an upside-down icicle that might have hung from a polar ice cave, London’s newest skyscraper, The Shard, became the pinnacle of hot debate about exploitation of our planet’s polar resources this past Thursday (07.11.13). Six women, members of Greenpeace, climbed to the top in protest against drilling for oil and in our polar ice caps.
The Greenpeace climbers on the Shard targeted the three Shell offices that surround the skyscraper. Shell, along with other key energy companies are pressing hard to drill into the frozen lands and seas. A spill here would be even more catastrophic than elsewhere, due to its remoteness and navigation challenges. And, oil breaks down more slowly in cold waters. We can’t even use the oil coming from the Arctic if we keep our carbon reduction pledges. So the drill would ironically largely be in vain.
This week, Antarctica is at a historical precipice.
In 1991, the international community declared a 50-year moratorium on commercial exploitation of the Antarctic landmass. It did not, however extend to protect its oceans, leaving a gaping hole for oil, gas, and commercial fishing companies to rush in and pillage. This week, the world watches as this all comes up for consideration.
While it specifically targeting Arctic exploitation, it was timed to coincide with this week’s kickoff of a meeting that will immensely impact the entire planet. The European Union, along with a group of 24 nations that make up CCAMLR, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, are meeting in Bremerhaven, Germany, to consider proposals for two sanctuaries to safeguard Antarctic marine life. One marine protected area would cover 600,000 square miles in and around the Ross Sea. The other covers approximately the same size area in East Antarctica. The two are among the most untouched areas on Earth.
Oceanographer, Sylvia Earle, a strong and intelligent voice on the subject, wants the entire Southern Ocean designated as a public trust region, because she believes the health of Antarctica determines the health of our entire planet. She is the winner of the TED Prize (2009), for her project, Mission Blue, to restore the “blue heart of the planet.”
Mission Blue's vision is to ignite public awareness and support for a global network of Marine Protected Areas - ocean “hope spots.”
Earle, former chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, explains how the plants, the animals, and the chemical cycles—including carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous cycles—are interconnected, affecting the life-support systems that keep our planet habitable.
The oceans around Antarctica are not owned by any one nation. They are in international waters belonging to us all.
These waters are home to 15,500 species, many of which can be found nowhere else on Earth, including Adelie and emperor penguins, Antarctic petrels and minke whales, Ross Sea killer whales, and South Pacific Weddell seals.
There are about 750,000 pairs of Adélie penguins and more than 50,000 pairs of emperor penguins in the Ross Sea region. The Ross seal is found nowhere else on earth.
While no marine system in the world has escaped human impact, The Ross Sea is a great wilderness that few humans have seen firsthand. It has sustained less damage than most. So far, no widespread pollution; no mineral extraction, no overfishing, and no alien species introduced.
Antarctica's Southern Ocean in 400 pictures from Antarctic Ocean Alliance on Vimeo.
The Antarctic Ocean Alliance, whose mission is to “protect the wild south,” has been working to establish the world's largest network of marine reserves and marine protected areas around Antarctica, focusing on an international campaign, spanning four continents. Their online work has grown exponentially, obtaining a few hundred thousand signatures on their online petition and over 1.2 million people taking action around the world. They have attracted celebrity endorsement and help from Leonardo DiCaprio, Ed Norton, Sam Neill, Ted Danson, Dr Sylvia Earle, Sir Richard Branson, and Yoo Jie-Tae (a famous Korean actor).
Photo: Courtesy of Greenpeace
While the current sanctuary proposals have serious weaknesses, one upside to the current Ross Sea proposal is that it would protect Patagonian toothfish spawning grounds. This fish, also known as Chilean sea bass, became seriously at risk of overfishing, thanks to its growing popularity on Western menus.
As we sit in our summer heat, and contemplate an ever warming planet, we must resolve to keep our cool --- and keep the beautiful icy ends of our earth alive and healthy.
Check out the rest of our posts on Beautiful Cool this week in Arts/Design, Food/Drink, Mind/Body, Place/Time, Nature/Science, and Soul Impact. And enter our new photo competition starting tomorrow. The theme: Beautiful Cool (Deadline, July 21th, 2013).
