The Death Zone: When History’s Explorers Went Too Far

"...the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. For God's sake look after our people."

- Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Antarctica, March 29, 1912

Most of us recognize the names but little else of the great explorers and adventurers of history. Some are buried almost anonymously in Westminster Abbey alongside the kings, queens and statesmen of antiquity. Obscure mountains, plateaus, bays and valleys are named after many others. However only the most studious or obsessed amongst us know more than the briefest of facts about these larger-than-life men (and women), and what they achieved during their lifetimes. Few of us may have read a biography of one or another of them, and only the most colorful have had films made of their adventures.   

But don’t we yearn sometimes to know a little more about the lives of our heroes and why they were such important people in their time? Don’t we wonder too how their days may have ended and how they may have died? Most have seemingly disappeared into the mists of history without a cry. Now and again one is brought back to life momentarily by a father’s bedtime story or a professor’s anecdotal aside. Arguably it is unjust that those who have faced the greatest perils in life have been forgotten without a nod to their victories or a thought as to how they may have died. Most of our heroes- Humboldt and Darwin, for example- died happily and rightfully of old age back in the beds of childhood homes in picturesque county villages and surrounded by loving- if saddened- family members. Clements Markham, the driving force behind the explorations of David Livingstone, Robert Falcon Scott and many other Victorian supermen, died old and in bed but only after his bed-curtains caught fire from a fallen reading lamp. Hardly dramatic stuff befitting a figure of such stature. Still a very select group of explorers met deaths as spectacular and dramatic as the adventurous lives they led. Here then, in chronological order, is my list of the top 15 explorer’s deaths.   

Ferdinand Magellan

·         First circumnavigation of the globe and discoverer of the Strait of Magellan

·         Murdered by Philippine natives in 1521

·        Over the Edge, by Laurence Bergreen (2004)

Henry Hudson

·     Explorer of the Northwest Passage and discoverer of Hudson Bay

·         Abandoned by mutinous crew in the Canadian Arctic in 1611

James Cook

·         Round the world voyage aboard the Resolution and Discovery

·         Murdered by Hawaiian natives in 1779

Mungo Park

·         Scottish explorer of the Niger River and Timbuktu

·         Drowned or murdered by African natives in 1806

·         Water Music, by T. Coraghessan Boyle (1983)

John Franklin

·         British Naval commander in search of the Northwest Passage aboard the Erebus and Terror

·         Disappeared and froze to death in the Arctic in 1847

·         Frozen in Time, by Owen Beattie (2004)

John Speke

·         Discovered Lake Victoria, source of the Nile River

       Shot himself before controversial debate with rival Richard Burton in 1864

·         Mountains of the Moon w/ Patrick Bergin (2002)

David Livingstone

·         Discoverer of Victoria Falls

·         Died of malaria and dysentery in Africa in 1873

·         Into Africa, by Martin Dugard (2004)

Robert Scott

·         2^nd man to reach the geographical South Pole after Amundsen in 1912

·         Froze to death in Antarctica in 1912

·         The Birthday Boys, by Beryl Bainbridge (1995)

Roald Amundsen

·         Discoverer of the Northwest passage, 1^st man to fly over the North Pole and 1^st man to reach the geographic South Pole in 1911

·         Died in plane crash while attempting to rescue a lost Italian airship in the Arctic in 1928

·         The South Pole, by Roald Amundsen (1996 new edition)

George Mallory

·         First climbers to attempt Mount Everest

·         Fell to his death after disappearing with Sandy Irvine on Mount Everest in 1924

·         An Afterclap of Fate, by Charles Lind (2006)

·         Into the Silence, by Wade Davis (2011)

Theodore Koch-Grunberg

·         German Ethnologist and member of the Hamilton Rice Amazon expedition in 1924

·         Died of malaria on the Branco River in 1924

Percy Fawcett

·         Amazon explorer in search of the Lost City of Z

·         Disappeared and probably killed by Amazon Indians in 1925

·         The Lost City of Z, by David Grann (2009)

T.E. Lawrence

·         Known popularly as Lawrence of Arabia, First World War hero & Arab Nationalist

·         Killed in motorcycle accident in 1935

·         Lawrence of Arabia w/ Peter O’Toole (1962)

Amelia Earhart

·         First woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean

·         Disappeared after crash in the Pacific Ocean during Round the World flight in 1937

·         Ameilia w/ Hillary Swank (2011)

Diane Fossey

·         Mountain gorilla researcher

·         Murdered by Rwandan natives in 1985

·         Gorillas in the Mist w/ Sigourney Weaver (1999)

* In italics…notable film or recent book about the explorer

“If you climb a mountain for the first time and die on the descent, is it really a complete first ascent of the mountain? I am rather inclined to think personally that maybe it is quite important, the getting down, and the complete climb of a mountain is reaching the summit and getting safely to the bottom again.”

- Sir Edmund Hillary, first man to summit Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay, May 29, 1953

Yield means what?

In the USA this past week we learnt that the authorities were finally going to begin cracking down on distracted drivers and enforce the law against using cell phones and other hand-held devices while driving. Surely no one can argue the need for tougher measures. Surely no one can argue that they drive just as safely as the rest of us do when they are holding and speaking on a cellphone or, worse, texting someone from a handheld device. But, you know, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where I live there is another driving law that needs to be better understood, obeyed and enforced if necessary. And that is the command to yield before entering a highway or rotary.

It’s a strange little word, I admit. And maybe that has something to do with it. After all I am convinced that a great number of people simply do not understand what the word means. So I’ll be direct. Yield means, slow down, proceed with caution, and give way to traffic if necessary. It shocks me to witness time and time again the misunderstanding or misinterpretation of this simple traffic law principally on the cape’s main highway and at the Bourne, Hyannis and Orleans rotaries (just to name three I know).  It is amazing how often drivers coming onto the highway or rotary do not even glance over at the traffic already speeding along their left side and that they, by law, must take into account and safely merge with. Do I need to define merge as well? Slowing down, having a look and then advancing when safe should the rule, not the exception. It is the law after all.  Stopping altogether should also be required if there is no way to safely enter the highway or rotary. Wait your turn, in other words.

Buy many US drivers don’t seem to understand the word yield. I think they think it means caution and nothing more. But what it most certainly does not mean is that you have the right of way over the traffic already on the highway (or in the rotary) and they must make way for you, slow down for you or, worse, switch to the fast lane to let you in.

I’m sure many have seen the You Tube video of the woman on an American highway forced from her lane by an oncoming car and into the side of a larger, faster car in the other lane. The result of this collision was a crash highlighted by at least 12 rolls of her car as she was bounced off the highway. Miraculously no other car was hit, and the woman driving the struck car was only slightly injured. Her car of course was totaled. And as if to add insult to injury the car that had entered the highway illegally and caused the crash never saw a thing and only disappeared down the road ahead of the carnage behind him.

I know we’re all in a rush these days. It’s Christmas and there is lots for us to do. But I’d like to just take this opportunity and suggest we all just have a little more patience on the road and work with everyone else to keep things safe and insure we all get home for Christmas.  And we could all take a great step towards this if understood just what is meant by the simple word yield. Slow down, proceed with caution, give way to traffic and, if necessary, stop altogether. Is it that difficult to take these precautions and avoid a potentially horrific accident?

Back in the U-S-S-A

(From the Amazon and Brazil) I’ve been back in the US about 3 months now… reading, catching up, talking with folks, and just getting a feel for things “stateside” again. And what impresses me most is how let down folks feel by their government here. No one in Washington seems to be working for the people anymore. People feel abandoned. The Republicans and Democrats apparently work to purposelessly NOT agree on any issue; laws are passed by the collective in-action of our elected officials rather than their pro-action. Unemployment is at an all-time high. The rich are richer because they can’t be taxed. The issues that really matter such as the environment, unemployment and health care are just not being addressed by any of our leaders.

So what happened to President Obama, the president who promised so much and represented so much more to so many people, rich and poor, black and white, old and young? Rather than striking out systematically, one by one, at the negative forces conspiring against us and our world- at home and abroad- he has done little more the last 3 years than walk the fence, cautious not to step on anyone’s toes, and seemingly unwilling (or is he unable?) to take a bold stand on any issue. This pleases no one but his foes and least of all the common people who need his courage more than anything these days. Now, as our politicians enter into the pre-electoral campaign for the elections of 2012, it might do us all some good to re-evaluate our priorities before we vote and re-orient ourselves correctly for the times to come.

            Apart from some very interesting readings about Darwin and Lincoln- described by Adam Goptnik in Angels and Ages as two hugely important creators of modern thought and writing- the most interesting and perhaps most important book I have read this (American) summer has been JFK and the Unspeakable by James Douglass. This book puts into context everything you ever wondered about the coup d’etat and conspiracy to assassinate one of the nation’s most courageous and promising presidents ever (alongside Lincoln and FDR). Is it ironic or coincidental that each of these leaders should have died tragically as he reached his “finest hour” (to paraphrase the words of another great 20^th century leader, Winston Churchill) and did not live to see the fruits his life’s work would eventually bear?

            Today we struggle yet to realize the dreams of these great men. Lincoln’s insistence upon union through equality was delayed before finding continuation in the efforts of Martin Luther King (yet another great thinker, writer and martyr) and others. Their work remains incomplete. FDR took our nation from the darkness of the depression and out of the hell of WWII, and gave us the wealth and opportunity that continues more or less to define our nation today. Yet what FDR initiated was sorely tested and almost lost during the foreshortened administration of John F. Kennedy. The mighty industrial-military complex which gave us our power after the war was revealed to be a Medussa and threatens to consume us all. President Kennedy saw what this corrupted power was leading us into- an unwinnable nuclear arms race- and he turned from being a “cold-warrior” towards becoming a “peace-maker”, a man with a mission, a crusader for world peace. Yet forces within his own government, especially the CIA, National Security Council, and the military industrial complex around him, were committed to a war against communism (and a nuclear arms race) in order to perpetuate their right winged agenda. Kennedy opposed “the need for war” with “a desire for peace” and for this he was set up and assassinated by those closest to him. E tu LBJ?

            In our generation the War on Communism has been replaced by the War on Terror. Through a form of pathological hubris and insistent isolationism the division between rich and poor, in both east and west, has grown ever wider since the end of the 20th century. The 2001 World Trade Center attacks in New York City represented an explosion of frustration from those less fortunate than ourselves in far-off lands poorer than ours. And rather than seek a peaceful solution by reaching out to those who would be our enemies and try to understand the rage and hatred directed towards us- on other words, rather than be courageous- President George W. Bush chose to take our country to war in two countries (actually continuing one war his father started earlier in Iraq and initiating another in Afghanistan). The last 10 years have seen our nation's budget deficit grow from literally nothing, ZERO (thanks to President Clinton and Newt Gingrich’s bipartisan efforts), to some trillions of dollars today, mostly due to military spending (which, surprise, translates into huge profits for the military-industrial complex but unemployment, high interest rates and collective debt for the rest of us). The pretext for a War on Terror today replicates a situation much like that of Kennedy’s time. Kennedy perceived the underlying evil of it all however and took steps to reverse the situation, steps that sadly led to his murder in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.

            To turn the current situation around, to put the War on Terror behind us, and win our back country from the forces of big business and the military mind-set that currently holds us in check, we need to rally more than ever behind our beleaguered and isolated president. We need to win President Obama reelection and give him the courage he needs to face down the forces that threaten us all. At the same time we need to demand more transparency than ever from our government and call upon our elected representatives to never again allow for the conditions which led to the assassination in the 1960s of President Kennedy and other fine courageous leaders. JFK and his brother Robert, then Attorney-General of the United States, stood alone against the insatiable power of the military-industrial complex and were gunned down by those who live from war and profit from it. Our president today must know he is not alone. His foes must also know that he is not alone.

            More than unjustified the continuing War on Terror makes no sense. Our nation is wasting billions and perhaps trillions of dollars on armed conflicts that, like past conflicts against Korea, Cuba, the Soviet Union and Vietnam, cannot be “won” in any traditional or practical sense of the word. John Kennedy and other peacemakers were pushed aside by those in favor of war; however the War on Communism was not won by anyone in the end. The Communist system simply collapsed, more bankrupt and discredited than anything else. In the vacuum that followed a new War on Terror was invented and implemented by American right-wingers so that the same forces that held us in check during the Cold War era might continue to thrive in the New Millennium. We simply cannot allow this.

            If we could dismantle once and for all the industrial-military complex which controls us- in great part by supporting and encouraging President Obama to adopt the profile in courage he displayed when he was elected- the immense financial, technological AND human resources that are currently being wasted on the War on Terror could be put towards employing a generation of Americans in a campaign to save our planet and our species from the worst effects of global climate change. This, without a doubt, is the single greatest threat we all face today. More than anything we are sacrificing the supremely courageous and talented young people of our Armed Forces in an unnecessary, unjustifiable and, inevitably, unwinnable War on Terror when the true fight should be a veritable Green War against our own eminent self-destruction.

In the years to come we must find within each of us a little bit of the courage of a President Lincoln, a Roosevelt or a Kennedy and do what we can to stand up collectively to the truly powerful elements of our society which do not recognize or respect the real needs of our people. After all, who has the right to decide for the people what they need or want? Certainly not the CIA, Armed Forces, National Security Administration or the Pentagon. The power these institutions wield continues because we the people have failed to monitor their actions through the representatives we have voted into power. Through our own apathy and self-centeredness we have sanctioned our government’s practices of secret wars, assassination and covert activities on a global scale without accountability of any sort. It is time we recind the carte blanche capabilities of these secret forces and create a truly transparent form of government of, and for, the people once and for all.

If war is the best we can do then truly we do not deserve the planet we govern over. In the final analysis we need ask ourselves, is the specter of catastrophic global climate change the unavoidable result of some self-destructive nature of our own or is ecological disaster the mother planet, Gaia’s, response to our unchecked aggression and apathy? One perhaps is the result of the other; the planet, organically or not, is simply not able to defend itself anymore from our stupidity. It will consequently choose mass extinction as a means of starting over without us. But the question remains, will we destroy the earth first or will it destroy us first in an act of simple self-defense before that? Heaven help us we if we have already started an arms race of sorts with our own planet. We simply will not win this one either.

Brazil's Energy Offerings: Too Many Choices or Calm Before the Storm?

Until very, very recently Brazil was being heralded as the world's first green super power. Not more than week ago ex Governador of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex President of the United States reiterated that hope during an environmental economic summit in Manaus, Brazil, capital of the prosperous northern state of Amazonas.   

However the combined effect of global events during the last few weeks have yet to catch up with the idealistic circus of globetrotting environmentalists and eco-wannabes personified internationally by film director James Cameron and domestically by ex Governador of Amazonas Eduardo Braga. Away from the glare of stage lights and camera flashes Brazil may actually be adopting the same capitalist and "business-as-usual" position of other developing global superpowers (strong economically and weak politically).

To begin with the situation in Libya threatens traditional oil supplies from the strife-ridden Middle East. (How often have we been warned about this eventuality?) And the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in Japan- believe it or not- sounds the death knoll for clean, unlimited and, until Fujiwara, “safe” nuclear energy.

In Brazil the emphasis seems to suddenly be more on deep-sea oil deposits and controversial hydroelectric projects than on anything remotely green anymore. The price of ethanol (from sugar cane in Brazil) is the same as gasoline -and that's 4x what it costs in the USA who import their oil from the distant, volatile Middle Eastern cartels- because Brazil is having to import ethanol (from corn in the USA) to produce enough biodiesel for their own domestic market. In the blink of an eye Brazil’s position as a net exporter of biodiesel and potential leader of a global green revolution can only now be  questioned.

Brazil seems to be reverting back to a "business-as-usual" policy in response to immediate demands and present opportunities. The Latin American powerhouse is, after all, already self-sufficient in oil so the so-called “presal” offshore deposits will likely be snapped up by the USA as a stopgap against continuing and future shortages in the Middle East. Hydroelectric projects in Brazil’s vast interior can only gain added support as the country’s nuclear program undergoes premature revision and probable reconsideration.

In a sense it’s almost too bad Brazil has so many choices. They can’t seem to make up their minds. One thing’s for certain though- there's no internal pressure whatsoever on President Dilma Rouseff to listen to the hype of “where have you guys been” unemployed Hollywood titans or Washington exes. Dilma knows what they're saying “is right” but without the sense of urgency most of the rest of the world is currently experiencing regarding energy supplies she might just never get around to doing what “is right”.

Academia de Letras ou Clube de Livros: O Que Falta na Literatura Brasileira

Continuo sendo um escritor (esquecido mais não escondido) de Manaus e acho que um dos problemas com o baixo nível de produção e qualidade da literatura brasileira é que os acadêmicos literários do país são (na grande maioria) homens esquisitos que se escondem atrás das suas academias, colégios e diplomas, e não querem realmente popularizar a produção da literatura (poesia, contos, romances etc) do e para o povo. Isso gera um desinteresse em literatura por parte do uma população infelizmente e facilmente seduzida pelas novelas e programas de esportes e jornalismo sensacional na televisão. E olhe para nossas academias com seus supostos “imortais”... a maioria desses caras não são escritores de nada (nem de ficção, nem de crônicas e nem muito menos de poesia)... são advogados ou políticos com nome, poder e contatos. A própria palavra, acadêmico, é muito formal e cria obstáculos para muitas pessoas. Mais popular seja um termo como clube (pense no sucesso fenomenal do clube de livros da apresentadora de televisão Oprah Winfrey).

Para melhorar esta situação podemos ter mais feiras de literatura (sim, feiras de diversão e não, congressos de solenidade) e mais apoio para a produção de literatura pelo povo. Chega de eventos dominados pelas mesmas figuras (muitas vezes escritores que não escrevem mais nada e só vivem relançando velhos textos como se fossem clássicos). Não tem outros escritores com textos novos e inéditos procurando apoio e publicação? Acredito que sim. E chega de concursos somente para livros já publicados ou editados... ter que ser concursos para simples contos e poesias (e nada desse negocio de 4 copias em papel A4 enviado num envelope pelo correio, tudo ter que ser mais fácil, por email e utilizando a internet). Finalmente há uma falta muito grande de revistas e jornais no Brasil onde novos (e consagrados) escritores podem ser apresentados, ser lidos e ser descobertos. Pergunta: quando foi a ultima vez você leio um conto de ficção em algum jornal ou revista conhecida?

Outra coisa fundamental que não agrada o publico a vida literária continua de ser o alto preço e horrível qualidade dos livros produzidos e vendidos no Brasil. Parece que as editoras brasileiras só pensando em seus lucros e não pensam na no produto ou mercado! Sabe que você não paga impostos para a entrega de livros comprados no exterior (pelo site, por exemplo, do amazon.com)! Ha muito tempo eu parei de comprar livros no Brasil. Compro no internet livros diretos dos Estados Unidos ou Europa de alta qualidade e baixo preço. Para um Brasil de mais escritores, esta profissão na escola, a pratica dessa arte na vida real, e o consumo do produto em geral, ter que ser mais acessível em todos os sentidos e menos conservador em toda sua apresentação. Pergunta final: quantos de nos conhecem um escritor de verdade?

Lovelock's Lost Luck; Thoughts on Libya and Japan

Our road towards sustainability is a rocky one at best and on the road we are often distracted. The recent wave of unrest in the Middle East has resulted in the abdication of more than one dictatorial potentate. On the ground that means freedom and democracy for local populations. People power. That’s the good news. The message being aired back home is something else however. Again the talk is about western oil supplies. And it’s one thing to talk about whether or not we need oil; it’s another thing to talk about where it’s coming from. 

If our leaders won’t guide us towards alternative energy sources because it’s best for the planet, they might do so because there’s nowhere safe to buy oil anymore. But then along comes an ally like Brazil offering to pick up the expected slack with their new offshore oil discoveries called “presal”. If Iran and Libya are out Brazil could be very, very in.  That may be good news in the short term but not in the long term.

On the other side of the world the earthquake and tsunami in Japan couldn’t make the use of nuclear energy look any worse. That’s certainly a mix of good news AND bad. You might have been on the fence about nuclear uptil now. After all it’s relatively cheap to produce. And it produces unprecedented quantities of clean and powerful energy. Finally it’s a lot easier for us to insert nuclear into our energy portfolio than solar which just hasn’t been made cheap enough yet for mass distribution. The tragedy in Japan has changed all that though. Already around the globe the world’s richest nations are re-examining their nuclear facilities and cutting back funding for future installations. Germany has even indicated they might even start closing existing nuclear plants. The shockwaves from Japan signal the death-knoll for nuclear energy whether you’re for it or not. What would James Lovelock have to say about that?

So now what do we do? Fossil fuels are out or fossil fuels are in? Depends on who you know in the short run, I guess you’d say, and how much you really care about the earth in the long run. Before “presal” Brazil was expected to become the world’s first green superpower based upon its enormous potential for producing ethanol, or biodiesel. Never mind the land and even rainforest required for that. Now Brazil’s found presal and the US will come charging after it. Brazil is already oil self-sufficient- the USA is not- and the end result (sadly) is no more incentive now for the production of biodiesel there. Not even for their own domestic consumption (does anyone remember the “what’s best for the earth” argument?).  Libya might cease to be an oil exporter but the US doesn’t need them anymore anyway because of what Brazil will have to offer. The tragedy in Japan and the end of nuclear only makes oil more precious than ever for the US and her democratic allies.

Talk about a rotten turn of events.

Many of us now understand that we need to stop exploring for oil (and coal) immediately because any further burning of fossil fuels is just going to tip us over the CO2 edge and we’ll never have a chance at getting back to a cleaner, cooler planet. What we still require is a combination of people power and political will though. As an educated population we have to put the pressure on our leaders and let them know we don’t want the luxury of oil anymore and we are able and willing to adopt new energy practices in a supreme effort to turn things around before it’s too late. However as long as Big Oil (and Big Coal) continue to provide us with relatively cheap energy most people (and our leaders too) are going to go along with that, no matter where it comes from.

It’s the age-old argument of supply and demand. Demand might have begun to wane in the developed west during the last decade or so but it seems if we create more supply the demand will increase again proportionately. Trouble in the Middle East should mean less supply; higher oil and gas prices should result in less demand. And that should cause us to look elsewhere for our energy supplies or, better still, at alternative technologies. If there was no further supply then more affordable, and greener, energy sources- be they nuclear, solar, eolic or bio- would receive more attention and would surely in time, and naturally, replace fossil fuels.

If the people seem incapable of making the necessary changes can we expect our leaders to make those decisions for us? The writing is on the wall after all. The majority of people however, even in developed countries, will just continue to take what is laid before them, good or bad. But if it was made clear to us, or to our leaders- or, better, to both at the same time- that the production of fossil fuels is (undeniably) destroying our planet AND supplies are (definitely) running out then one would think we might then start taking steps towards making the necessary changes. We would react to the crisis if it was crisis that we perceived. What other hope do we have?

Crisis in the Middle East means crisis in the developed world. Nuclear crisis in Japan and the political tsunami it is causing in Europe and North America means crisis too. And crisis is good in the sense that we now urgently re-examine of our energy supplies and demands. Cheap energy from the Brazilian pre-sal deposits and Chinese coal mines should not be seen as a good thing. That’s the first thing to realize. At best they serve us only in the short term. At worse they give us a false sense of energy security that we can ill afford to have at this time in our earth’s evolution. If not for the new oil coming out of Brazil that very same country might have been encouraged to provide us with something truly beneficial in the short and long term…bio-energy. And that might have served as a model for emerging countries with questionable energy portfolios such as China.

So where do we go from here? The emerging energy superpowers China and Brazil might turn out to have nothing new to offer us. Our high hopes only mean business as usual. We’re back to square one. The powers that be that only care for the short term have done well so far this year. Though one card remains to be played. People power. If the abused and neglected masses in the middle east can cause incite change why can’t we do the same in peaceful and supposedly democratic first world countries? If our leaders lead the leaders of the world, why  don’t our peoples people the people of the world? Food, or fuel, for thought.

Árvores Derretem Também: De Olho no Aquecimento Global Norte e Sul da Fronteira

Meu amor pelo selvagem nasceu em colônias de ferias nos lagos do Algonquin e Temagami ao norte de Toronto, Canadá, e durante passeios escolares aos campos e florestas de uma propriedade particular próximo a vila do Norval, Ontário. Minha introdução à literatura de conservação começou por Farley Mowat’s, Never Cry Wolf. Entre meus favoritos de ficção foram obras de Jack London e Ernest Hemingway. Então o que me afastou do frio, do gelo e da aventura no Ártico e me levou para o calor e exuberância dos rios e das florestas tropicais da Amazônia? Seria a casa de verão que tínhamos em Cape Cod, Massachusetts, enquanto todos os meus colegas de escola tinham cabanas em Georgian Bay? Foram as histórias sobre exploradores africanos as quais o meu pai contava quando eu era um garoto após tempos gastos na Nigéria, Leste da África? Ou foi as baleias, o grande migratório das baleias?

Quando foi a primeira vez que fiquei fascinado pelos grandes seres do fundo dos mares, eu não sei.  Mas tudo sobre eles cativou minha imaginação e fixou meus olhos e mente em direção ao sul como se estivesse seguindo um navio baleeiro do século dezenove até a costa ocidental. Primeiramente foi no colégio nos estados unidos onde estudei sobre a literatura da América Latina, em seguida, times de esportes me levaram ao caribe e finalmente surfando, e outras aventuras que me levaram adentro da América Central e América do Sul. Foi somente uma questão de tempo até eu me encontrar na floresta Amazônica do Brasil e me apaixonar... Pelo rio e floresta também, mas primeiramente pela minha mulher.

Agora, 30 anos depois estou olhando para trás, olhando para o norte e pensando sobre a neve e o gelo de novo. Não porque eu preciso de uma nova aventura, embora eu faça. Parte de mim está com saudades de casa após tantos anos longe dela. Mas também eu quero fazer sempre mais para salvar nosso planeta ameaçado – após a Amazônia Brasileira, o Ártico Canadense é o lugar para se estar!

A floresta tropical da Amazônia Brasileira e as calotas congeladas do Ártico Canadense são consideradas os mais importantes e ameaçados ecossistemas em nosso planeta. Sem as arvores e sem o gelo nosso planeta não será capaz de manter seu delicado equilíbrio e “regular” ele próprio. Secas extremas, inundações e outros desastres naturais causados pelo aquecimento global destruirão nosso planeta inteiramente. A raça humana, em sua busca insaciável por bens matérias é a causa dos eminentes e irreversíveis desastres ecológicos. E para melhor ou pior, é o Homem por si só que pode dar a voltar por cima e salvar o planeta.

O bom... importantes e bonitos ecossistemas que devem ser salvos

Florestas antigas, Montanhas, geleiras, lagos e fontes de recursos hídricos, indígenas (conservação e técnicas de sobrevivência, plantas medicinais e sabedoria antiga), biodiversidade (Flora e fauna, , línguas e costumes etc.)

O mal...  causas de destruição e ameaças contra as ultimas fronteiras do mundo

Aquecimento global causado pelo aumento na emissão de CO2, desflorestamento, alagações, secas extremas, fazendas de gado, a especulação imobiliária, soja e outras monoculturas, aumento da população, o desenvolvimento urbano descontrolado, mineração e exploração de petróleo, gestão ineficiente da terra, poluição da água, a desigualdade entre ricos e pobres.

E o âmago da questão ... Soluções que você pode fazer parte

Educação, controle populacional, fortalecimento da mulher, direitos humanos, planejamento urbano, reforma agrária, conservação, reciclagem, fontes de energia alternativa (solar, eólica, hidroelétrica, orgânica), transportes alternativos (bicicleta, ônibus, trem), ecoturismo, hábitos alimentares alternativos (comer menos carne), suporte a ONG’s como Greenpeace, WWF, A conservação da natureza e Conservação internacional, melhores e mais eficientes técnicas de pastagem.

E se os desastres potenciais dos quais o aquecimento global já estiver causando não forem suficiente, não parece ter havido falta de oportunidade para que estivéssemos fora de tais coisas ruins. Dentre outras coisas, no aquecimento global ártico estão se abrindo novas rotas de navegação o ano inteiro, e revelando anteriormente inacessíveis depósitos de mineral e óleo. Escolher enfrentar a necessidade por ações urgentes agora contra o aquecimento global antes que isto realmente entre fora de controle, existem muitos que vêem isto como uma potencial coisa boa. Perversamente, o aquecimento global aparece mais como um vírus no passar do tempo, que se alimenta de si mesmo. Ao invés de combater o problema muitos estão planejando benefício para si próprios a curdo  prazo e geram assim mais aquecimento global como resultado.