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Sebastian Copeland: Adventurer, Photographer, Advocate

September 24, 2009 by  
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Journey to the Arctic – Intro 2

I recently had the incredible privilege of sharing a table at the Quest For Sustainabilty event with Sebastian Copeland. Unfortunately, I missed his presentation but quickly looked around at his work and was incredibly awed by his outstanding work. This man has accomplished incredible achievements with the focus of his body and mind to bring beautiful images of magical faraway places that are quickly disappearing due to climate change. His breath-taking documentation of the great Arctic landscape is really needs to be shared. Sebastian is also a member of Green Globe.
nads
It is widely said that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. Why this cuddly, gentle man
would pick as harsh an environment as the Pole to live in gives a glimpse into the little understood conditions of the polar regions. The Poles are the coldest environments on earth, primarily because they receive the least amount of directional heat from the sun. And yet, as the overall temperature of the Earth rises due to the green house effect, the poles are the first line of casualty at the hands of climate change, warming at twice the global average. Because the Arctic region consists primarily of a thin layer of ice covering the ocean—unlike Antarctica, its sibling to the South, which is a vast and elevated continent with an average ice thickness of two miles—the Northern polar ice cap is particularly susceptible to this warming trend.
In fact, it is now widely believed that the ice there could be all but gone by as early as 2013 in the summer months, losing progressively more of its ice cover in the winter months. In short, the Arctic is in trouble. As one of the great climate regulators in the Northern hemisphere, vast ice losses in the north threatens the thin balance of its ecosystem, in place for hundreds of thousands of years, and spells trouble for the world.
One hundred years ago, Admiral Peary led the first successful expedition to the North Pole, reaching it on April 6th 1909 with Mathew A. Henson and four Inuit. In Peary’s day, the ice at Pole was twelve feet deep on average. Today, the ice is around five and half feet deep. The changing icy environment spells an ominous future for the Arctic region which, unlike Antarctica, does not benefit from an international treaty of protection. This needs to change.
Warmer global temperatures means the opening of new maritime sea lanes, increasing prospect of exploitation of the Arctic’s natural resources and further disruption of an environment in place for about a million years. Consider that one oil platform in the Arctic has a 33% to 55% chance of a major spill. That is for just one platform! Oil spills in sea ice are exponentially more disastrous than in open sea: they are impossible to clean up. What’s more, because sea ice is virtually always in motion, a spill affects thousands of square miles. This is tragic for the Arctic’s biodiversity, notably the endangered Bear. Oil on its coat means a bear will poison itself to death whilst licking itself clean. As if they needed another challenge.
It is sad that the eight surrounding nations of the Arctic look at this devastated region as an opportunity to further the damage. Isn’t it time we rally behind a policy of conservation, preservation and investment in technologies that will takes us away from this destructive cycle? Einstein said: “Today’s problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them”. Today, we have the tools to rethink our future, and commit to a change that can help us meet our intellectual and spiritual potential. And give our children a future we can be proud of.
It is widely said that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. Why this cuddly, gentle man would pick as harsh an environment as the Pole to live in gives a glimpse into the little understood conditions of the polar regions. The Poles are the coldest environments on earth, primarily because they receive the least amount of directional heat from the sun. And yet, as the overall temperature of the Earth rises due to the green house effect, the poles are the first line of casualty at the hands of climate change, warming at twice the global average. Because the Arctic region consists primarily of a thin layer of ice covering the ocean—unlike Antarctica, its sibling to the South, which is a vast and elevated continent with an average ice thickness of two miles—the Northern polar ice cap is particularly susceptible to this warming trend.
In fact, it is now widely believed that the ice there could be all but gone by as early as 2013 in the summer months, losing progressively more of its ice cover in the winter months. In short, the Arctic is in trouble. As one of the great climate regulators in the Northern hemisphere, vast ice losses in the north threatens the thin balance of its ecosystem, in place for hundreds of thousands of years, and spells trouble for the world.
One hundred years ago, Admiral Peary led the first successful expedition to the North Pole, reaching it on April 6th 1909 with Mathew A. Henson and four Inuit. In Peary’s day, the ice at Pole was twelve feet deep on average. Today, the ice is around five and half feet deep. The changing icy environment spells an ominous future for the Arctic region which, unlike Antarctica, does not benefit from an international treaty of protection. This needs to change.
Warmer global temperatures means the opening of new maritime sea lanes, increasing prospect of exploitation of the Arctic’s natural resources and further disruption of an environment in place for about a million years. Consider that one oil platform in the Arctic has a 33% to 55% chance of a major spill. That is for just one platform! Oil spills in sea ice are exponentially more disastrous than in open sea: they are impossible to clean up. What’s more, because sea ice is virtually always in motion, a spill affects thousands of square miles. This is tragic for the Arctic’s biodiversity, notably the endangered Bear. Oil on its coat means a bear will poison itself to death whilst licking itself clean. As if they needed another challenge.
It is sad that the eight surrounding nations of the Arctic look at this devastated region as an opportunity to further the damage. Isn’t it time we rally behind a policy of conservation, preservation and investment in technologies that will takes us away from this destructive cycle? Einstein said: “Today’s problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them”. Today, we have the tools to rethink our future, and commit to a change that can help us meet our intellectual and spiritual potential. And give our children a future we can be proud of.
My expedition is dedicated to educating people and engaging them to take action by getting involved; and committing to reducing our carbon footprint, eliminating waste and becoming true eco soldiers. I will be skiing with my partner Keith Heger for over a month in frigid temperatures pulling heavy sledges. But you don’t have to walk to the top of the world to be an eco warrior. You can do this from anywhere. I invite you to visit www.globalgreen.org and join the movement today!

I recently had the incredible privilege of sharing a table at the Quest For Sustainabilty event with Sebastian Copeland. Unfortunately, I missed his presentation but was in awe by his outstanding work. This man has accomplished incredible achievements with the focus of his body and mind to bring beautiful images of magical faraway places that are quickly disappearing due to climate change. His breath-taking documentation of the great Arctic landscape really needs to be shared. Sebastian is on the Board of Directors for Green Globe USA which is the US arm of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Green Cross International.

nads

It is widely said that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. Why this cuddly, gentle man would pick as harsh an environment as the Pole to live in gives a glimpse into the little understood conditions of the polar regions. The Poles are the coldest environments on earth, primarily because they receive the least amount of directional heat from the sun. And yet, as the overall temperature of the Earth rises due to the green house effect, the poles are the first line of casualty at the hands of climate change, warming at twice the global average. Because the Arctic region consists primarily of a thin layer of ice covering the ocean—unlike Antarctica, its sibling to the South, which is a vast and elevated continent with an average ice thickness of two miles—the Northern polar ice cap is particularly susceptible to this warming trend.

In fact, it is now widely believed that the ice there could be all but gone by as early as 2013 in the summer months, losing progressively more of its ice cover in the winter months. In short, the Arctic is in trouble. As one of the great climate regulators in the Northern hemisphere, vast ice losses in the north threatens the thin balance of its ecosystem, in place for hundreds of thousands of years, and spells trouble for the world.

One hundred years ago, Admiral Peary led the first successful expedition to the North Pole, reaching it on April 6th 1909 with Mathew A. Henson and four Inuit. In Peary’s day, the ice at Pole was twelve feet deep on average. Today, the ice is around five and half feet deep. The changing icy environment spells an ominous future for the Arctic region which, unlike Antarctica, does not benefit from an international treaty of protection. This needs to change.

Warmer global temperatures means the opening of new maritime sea lanes, increasing prospect of exploitation of the Arctic’s natural resources and further disruption of an environment in place for about a million years. Consider that one oil platform in the Arctic has a 33% to 55% chance of a major spill. That is for just one platform! Oil spills in sea ice are exponentially more disastrous than in open sea: they are impossible to clean up. What’s more, because sea ice is virtually always in motion, a spill affects thousands of square miles. This is tragic for the Arctic’s biodiversity, notably the endangered Bear. Oil on its coat means a bear will poison itself to death whilst licking itself clean. As if they needed another challenge.

It is sad that the eight surrounding nations of the Arctic look at this devastated region as an opportunity to further the damage. Isn’t it time we rally behind a policy of conservation, preservation and investment in technologies that will takes us away from this destructive cycle? Einstein said: “Today’s problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them”. Today, we have the tools to rethink our future, and commit to a change that can help us meet our intellectual and spiritual potential. And give our children a future we can be proud of.

It is widely said that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. Why this cuddly, gentle man would pick as harsh an environment as the Pole to live in gives a glimpse into the little understood conditions of the polar regions. The Poles are the coldest environments on earth, primarily because they receive the least amount of directional heat from the sun. And yet, as the overall temperature of the Earth rises due to the green house effect, the poles are the first line of casualty at the hands of climate change, warming at twice the global average. Because the Arctic region consists primarily of a thin layer of ice covering the ocean—unlike Antarctica, its sibling to the South, which is a vast and elevated continent with an average ice thickness of two miles—the Northern polar ice cap is particularly susceptible to this warming trend.

In fact, it is now widely believed that the ice there could be all but gone by as early as 2013 in the summer months, losing progressively more of its ice cover in the winter months. In short, the Arctic is in trouble. As one of the great climate regulators in the Northern hemisphere, vast ice losses in the north threatens the thin balance of its ecosystem, in place for hundreds of thousands of years, and spells trouble for the world.

One hundred years ago, Admiral Peary led the first successful expedition to the North Pole, reaching it on April 6th 1909 with Mathew A. Henson and four Inuit. In Peary’s day, the ice at Pole was twelve feet deep on average. Today, the ice is around five and half feet deep. The changing icy environment spells an ominous future for the Arctic region which, unlike Antarctica, does not benefit from an international treaty of protection. This needs to change.

Warmer global temperatures means the opening of new maritime sea lanes, increasing prospect of exploitation of the Arctic’s natural resources and further disruption of an environment in place for about a million years. Consider that one oil platform in the Arctic has a 33% to 55% chance of a major spill. That is for just one platform! Oil spills in sea ice are exponentially more disastrous than in open sea: they are impossible to clean up. What’s more, because sea ice is virtually always in motion, a spill affects thousands of square miles. This is tragic for the Arctic’s biodiversity, notably the endangered Bear. Oil on its coat means a bear will poison itself to death whilst licking itself clean. As if they needed another challenge.

It is sad that the eight surrounding nations of the Arctic look at this devastated region as an opportunity to further the damage. Isn’t it time we rally behind a policy of conservation, preservation and investment in technologies that will takes us away from this destructive cycle? Einstein said: “Today’s problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them”. Today, we have the tools to rethink our future, and commit to a change that can help us meet our intellectual and spiritual potential. And give our children a future we can be proud of.

My expedition is dedicated to educating people and engaging them to take action by getting involved; and committing to reducing our carbon footprint, eliminating waste and becoming true eco soldiers. I will be skiing with my partner Keith Heger for over a month in frigid temperatures pulling heavy sledges. But you don’t have to walk to the top of the world to be an eco warrior. You can do this from anywhere. I invite you to visit www.globalgreen.org and join the movement today!

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