Bad News, Good News and Climate Change

The election of Donald Trump—who has called human-caused climate change a “total hoax”—was bad news for those of us concerned about the effects of global warming. The good news is that he cannot legally do anything to stop the 190 countries who have vowed to reduce carbon dioxide pollution, nor can he unilaterally erase the US commitment to the Paris agreement. But he can slow or weaken the enforcement of President Obama’s climate rules. Maybe his views will change when rising sea levels continue to threaten his coastal properties, such as “Trump Hollywood” on the vulnerable coast of Florida. Even if that area is not flooded in the near future, Trump may soon find that insurance companies will no longer insure his threatened coastal properties, effectively making those properties worthless. Such a blow to his pocketbook is bound to get his attention.

One of the reasons why Trump was elected, in spite of his obvious characterological flaws, was because people generally make decisions based on their emotions more than logical reasoning. Studies have shown that it is primarily the emotional part of the brain that lights up (as seen in PET scans) when people make political decisions, regardless of their political persuasion. The data shows that people fearful of immigrants and terrorism in US strongly favored Trump, kind of a “Brexit” mentality.

For a similar reason, I think people can’t accept the data amassed showing that global warming is not a hoax. From an emotional perspective, it is more palatable to deny it. But that denial will probably fade as more concrete events directly impact people, like flooding in Florida or the historic drought in California. Who knows…maybe even Trump believes in global warming, but declared otherwise to win votes from the people most likely to vote for him. What politicians say and what they truly believe are often at odds.

What was bad news for me about Trump’s election was more than offset by the news I received two days later. I just learned we can look forward to our second grandchild. That’s a global warming of my heart.

International Cooperation in Antarctica

In spite of the ugly politics in the US and the rest of the world, there is upbeat news regarding Antarctica. For the past year a number of nations have tried to create a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Antarctica. The US, EU, China and twenty-one other countries were in agreement. Russia was the only holdout, but they finally agreed to join the other nations to create the worlds largest Marine Protected Area— 600,000 square miles—in the Ross Sea of Antarctica. Nothing can be taken from this area including marine life and minerals, except for scientific purposes, for the next thirty-five years. This means among other things that “Chilean Sea Bass”, the brand name for Patagonian Toothfish predominantly found in Antarctica, may still be enjoyed in our restaurants for some time.

Russia’s Special Representative for Ecology, Sergei Ivanov said “Russia has a proud history of exploration and science and Antarctica. In this time of political turbulence in so many parts of the world, we are pleased to be part of this collaborative international effort to safeguard the Ross Sea.”

When I was in Antarctica aboard the USCGC Glacier in 1970, I had the honor of visiting a Russian station along with a small group of our officers. We joined a dozen Russians for lunch that consisted mostly of pickled food washed down with the best vodka I’ve ever had. In the midst of the Cold War, we got drunk together, raised both the American and Russian flags high above their station, and then gave them a tour of our ship. That experience left me with the feeling that there could be real cooperation between our countries. The recent agreement to create a huge marine reserve in Antarctica underscores that such cooperation can and does happen.

Antarctica is the only continent that has never experienced a war. The Antarctic Treaty has been a model for international cooperation since 1959.

The Benefits of Awe Experiences

Preliminary studies by Jennifer Stellar at Berkeley indicate that of all the positive experiences, only awe predicts a significant reduction in cytokine levels. High levels of this chemical messenger are associated with excessive inflammation and increased vulnerability to disease. Other studies at Berkeley show that simply watching a short video of expansive natural images lead to better results in test of creativity and more persistence while attempting to perform difficult tasks. I recently saw a documentary film, “Antarctica: A Year on Ice”, by Anthony Powell. I think essentially everyone would be awestruck after seeing such a beautiful film.

A study by Arnie Gordon at Berkeley indicated that awe experiences are relatively common, occurring on average every third day. These experiences create a “stop-and-think” moment that makes us more receptive to new information and more aware of others. Awe sensations can be triggered by such things as appreciating the wonders of nature, art, music, acts of kindness or experiencing something vast that is not immediately understood.

In modern society we tend to spend too much time looking at our cell phones or generally being self-absorbed. It’s important that we actively seek out every day awe experiences. It’s not that hard. For example, I have found that if I have a camera in my hand and I’m looking for something nice to photograph, I’m much more apt to see beauty in simple things like patterns, textures, or colors. Watching children experience the world is another frequent source of awe.

I recently heard about something my granddaughter did. I didn’t actually see what Emily did, but I could picture it in my mind. I was a bit concerned about Emily when she was younger because she seemed to be inordinately afraid of dogs, but that seems to have changed now that she is two years old. A friend of my daughter and son-in-law came to visit them and brought along a six-month-old black Labrador. Emily delighted in playing with the dog and chasing after him. She finally tired the dog out to the point where the dog needed to take a nap. She was told the dog needed to go “nighty night.” When the dog laid down to sleep, Emily got her blanket to cover the dog… along with one of her favorite stuffed animals. That act of kindness and altruism was certainly an awe moment for me.

The importance of Awe!

I was going to entitle this entire blog site “Awesome Antarctica” because it relates to how I feel about many of my Antarctic experiences and because it ties into the book I have just written. But then I realized my blog was going to cover a wide variety of topics unrelated to Antarctica. Also, the word “awesome” is so overused these days that it has lost much of its power. However, the feeling of awe is more important than most people realize. In fact, it has become the topic of a number of psychological studies.

Scientists think that one of the reasons why we as humans experience the feeling of awe is because such a transcendent experience helps us think more about beauty, nature and humanity. Studies have shown that such feelings help us think more of others and less about ourselves. In an evolutionary sense, it has helped us realize that we are part of something larger, part of a group. And that has aided in our survival as we began to live in social collectives.

Studies also show that the experience of awe helps to stimulate feelings of wonder and curiosity, which undoubtedly has led to numerous important discoveries to advance civilization.

I’ve not seen any studies about when feelings of awe begin, but I think they begin early in life. When my lovely granddaughter, Emily, was only fifteen months old, she ended up having to watch a home video. I assumed she would find it thoroughly boring. I took the video when my wife and I traveled to France along with a small group of adults. I didn’t think Emily would have any interest in such things as cathedrals, medieval towns or World War II battle sites. I guessed the only reason why she didn’t start squirming right away was because she was comfortable resting in grandma’s arms while she quietly sucked on her bottle and passively watched the video. Twenty-five minutes later the video showed a scene of Monet’s Garden— a classical shot of an arched bridge over a reflective pond filled with lily pads and surrounded by flowering trees. Emily suddenly sat upright, dropped her bottle and said “Wow.” I didn’t even know that word was part of her limited vocabulary. There was no doubt in my mind that she was awestruck by the beauty of the scene. And I was similarly awed by her reaction, not only because it was so unexpected and so welcome, but also because I realized we both shared the same sense of beauty. In a sense, the same shared humanity.

Paris Climate Agreement signed and sealed!

Twenty-eight more nations signed the Paris Climate Agreement on October 5th, 2016, giving the agreement enough to cross the threshold needed. Seventy-three countries accounting for 56.87% of the worlds greenhouse emissions - including the US and China - are now formally parties to the treaty. Obama described the news as a "turning point for our planet". The international agreement passed in record time, partly out of fears of what Trump might do if he was elected. U.N, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said “What once seemed unthinkable is now unstoppable.” The accord goes into effect one day before the US presidential election. 

Although the accord is not legally binding, countries are required to report on their emissions and their progress towards meeting the goal of limiting rising global temperatures to much less than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit - and avoid what geoscience professor Michael Oppenheimer described as “falling over a very steep cliff.” A good deal of hard work remains for the nations of the world to achieve the goals that have been set.

Polar Regions, Vikings and Tomatoes

So what’s the relationship between the three things in the title you may ask? Since I’m three quarters Norwegian by heritage and I’ve always loved stories about exploring, it’s not surprising that I developed an interest in the vast explorations during the heyday of the Vikings. Their explorations covered an area including North America, Greenland, Europe, the Mediterranean and Russia. And they or their direct descendants not only settled many of these areas, but they also help set up major trading economies and helped establish stable governments, particularly in Russia, Iceland, and Sicily. And today Viking descendants are helping us in other ways.

The time I spent in Antarctica aboard the Glacier significantly increased my interest in polar regions, which led to my reading more about important Norwegian explorers like Nansen and Amundsen. The direct and indirect influence Norwegians have had on both the Arctic and the Antarctic is quite impressive.

I’ve always liked tomatoes, but modern day tomatoes don’t taste as good as the kinds I had more than sixty years ago when I was a little kid in Minnesota. It turns out that those good tasting tomatoes were less uniform, uglier and harder to transport. Round red tomatoes were not only easier to ship, but they also were more aesthetically pleasing and sold better. It wasn’t long before that was the only kind of tomato readily available. More recently, heirloom tomatoes are making a comeback, thanks to those who saved the seeds of the older varieties.

So what is it that links tomatoes, Vikings and polar regions? The connection has to do with plant seeds in general and all those plants that are dying out because of global warming, natural disasters, depleted soils, agribusiness practices, etc. It turns out there is a Global Seed Vault housed in a large tunnel and bunker in Svalbard, Norway— an island archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The seed bank there opened in 2008 and now stores seeds from close to 900,000 plant varieties. The state-of-the-art facility collecting the seeds is funded by the Government of Norway and is the result of a partnership between Norway, the Nordic Genetic Research Center and the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

We need to do all we can to preserve and maintain the planets dwindling biodiversity. Hats off to the government of Norway and their partners.

Rising Temperatures in Antartica

This past year was the hottest year on record and 2016 is on track to eclipse that record. Rising temperatures in Antarctica are going to have the most dramatic effect on sea levels. Global warming and how it relates to Antarctica will be one of the things I will be covering in this blog in more detail. But first a bit of my philosophy.

One of my philosophies is that there is almost invariably something good about the bad things that happen in one’s life. Sometimes the good aspect is not readily apparent, but becomes clear later on. Say, for example, you get hurt badly in an accident, but then while rehabilitating yourself from that injury, you learn a great deal about how to recover from subsequent injuries. And maybe you learn how to prevent a similar injury in the future. I could give many examples, but I think you get the idea.

So using this philosophical approach, I can actually find something good about Donald Trump’s candidacy. He does not believe in man-made global warming and if he became president he would nullify the historic global climate accord reached in Paris by sixty nations last December. I thought the climate accord was a done deal, but that is not so. Like many things, the devil is in the details. In order for the accord to become law, it must be approved by at least fifty-five nations and those giving their approval must be responsible for at least 55 percent of the climate altering missions. Even if all sixty nations formally approved the accord—as China and the US did recently—they still would only account for 48 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Normally it takes several years if not decades for an international agreement to become law, but thanks to Donald Trump it looks like the accord can become law this year. At a UN ceremony two days ago fourteen more countries said they would approve the accord this year. For many of these countries, the matter has become much more urgent based on their fears that Trump could become president.
 

"The Pursuit of Endurance: on the Shoulders of Shackleton"

I had the honor of meeting Luc Hardy on September 13, 2016 following a screening of his excellent new documentary film,” The Pursuit of an Endurance – On the Shoulders of Shackleton”. Mr. Hardy is an experienced polar explorer, venture capitalist and vice president of Green Cross. He produced the film and led the expedition that traced Shackleton’s heroic voyage between Elephant Island and South Georgia Island, as well as Shackleton’s treacherous crossing of this mountainous island. Although I knew about the crossing, I now have a much better idea of the degree of difficulty Shackleton faced when he crossed the island with two of his men 100 years ago. Shackleton traversed the then uncharted island, ridged with 10,000 foot peaks, with primitive equipment and little supplies in thirty-six hours. In contrast, Mr. Hardy’s expedition, with modern equipment, maps, and tremendous logistical support, needed several attempts before they were successful.

In the Q&A following the film, I was surprised to learn how many people had never even heard of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the famous polar explorer who helped save his men from almost certain death after their ship, the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea icepack. Their story of survival in the brutal conditions of Antarctica is beyond compare. Of course, I didn’t know much about Shackleton either, until 1970 when I was the ship’s doctor aboard a Coast Guard icebreaker, the Glacier, and we ended up hopelessly trapped in the same icepack, in essentially the same place as Shackleton, 100 miles from open water. Fortunately, our outcome was far less harrowing then Shackleton’s and it gave me a great story to tell.

The attached trailer of Luc Hardy’s film should give you a much better idea about Shackleton’s saga. I will be writing more about Shackleton in subsequent posts.

Interesting Facts about Antartica

Antarctica is the driest continent. With all that snow and ice, you would not think so, but it actually gets less precipitation than many deserts. It seems that there is more snow there because most of it does not melt. It will blow around and develop the consistency of talcum powder that gets into everything. Eventually most snow there turns into ice.

The first person to discover Antarctica was a Russian, Thaddeus von Bellingshausen, on January 1, 1820, but he wasn’t given official credit for his discovery until late in the twentieth century. Apparently Russia was not particularly impressed by his discovery nor did they tell the rest of the world. Bellingshausen’s logbooks were destroyed in the Russian Revolution. It wasn’t until 1982, when Polar Historian, A.G.E Jones, reviewed Bellingshausen’s diary, a report to the Russian Naval Ministry, dated July 21, 1821, and other documents in a Russian museum that he determined that Bellingshausen had discovered Antarctica a mere two days before a British Royal Navy officer, Edward Bransfield.

The largest iceberg ever recorded was Iceberg B-15. It measured 4,200 square miles, which is about the size of Connecticut or the island of Jamaica. An iceberg that large could supply the world’s need for drinking water for a year.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog site. I am a retired physician who spent seven months as a Ship’s Doctor aboard a Coast Guard icebreaker, including five months cruising and busting ice in Antarctic oceans. My focus for this blog will primarily be about all things directly or indirectly related to Antarctica, particularly topics discussed in my nearly finished novel, Wind, Fire and Ice: The Perils of a Coast Guard Icebreaker in Antarctica. I will be writing about such as things as the Southern Ocean, Antarctic history, Sir Earnest Shackleton, polar icebreakers, geography, medicine, ecology, marine science, expedition psychology, global warming and military life. But I’m not going to paint myself into a corner regarding the topics I’ll cover. I have an adventurous spirit and a curious mind. One of the joys of starting any writing project is not knowing exactly where it will end. Although I may stray from central topics from time to time, I’ll always try to keep things interesting.