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J.S. Bach in Antarctica

There are numerous random finds about Antarctica on the internet.  Enjoy the edu-tainment.

http://youtu.be/YuzzEkmxf18
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...Into a Pride of Lions By Salvatore Cardoni


Climate change in Africa probably connects to Antarctica. Lions could be extinct in the wild by 2024 to 2044.  Since late 11/2013, over 2 million people have seen this video.  See brilliant images taken by wildlife photographer, Chris McLennan. He unleashes his toy car camera in Botswana.
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Antarctic Ice Sheet-Point of No Return?



Have you heard?  NASA reports in a study of West Antarctic Ice Sheet that the melting trend is irreversible.  http://bbc.in/1sGMMp6

At the start of my video on this blog, I say  "Antarctica's melting".  At the time, I felt the words were strong.  Now I understand we are at a point of no return.  

So, what are the questions?  Who cares if this is 200-500 years out?  What does this mean for the next 100 years?  What thought patterns can we hold that could make this a positive adventure?  What's possible to learn from the knowledge and history the ice holds?  What part could human consciousness play in this unfolding research?  

Even though my focus on Antarctica is more than a hobby, I feel both sadness and curiosity of this current news.  Let's continue to stay aware of ourselves, each other and our collective strength for positive outcomes.


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MY 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF BEING IN ANTARCTICA

I've certainly been reminded of cold this week, stuck in the east coast storm, trekking around NYC and Brooklyn.  Happy Birthday to Ernest Shackleton too!  

 tweets today--
"You do not need to be normal. You do not need to be mainstream…"  
http://www.djspooky.com/antarctica/

I sometimes forget this. Enjoy your day.
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Anyone Speak Whale?

 Today, I wake up early to see Comet ISON. No luck.  Sounds like it may have broken up.  I enjoy whale sounds instead.  Scientists are surprised to learn Humpback Whales are not commuting to Africa during the Antarctic winter.  http://bit.ly/1iOxB9p 
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World Climate Change Milestone

Have you seen this news?  It's an important milestone for us all to take note.  I call this a climate game changer!  Our sea, the animal kingdom, our weather and numerous consequences are upon us.  Be kind, stay aware.  What if our thoughts and feelings influence how we successfully shift this potential threat to the planet, and therefore ourselves?

In a first in human history, "it looks like the world is going to blow through the 400-ppm level without losing a beat."

- Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Published on Monday, April 29, 2013 by Common Dreams
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Weather!

At 7am, it's -4 degrees F at McMurdo station. BUT it's 0 degrees F in the Rocky Mtn. April 10th!!

Where else in the world is it 0 degrees or below besides Antarctica and Colorado :-) ?  Is this climate change?
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Antarctic Protection and Tourism

The hot topic of this week is protecting the Ross Sea.  I'm excited that John Kerry, along with New Zealand's ambassador to the United States, Michael Moore, asked for the protection of one of the last pristine oceans in the world.  At this rate, the Antarctic Treaty of 2041 could easy to uphold for another 100 years!

Tourism is controversial.   I'm still formulating my feelings on it. It's controversial because, now, increasing numbers of people want to do extreme sports, rather than walk around and look at ice and penguins. I believe we need to pull together to take action that respects and protects the environment, at the bottom of the world. I've read two books that claim people should go to the continent and experience for themselves.  Another author says absolutely not!  Scientists have mixed feelings. 


Is Antarctica left defenseless to tourism?  Rod McGuirk interviewed  Alan Hemmings, an environmental consultant on polar regions.  Mr. Hemmings say yes.

From The Independent UK- ROD MCGUIRK






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Bob Inglis: the Republican who believes in climate change

I don't focus on the polarization of climate change in the politics.  But, I apparently that's naive.  I understand the term global warming was changed primarily by Republicans to climate change some years ago.  Bob Inglis went to Antarctica in 2006 and saw climate change first hand.  In my research an experience, the Ice seems to have a message no matter what your politics! 'In an interview with Yale Environment 360 editor Roger Cohn, Inglis talked about his own evolution from being a climate change denier.'  http://bit.ly/16xLsLp



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Ozone Hole Low in 2012!

I admire Susan Solomon for her remarkable work identifying the cause of the ozone hole (atmospheric thinning), in Antarctica.  What an individual and collective success story!  2012 shows the thinning of the atmosphere lower than in the past 10 years.    This is due primarily to the banning of  Chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere from aerosol-spray propellants, refrigerants, solvents, and foam-blowing agents.

Susan is quoted in The Boise weekly-  "I think the difficulty that some people have in relating to environmental change has something to do with the fact that an awful lot of people spend their lives not really noticing the natural world around them."  

I wholeheartedly agree.  My partner and I are outdoors more than ever, camping and retailing kaleidoscopes at Art Fairs.  What a difference to make part of your living and working outside.  Antarcticans (people who visit and love the continent have a love of the outdoors too!
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Mass Extinction

I didn't know that most species (99%) that have been on this planet are now extinct.
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Antarctica's Future

To date, Antarctica's history consumes most my research time.  There's plenty to learn about the USASE (Admiral Richard E. Byrd's III expedition to the South Pole), in order to keep writing.

I'm happy to say my brain is now tuned to future possibilities of our amazing continent. 
See this video about the robot in design to explore Lake Vostok , The Lost World
It may be 5 years to launch!  Go about 5 minutes into the video to see the robot plans and animation.



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My First View of Ice Cores

Yesterday, after my African American History presentation to the Bureau of Reclamation, I receive an unexpected gift.

The librarian reminds me that the National Ice Core Lab is nearby.  I head over and get a tour from Richard Nunn, Assistant Curator and Geologist of the ice cores.  What a knowledgeable resource, he is!  This lab stores the world's collection of ice cores in a room -36°F.  My interest is of course the Byrd expeditions.  In the very back, where the temperature, with windchill, was about -60°F ( Calculated from the old formula- On November 1, 2001, a new formula was adopted, which makes it a little warmer :-).  

We're there for about 10 minutes.  It takes me an hour to warm up! Totally worth it.

The tubes from the 1940s and 50s are made from metal.  The new tubes are cardboard.
They keep the first ice cores, from Admiral Byrd's 1947 expedition for posterity sake. Since the most of the air is gone from the samples, the data they collect isn't accurate.
What a thrill to see the cores, with ice anywhere from 10,000 to 70,000 years old.

In the summer, the faculty plays in the thousands of year old 'snow' from the shavings they discard.  My mind is racing with climate science questions and possibilities!

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