A day in Antarctica – Convenient solutions to an inconvenient truth
November 24 2009
It was another day of “firsts” for the team. Instead of waking up to Jumper’s usual “Team Inspire, wakey wakey wakey”, we woke up to winds howling at speeds of 50 knots, 14 knots less than hurricane winds! After an eventful night camping on ice, we struggled to repack and load all our gear on the inflatable zodiacs to get back to the comfort of the Clipper Adventurer. A warm bed and breakfast has never been as special as it was this morning. A night on the Antarctic ice makes us realize the absolute beauty and power of nature, inspiring respect and humility.
In the late 1800’s Emile Danco, a member of the Belgica expedition, died of a heart condition induced by the severe conditions in the Antarctic, some miles south of where our ship is anchored. This afternoon, we landed at Danco Island, the zodiacs navigating through floating icebergs of deep blue and crystal white. Flashes of red, green, orange, blue and yellow dotted the snow as everyone brought out their national flags. It was a moment of history as we all got the opportunity to take photographs with Robert Swan holding up our flags, proud of representing our countries and the cause of a sustainable future. We then hiked up to the top of the island to take in the breathtaking 360 degree view.
Rob constantly tells us to focus on “doing”. Climate change is a fact; we need to focus on solutions and actions to using energy more wisely. Adam from NativeEnergy introduced us to carbon offsetting and opened up a whole new space on how we can reduce our carbon footprint by helping to build new renewable energy projects across the globe. All of us are working with Adam to calculate our individual carbon footprint and build an action plan to offset it once we get back home.
It’s been an intense day of exploring the innocent beauty of Antarctica and our ideas for a sustainable future. We pledge to lead convenient solutions to the inconvenient truth of climate change, starting now.
Inspired,
Deepti
64 S 62 W
Photographs courtesy Jack Robert Tissot http://jack2041.wordpress.com/
From Ambition to Action 
awesome , very interesting Deepti .. good job there, congrats! I will soon start speaking louder on that topic.. cheers
great post. I have a question though. How are people chosen to go to the Antarctica?
Our planet has provided us with wonders and miracles of life around each corner of the globe. Vistas of majestic delicate beauty, a plethora of nature’s gentle or fierce power in weather, and interesting forms of life – all of which we must cherish more now than ever. We should all be inspired to work to change our lifestyles so that we can continue to enjoy the bounty of our planet. This voyage into Antartica fuels the flame of commitment, innovation, and vision of the few who went on the trip and who shall become leaders in our struggle to adapt and help the Planet grow healthy once again. Glad your all home and I look forward to hearing and seeing all you do in your life forward!