Todd Carmichael a frequent contributor at DeSmogBlog will be setting out in the next few days in a bid to become the first American to trek solo to the South Pole. Carmichael made a similar attempt last year but was turned back by heavy SNOW!
Carmichael describes the scene and its significance:
Last year, during my second solo attempt to reach the South Pole, I was stopped dead in my tracks by something this continent rarely experiences. Snow. A full-blown blizzard, in fact.
Most people probably aren’t aware of the fact that Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth; it’s literally a desert of ice with an average of a single inch of precipitation each year. So what I experienced was akin to standing in the middle of the Sahara during the dry season and getting whacked by a torrential downpour.
As I stood there blinded by the whiteout that had enveloped me, I called a friend back at base camp, a veteran explorer marking his 31st straight year of Antarctic expeditions. “I’ve never seen anything like this mate. I don’t know what to make of it,” he replied.
Things are changing here, way too fast.
That type of extreme weather is becoming all too common around the globe, and scientists have no doubt that we humans are disrupting the climate, with potentially devastating impacts for humanity. It’s high time for bold action.
What is Todd hoping for when he reaches the South Pole? A call from President Obama “confirming [his] commitment to fight global warming aggressively and work to end our fossil fuel addiction ASAP.”
Todd will be blogging his adventures. If you’re interested in receiving updates on his journey you can sign up for email alerts here.
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