John’s Polar Adventures

Over the last two days we have managed to be both incredibly productive while still having a lot of fun. We have had lectures on the deep geologic past, tipping points, and marine ecology that have really helped to form the foundation of our understanding on climate change. The purpose is not to train us to be climate scientists or environmental chemists but rather to reinforce the fact that the change that we are advocating for is backed up by hard science.

We also did a lot of brainstorming as students to figure out how we can best utilize our networks and skills to maximize the impact that we can make from this experience (The Japanese ambassadors are even giving a presentation a couple weeks after they return home at the G8 Meeting in Hokkiado, Japan!)

On a less serious note, we tested the arctic waters today with a quick dip at a rocky beach near the landing site of our zodiacs. We naturally sang “It’s Getting Hot in Here” before we all entered the water, only to jump back out nearly instantly after entering. It was incredibly cold but also pretty exhilarating. We dried off pretty quickly and headed back to the boat’s sauna. All in all, another great day in the Arctic!