A Landslide Victory for Obama In Antarctica
Dear Mr. President-Elect,
Greetings from Antarctica!
I'm about to begin my mission to become the first American in history to reach the South Pole, solo and unaided. I'll start walking November 8th from the edge of the ice pack and, if all goes according to plan, arrive at the Pole just after Christmas. If you have a minute around then, I'd love to hear from you, just ring my satellite phone. It's the least you could do, I mean, I delivered the vote for you here in the Deep South (so to speak).
All kidding aside, I cast my ballot for Obama/Biden in advance and did all the fundraising I could in my hometown of Philadelphia before leaving for the seventh continent. Your progressive stance on fighting global warming and your bold vision for our renewable energy future made my decision pretty easy. But the main reason I voted for you is because of the effects of climate change I've witnessed first-hand here in Antarctica.
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.
When I succeed in reaching the South Pole on December 26th, the greatest reward I could imagine wouldn't be a trip to Disney World. It'd be receiving a call from you, confirming your commitment to fight global warming aggressively and work to end our fossil fuel addiction ASAP.
If you'd like to receive news from me during the trek, I'll be blogging from my tent, just sign up for my expedition e-lerts.
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Good luck and good speed, don't let your warm heart melt the permafrost!
Good luck, friend.
Great post! Have fun and be safe down there, and I hope you get your call. Are you leaving anything at the pole? I'd be inclined to leave an Obama-Biden yard sign, but I don't know if I'd actually do it. The pole seems almost sacred. Either way, thank you for raising awareness about climate change.
Good luck & Stay warm.
That should be, "keep blogging", we'll be here.
Todd, keeping blogging, we'll be here. I am still on cloud nine that our guy WON!!
I live in a little town near the Canadian border in Washington state, very far into the Pacific Northwest part of the country. As long as I can remember we were lucky if our dry season lasted, maybe, two months, July and August. But within the last ten years our summer season (meaning very little rain) has been getting longer. And this year we are going on seven months of really nice dryish weather
with not much rain.
I love the nice balmy days, but ten years is an extremely short period of time for this much change.
I am wondering if 15 years from now I might have cactus growing in my yard instead of evergreens.
i'll keep in touch...stay warm.and dry
p/s I hope President Obama calls
Antarctica is the continent with the lowest amount of teen pregnancies, crack use and drive-by shootings. All of the people in Antarctica have university education and an MA is the lowest level of education. I just had to say this. Yup, just had to...
Good place for Palin 2012!!!
What is the ph # to your satellite phone?
How expensive will it b 4 me to phone u?
Stay warm.
I dropped my wallet somewhere near the pole, could you grab it if you see it? Thanks.
I also heard a rumor that Santa was prospecting the south pole since the north one was disappearing. These rumors are neither confirmed nor denied by my sources. If you see any elves or misplaced reindeer idling about this may be evidence that the move is being realistically considered. Please say something if you see something. I heard Santa was also considering a under water base and a moon base, so, like, yeah. What do I tell my children?
thanks again
Good luck on your expedition,Todd. Bringing the world's attention to environmental issues is a noble effort. I'm a bit of a heretic on the issue of CO2's impact on the current climate and I tend to agree with Freeman Dyson and a growing number of others in this particular aspect, but I do believe in a the need for a coordinated, muscular and international approach to the worldwide problem of human impacts on the environment with population, pollution (not of the CO2 variety) and destruction of habitat and wild stocks (particularly in the oceans) being far more critical and immediate. Of course, the dependence on oil, even if CO2 were to be addressed, would still be a terrible thing for a number of reasons, and increased efficiency, and new technologies are needed to help us solve our current dilemma. Fusion and the promise of abundant, inexpensive and safe energy waits in the wings, and ultimately offers to us even the other planets. I'm sure you'd love to sledge the Martian ice caps one day as well. In the mean time I hope you'll take heart from a fellow OAE (82 thru 86), it doesn't have to be a 100 year weather event to sure feel like it. Stay warm.
go, go, go...and continue reminding politicians of the importance of climate change. Good luck!!!
Good luck, and stay warm (but not too warm) down there!
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