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travel / express yourself / your adventures / cape farewell
| Your Adventures |
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2008 Youth Expedition: Cape Farewell Canada
Twenty-eight high school students from Canada, Ireland, Brazil, Mexico, Scotland, Germany,
India and the United Kingdom boarded a research vessel in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Sept. 7, 2008.
As ambassadors of their schools and communities, these students set out on a journey to observe
and interpret the effects of climate change in the Arctic. This voyage, Cape Farewell, is created
by an organization of artists who combine arts and science with the aim to raise awareness
about the environment. Their hope is to inspire the youth to share their experience and influence
the world to find solutions to this problem. For all the blogs, videos and photos visit capefarewellcanada.ca.
| ABOUT THE EXPEDITION |
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MEET THE STUDENTS |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
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Hi from Lake St. George!!
SEPTEMBER 3, 2008
Hi everyone!
Thank you so much for blogging (the new verb). It means a lot to hear from you all, and it’s so cool to be in contact, even when it’s
just from Ontario. I’m sure it will be even more amazing when we’re in Iceland.
So far the geomorphology group has done two media training sessions, in which we taped our first video and picked up a few more tips on how to do
interviews. We also did a science session where we learned about what all of the different science groups will be studying. One of the scientists,
Bruno, spoke to us about how there won’t be any oil in 40-50 years. This obviously has a huge impact on Alberta. He also explained how the melting
of the ice caps is like a positive feedback loop. As I’m sure you guys know, ice appears white as it reflects most light. Water, on the other hand,
appears dark, as it absorbs most light. The ice caps are like two giant mirrors on the Earth that allow it to stay cooler. With increasing
temperatures, the ice melts, and more water appears in its place. Consequently, more light and heat is absorbed, causing even more ice to melt.
And so, the situation will continue to worsen on it’s own, regardless of whether we cut emissions. I’m not saying this to depress anyone, but
just to emphasize the importance of acting now. With the decline of the economy in the next half of the century, and the positive feedback loop,
we could be in for some hard times. As Ghandi said; it’s up to us to “Be the change we want to see in the world”. On a more positive note, Bruno
said that it might even be possible to reverse the effects of melting ice caps, but that it will require a major change in the way that we think
and live.
Speaking of the illustrated childrens book, I believe that the art session that I had this morning just opened up a world of possibilities.
I’ve met Genevieve Cote (sorry, no accents!) but haven’t had a chance to discuss our project with her yet. In the session we did an exercise
where we had to depict a machine that could ‘fix’ global warming. Don’t we all wish that could come true!
Everything’s been great here. Last night we had a bonfire and Devin, who is from Nunavut, taught us some traditional Inuit dances. Then we
learned to Salsa from Amanda and Victor from Brazil. And Carlos, from Mexico, did poi, which I will post a video of. Melissa sang a jazz song,
and is an amazing singer. And yes Ioana, I concur that Scottish accents are amazing!!
I also did an interview in French today for a newspaper with Melissa. We’ll be doing our media launch tomorrow. We’re leaving for dinner soon.
I’m getting eaten alive. I’m typing this outsidem, and the mosquitos are horrible. Take care, and I’ll post some videos and pictures soon!
Miss you all,
Posted by Sarah H. (there are two Sarah’s on this trip. Funny how popular that name is)
St. Mary’s High School
Calgary, Alberta
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