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Six young people to take on Arctic
By Jacob Fullmer
March 21, 2008 | Global warming activist and accomplished
Arctic explorer Will Steger will accompany six college-aged
travelers on a 1,400-mile dogsled expedition beginning
March 28.
In a phone interview from the trek's base camp on
Baffin Island in the northeastern-most territory of
Canada, Steger said he has seen "alarming changes" to
the Arctic in recent years. He wants to use this trek
to reach out to younger audiences with concerns over
global warming.
The expedition will travel to Ellesmere Island, the
northernmost island in between Canada and Greenland.
The team hopes to record the effects of global warming
on Ellesmere Island. The trek will last about three
months.
The Will Steger Foundation's Web site states they
are "dedicated to creating programs which foster international
leadership and cooperation through environmental education
and policy."
Steger's six traveling companions range in age from
21 to 28. From a variety of nations and backgrounds,
the group includes Sam Branson of Great Britain, the
son of Richard Branson, the Virgin Records mogul, and
the youngest explorer in the group, and Sigrid Ekran,
a Norwegian dogsledder who finished 24th in the 1150
mile long Iditarod race last week. Last year, she was
awarded Iditarod's Rookie of the Year and Best Female
Musher. Other explorers are from Canada and the United
States.
Steger wants to activate young people through global
networks and take them to "the very front lines of global
warming."
He said U.S. citizens are socially disengaged when
compared with previous eras such as the 1960s. But getting
involved can be enjoyable.
"[Senator] Obama's tapping into this energy: The eyes
of the youth," he said.
The foundation has established a website
for viewers to follow the the expedition's preparation
and travels. The dogs have been training since December
and some of the young crew have been on site for over
a month. They will phone in regular updates using an
Iridium satellite phone after the trek begins.
Steger, a native of northern Minnesota and former
teacher, said he has personally witnessed the effects
of global warming in over 40 years of Arctic traveling.
He referenced a piece of ice "the size of Manhattan"
which recently broke off of a prominent ice shelf.
According to Steger, people who doubt whether mankind
has an effect on global warming are "getting their information
from the wrong sources."
Steger believes his part of his awareness campaign
has been set back by well organized groups with other
agendas. The media, he said, also exacerbates the situation
by providing too much coverage of groups who disagree
with 95 percent of the scientific community's view of
global warming. To him, the "smoking gun" behind global
warming is carbon dioxide emissions.
"There's never been a doubt about [it]," he said.
"You add carbon dioxide to the air, it gets warmer."
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