Today's program focused on inspiration, leadership, sustainability, and storytelling. In the morning, there were inspiring workshops and lectures from several experienced experts. I learned that this expedition is about energy, both literally and metaphorically, and that "big energy is leadership." Another really important aspect of the expedition in being on time - a man named Bronco Lane, who climbed Mount Everest and lost all his fingers, created a rule that he should arrive 5 minutes early to everything.
Anne Kershaw, MBE
Anne Kershaw, who founded 2041 with Robert Swan, talked about how she became interested in Antarctica. Her husband, Giles Kershaw, had worked with Rob leading expeditions, but died in a plane crash. Anne wanted to ensure that other travelers to Antarctica were safe.
David Hone
Next, David Hone, Climate Change Advisor for Shell and author of "Putting the Genie Back: 2º C Will Be Harder Than We Think," gave a wonderful presentation of climate change. Even if we completely convert to sustainable energy, the world's temperature will still rise more than 2º C. David described carbon dioxide emissions as a stock problem, which means that it accumulates in the atmosphere over time and doesn't go away. In other words, even if we emit less carbon tomorrow than we did today, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere will still increase. Another interesting fact is that greater energy efficiency has lead to more energy consumption - for example, since LED lights are so efficient, they are now being used to light the outsides of buildings. David's solution to the current climate change problem is implementing a tax on carbon dioxide emissions and using carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS is when emitted carbon is captured from the atmosphere or a power plant and injected back into the ground. After David's presentation, the team members had a discussion.
Robert Swan, OBE
Rob Swan gave a really inspiring talk, starting with his childhood and ending with his more recent endeavors. On his first expedition, the captain of his ship accidentally crashed the ship into the London harbor, as well as the London Bridge, with lots of spectators and media present. However, Rob quickly made a comeback, saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, that was a demonstration of our ice-breaking capabilities." He also talked about how he cleaned up tons of waste (literally) in Antarctica, but soon shifted his role from garbage-collector to renewable energy champion. He also talked about how important it is to be relevant, hence his "Think global, act local" campaign. An important piece of advice he gave was, "Don't always support things that are popular; support things that are right." He also described himself as a good survivor, saying that survivors deal with the problem before it hits them, not after. His ending quote was, "The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it."
Matthais Malessa
Matthias, who used to work for Adidas, talked about leadership, storytelling, and the "impossible." He advised us to make the impossible irrelevant, because many things are possible even if we initially think they aren't. He also emphasized that leadership is by choice, not by admission, and that it starts with you. Leaders' power comes from their life stories and experiences, and their ability to communicate them to others. Instead of telling stories as a "hero" or "victim," leaders should tell stories from the point of view of someone who's stepped forward. Then, each team did an interesting exercise called the "elevator speech." Each person and 90 seconds to tell their story about their background and why they were on the expedition.
Kyle O'Donoghue
Expedition Videographer Kyle presented on the importance of stories, and making sure that our voices are heard over all of the other noise. He recommended that everyone take one special photo each day and write in their Antarctica Log Books or diaries.