The Drake Lake
Today, the Drake Passage was (surprisingly) very calm! The ship’s crew even removed the barf bags from all of the railings around the ship. In the morning, Sylvana helped me and a few other expedition members with public speaking. We practiced our presentations, and she gave us tips for improving them. Then, Ny-Ann and Hannah, who are students at the Presidio Graduate Institute in San Francisco, gave a presentation on sustainability. It’s important to “speak to people in their own language.” I also learned that there is a sustainability continuum, with five different stages. The triple bottom line is economic sustainability, social sustainability, and environmental sustainability - when all three meet, there is sustainable development. It’s really important to vote for sustainability with our money and clicks online, and have sustainable practices in our daily lives. For example, eating meat is very unsustainable, especially beef. Raising livestock consumes a lot of water. Similarly, producing clothing is water-intensive, so we should take good care of our current clothes. There are also many other things we can do to live in more eco-friendly ways.
Great Presentations
Rob Swan gave a fantastic presentation on his expedition to the North Pole. He described it as a “nightmare.” One important lesson he learned was being resourceful: one of his ski poles broke, so he used a piece of wood that he’d received from Captain Scott’s ship to repair it. Rob also stressed the importance of keeping the whole team happy and engaged. As a leader, one must think of the little things. On Rob’s expedition, there was a Japanese man namer Hiroshi. Rob had newspapers in Japanese for Hiroshi to read each day, which helped keep him engaged. At the end of his presentation, Rob talked about the South Pole Energy Challenge. Rob will be using solar panels and wind energy, which will hopefully encourage others to think about their own energy use.
After Rob’s presentation, Leigh Anne Bishop gave a presentation about a student expedition to the North Pole. She helped create educational programs which became part of the secondary school curriculum in many countries, including the UK. Then, David Hone gave a presentation on carbon pricing. He talked about different approaches to creating an effective carbon price. In order for carbon pricing to be successful, everyone must implement the cap and trade system (otherwise, there will be havens in certain places that don’t have a carbon price, where companies will move production to).
Then, Meagan Carnahan presented on Barefoot College, which teacher illiterate rural men and women in developing countries. It is 100% sustainable and is founded on the idea that rural children should have a rural education, and urban children should have an urban education (so that cities don’t become even more overcrowded). Its five areas of focus are “Solar Electrification, Clean Water, Education, Livelihood Development, and Activism.” The students learn a variety of skills that they can use in their communities, which allows them to have multiple areas of work. Barefoot College has lots of initiatives based on solar power. For example, women are trained as solar panel engineers. When women graduate and return to their communities, they become heroes because of the improvements they bring. This creates a leapfrog effect — women want to learn more. To learn more about Barefoot College, visit barefootcollege.org.
After Rob’s presentation, Leigh Anne Bishop gave a presentation about a student expedition to the North Pole. She helped create educational programs which became part of the secondary school curriculum in many countries, including the UK. Then, David Hone gave a presentation on carbon pricing. He talked about different approaches to creating an effective carbon price. In order for carbon pricing to be successful, everyone must implement the cap and trade system (otherwise, there will be havens in certain places that don’t have a carbon price, where companies will move production to).
Then, Meagan Carnahan presented on Barefoot College, which teacher illiterate rural men and women in developing countries. It is 100% sustainable and is founded on the idea that rural children should have a rural education, and urban children should have an urban education (so that cities don’t become even more overcrowded). Its five areas of focus are “Solar Electrification, Clean Water, Education, Livelihood Development, and Activism.” The students learn a variety of skills that they can use in their communities, which allows them to have multiple areas of work. Barefoot College has lots of initiatives based on solar power. For example, women are trained as solar panel engineers. When women graduate and return to their communities, they become heroes because of the improvements they bring. This creates a leapfrog effect — women want to learn more. To learn more about Barefoot College, visit barefootcollege.org.
Final Evening
In the evening, we had a Disembarkation Brief and Captain’s Toast, in which everyone gave a toast to the captain of the Sea Spirit. the Closing Ceremonies for the expedition. Matthias reminded us to “make [our] impossible nothing.” He also told us to reflect on our “sweet spots,” and that teaching is learning. Then, Hamida al Kawari showed a preview of the documentary she has been working hard to create about her journey during and after the expedition. She is planning to build an E-Base in her home country of Qatar after the expedition ends. We also saw the 2041 film, which had highlights from the entire expedition. Afterwards, there was a dance party to celebrate the expedition.