Come together, right now

Olaaa!

Today, we travelled to the community Ny-Alesund, which is one of the most northern communities in the world. It was a beautiful blue day, and really nice to just walk around the town. We saw some reindeer, and an arctic fox just outside the town. We left there and went to Ny London, where we went hiking and exploring a bit. It was an interesting place, because it had been a marble mine, but was very unsuccessful and abandoned a few years later. All the equipment is still there. We hiked up a hill and got a wonderful view of a glacier. This glacier used to join 2 pieces of land, but receded, so an island now exists.

This evening, we also had our first meeting as a group (participants only). It was really great to finally talk to these amazing people. Over the last few days we have been off so much doing our own things in country groups, that I feel like the group has become very fractured. I think we need a lot more of these conversations in order to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. I think collaboration will be our greatest weapon. I also just love discussing things with all these new people. Because they come from everywhere around the world, they all have different experiences, ideas, and attitudes toward things. When I discuss things with people at home, there is rarely the variety of different ideas that I have experienced here. This is the most valuable thing I have experienced so far; I feel that my understanding of these issues has grown ten-fold, even in the last few days. I am really excited to work with these people, and I think that together we will be able to influence the change we want.

Again and again, I come to the conclusion that the Arctic is beautiful, despite its obvious lack of trees, grass, and most things green. As I mentioned yesterday, the beauty of the arctic is in its fragility. The life; flowers, plants, reindeer, polar bears; that live here depend so wholly and completely on one another that one single, tiny change, would throw the whole ecosystem out of balance. The Arctic is an unforgiving place, filled with harsh weather, days full of light, and days when there is no light. Cold and snow cover the ground for most of the year. It really is amazing that there is life in these conditions at all. The severity of the Arctic conditions leaves little room for error, and we must show this region the utmost respect. There are tiny, bright purple flowers that must always be fighting for their life. These flowers, and other tiny plants covering the ground provide food for the reindeers, who raise their young to continue the cycle. These reindeers then provide food for the larger carnivores, including humans. This cycle leaves little room for flexibility, and if anything were to change I feel that all would change. If the conditions aren’t right for plants to grow, and there are no plants for the reindeer to eat, then the reindeer die, and so on. The whole system is affected. I hope that we realize that climate change is, and will be, the change that upsets this fragile system.

The arctic is beautiful and unique; and it is worth it to protect it.

love jayme