Reality

There is no going back.

We all know the results of our collective actions, we see it daily in raging hurricanes, in photos of starving polar bears, and microplastics in alpine lakes and city water supplies alike. The hundreds, perhaps thousands, of conservation organizations, environmental advocates, and ecological prophets bend ears at every opportunity; if we can reach the children, the lawmakers, the governments, surely things will change, surely we will make a difference. We lament the loss of things many will never see outside of TV or a zoo – elephants and tigers, glaciers and polar ice caps.

A dream

I point no fingers, as I am guilty, too: I drive, I fly, I use more water than necessary, I appreciate many comforts of modern living.

I go to Svalbard next week with the dream of connecting people to a world they may never experience, to a place that bears the brunt of our time, and does so stoically, as those with the gravest injuries tend toward silence while the superficially wounded produce the loudest caterwauling. How long before we recognize the consequences of our actions? How long before we bring the Arctic and its denizens to their knees?

I don’t pretend to have the answer. I am not so arrogant to think that my trip will change the face of our culture nor our fate. I believe we each have a role and every person who connects with the natural world becomes sympathetic to its plight. To our plight. We are not separate.

I am in pursuit of this connection. For myself, yes, but also for the wild upon which we depend, for it depends equally upon us.

I will have limited to no internet over the coming weeks. Bear with me; I will post what I can. I look forward to catching up here when I return to stable wifi. In the meantime, wish me many polar bears and stunning northern lights.

Stay on the sunny side. xoxo T