#There is not enough water to doom humanity in just the ice caps. A large ass comet (comets are largely ice) could add the water needed!

[chromatophorium]

This is an entirely self-indulgent SOMA/Splatoon crossover, haha. (a reworked au, as those who have seen certain other posts of mine may know)

So, helmet/head is a Octocopter helmet. Arms are the hoses of Octotroopers. Legs are the ones of a Octopod. And the internals of the torso is a Octoling Soldier's inktank.

[millennial-review]

Do we have any hope to survive next 12 years?

The next 12 years? I think so. It’s the 88 after that I’m really concerned about. And this is like a very pessimistic case I’m about to make, I don’t think it’s the most likely outcome, but I think either path I lay out below are far more possible than people appreciate. The last 65 years are a historic anomaly and while I like to think humanity as a whole is beyond global conflict or decades long widespread unrest of the sort that’s plagued people for centuries, I think that’s probably not reality. If you listen to basically any talk Noam Chomsky has given in the last 3 years or so, he pretty constantly highlights the fact humanity has only had nuclear weapons in a capacity that can destroy the planet for 65 years or so. Less than a lifetime. And we’re slowly careening towards catastrophic climate outcomes that will fundamentally endanger and reshape human life across the globe. Add to that the increasingly reactionary politics all around the globe (represented by the Tea Party/Trump in the Republicans, Brexit, figures like Marie Le Penn, Bolsonaro in Brazil, parties like the National Front in Germany) makes fighting either trend far less likely and actually exacerbates them and makes bad outcomes even more likely. The next 12 years are obviously hugely important for staving off either of those trends and creating the structures and institutions required to combat them. Global Conflict (AKA Please God No World War III)

I think people living in the Post World War II world order really under value how peaceful historically speaking the last 70 years or so have been and how artificial and human constructed that peace really is.  After World War II there was a VERY deliberate effort to create political/economic structures that prevented World War I and World War II level conflicts. And if you look at the major wars 1950 onward, those structures have done a pretty good job. Just looking at the conflicts the United States has participated in since then and their relative casualties, I think you can make the case those structures have prevented a World War III level conflict for decades. Largely by preventing various other countries from getting involved when conflicts do arise. Because the economic and political ties that connect even potential adversaries (think China/United States) make it really difficult to justify armed conflict. Even when a country might be justified or otherwise want to interfere (think the United States in the Ukraine when Putin invaded, or Russia in Syria when the United States upped their presence). A lot of those reactionary parties I listed above want to actively deconstruct many of the institutions which have integrated the world in a way that makes dragging bigger more powerful friends into any given conflict a lot less likely and prevents the larger more powerful countries from engaging directly. Somewhere in the ball park of 50 to 80 MILLION people died in World War II. Somewhere in the ball park of 15 to 20 MILLION people died in World War I.Those numbers include civilians. Around 2.5 million people died in Korea.Around 1.3 million people died in Vietnam. Around 6,000 people died in the first Gulf War.Around 100,000 people died in Afghanistan/Iraq since 2001. If you graphed out the relative number of casualties basically every country on the planet has experienced since World War II, you see a similar decline. With exceptions for really bad domestic conflicts, like the Chinese revolution (which is obviously global on some level). Also, obviously 2.5 million people in Korea is still an atrocity and armed conflict should always be avoided at all costs in my opinion, but if it goes there 2.5 million people is a lot better than 15 million, or 50 million. I just point this out to say, these structures have prevented MASSIVE conflicts from occurring by connecting the world in a way that tips the balance of pros/cons of armed conflict in such a way it makes it not worth it. That’s not a given. And for the first time popular political movements across the globe want to deconstruct these structures. The parties above are very skeptical of the EU. They’re very skeptical of trade agreements (the modern way to integrate the economic interests of various countries). China is increasingly threatening America/Western Europe economic hegemony which will create it’s own problems outside just a general unwillingness to come to the table in the same way other allies do. And we’ve never experienced a world where these structures don’t exist and nuclear powers start rubbing each other the wrong way. There is a case to be made that nuclear weapons are the cause of the phenomena I’ve described above and not these post World War II institutions. I think that’s plausible, but I also think those institutions create a much needed cushion that prevents conflicts from escalating and if conflicts escalate to a point that nuclear war becomes a valid option, it’s not going to be two bombs on two cities in one country, it’s going to be Fallout IRL sorts of bombs. That’s Noam Chomsky’s case roughly paraphrased here. But I find it fairly compelling. Again, it doesn’t seem like a happen in the next 12 years sort of thing, but it is the sort of thing that what happens in the next 12 years plays a huge role in determining how likely some of these things are to occur. 

Climate Change (AKA We’re Doomed) Climate Change is one of those things that I genuinely think we might reach a point 50 years or so from now when our grandkids are going to ask us why we weren’t out blowing up pipelines and shit. If you could talk to your great great great grandparents and ask them why they weren’t ardent abolitionists, organizing on the underground railroad, you probably would. I really think Climate Change is a human extinction (or RADICAL change in quality of life) sort of thing and we hardly even treat it as a pressing issue. Let alone treat it as the clearest source of future global unrest for the next hundred years or so.Genuinely, the science is pretty settled, it’s a thing, it’s catastrophic, we’re on the path to some of the worse outcomes, and there’s really no reason to think our political institutions (especially globally) are prepared to fight this sort of trend. And I say globally because this is a global issue and even the most developed economies can barely get their shit together enough to make meaningful steps toward renewables. How are people in the United States going to tell half a billion people in India that coal powered energy is wrong? And where are we going to find the political will to change the United States energy infrastructure fundamentally? Let alone find the political will to do it in India, or any number of other places. Modern economies developed on fossil fuels and changing to renewables is going to be a heavy lift. It’s outrageous to expect developing economies all around the world to just skip fossil fuels, the infrastructure is there, it’s cheaper, and their people need access to energy and the modern life it provides more than anyone on the planet. That’s my biggest worry. There are literally billions of people who aspire to live the life a modern economy built on fossil fuels can provide and the countries developed enough to help them make the leap into renewables won’t even make that leap themselves. Let alone do so in the next few decades, let alone help those countries make that leap in the next few decades. That’s what makes this seem so hopeless to me. Here in the United States there are vague policy debates about carbon taxes, and how to spend that revenue to get the most climate bang for your buck, and various other policy initiviates that might help stave off Climate Change. In really ambitious circles there are discussions of all electric transport fleets (trucking mostly). Lab grown meats and a fundamental shift to more sustainable agriculture. And this is all stuff we needed to start doing GLOBALLY, not just here in the United States, about 2 decades ago. The IPCC says we need to limit warming to 2 degrees celsius to avoid worse outcomes. We’re on track to hit 5 plus and there’s really no clear consensus on what that means, outside it’s going to be bad. Catastrophic weather events will increase. We’re already seeing storms like Hurricane Maria regularly. There are massive forest fires destroying the Western United States, in November (for the third year in a row). Ice caps are melting even faster than anyone predicted, making the Arctic more easily passable during warmer months and likely almost completely ice free within the decade.  The mass extinction event the world is currently experiencing isn’t going to get any better. Large swaths of the planets plants and animals will disappear. Global conflict from food and water shortages will increase. Migration and the xenophobia that flows from it will become more common place. Domestic political issues flowing from all the above will increase. I think Climate Change is going to fundamentally change the planet, it’s going to fundamentally change humanity’s relationship with the planet, and there is going to be “creation of the printing press” level human conflicts that flow from that. I could add a paragraph or ten about how both the things above increase the likelihood of authoritarian regimes and just speed up the cycle I’ve kind of laid out, but I’ve put off studying by writing all this for too long already, so maybe more on that later. 

[phynxrizng]

6 EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES FOR ADULTS

6 Earth Day Activities for Adults

Maybe you march, maybe you queue up the best science documentaries on Netflix. Either way, thanks Earth! Nickolaus HinesEarth DayApril 22, 2017 It’s been a rough year for planet Earth. Donald Trump compared climate change to believing the Earth is flat. A 7,200-gallon Mountain Dew spill had to be sucked from sewers. And it’s seemingly not getting much better.

Officially started in 1970 by U.S. Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day — aka April 22nd — was started as a grassroots celebration of our planet. “The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air — and they did so with spectacular exuberance,” Nelson once wrote.

With that same spirit, here are six things you, an adult person who can literally do whatever you want, can do to celebrate Mother Earth.

1. March for Science

Show your support of science by marching in the March for Science either at the main event in Washington D.C. or at another sanctioned gathering near you (there are more than 500 recognized satellite marches, more than 300 are in the United States). Like to Women’s March on Washington, there will most likely be a large turnout of people peacefully supporting and encouraging progress and scientific endeavors

2. Hit the Beach While You Can

Hit the beach now, because according to the World Economic Forum, the oceans will have more plastic than fish by 2050. Pacifica Beach Coalition is hosting its 12th annual Earth Day beach party. It’s got everything you could ask for if you live near San Francisco: a beach clean-up, granola bar-making, food, and live traditional Celtic music.

3. Drink organic wine

Even if organic wine is partly just a marketing ploy and is one of the least-understood by consumers and most taken-advantage-of by shop owners, Earth Day is a great excuse to have a few too many.

NASA will feature Earth Day exhibits, hands-on activities and demonstrations, as well as talks from NASA scientists, April 21 and 22 at Union Station in Washington. 4. Party with NASA

Whether in the Nation’s Capital or at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, both locations will feature plenty of hands-on activities and demonstrations on why the best way the government’s space agency is the best organization to trust about saving the Earth. In Florida, you can do everything from test drive electric cars to learn from “master gardeners and pollinator specialists.” So there’s that.

5. Watch a Science Documentary on Netflix

There’s a wide array of docs at your fingertips. Whether you’re interested in space, physics, or bees, Netflix has something to satiate your science needs.

6. Unsubscribe!

Remove yourself from junk-mailing lists. We’re talking planet-harming snail mail, not the stuff clogging your email inbox. As prolific as junk email has come, more than 100 million trees are still sawed down just to make the paper for those ads and coupons no one even uses. Earth Day organizers states that the average adult has 41 pounds of junk mail stuffed into their mailbox each year, and 44 percent of that lands in the landfill unopened. Three consumer registries can help you cut down: DMAchoice, CatalogChoice, and 41Pounds.

Source,

Nickolaus is a writer in New York City. His writing can be found in places like Men’s Journal, Grape Collective and All That Is Interesting. He graduated from Auburn University, but he tries to avoid yelling War Eagle in public.

On Earth Day, Apple Says You Can iMessage Your Way to a Better Planet

The easiest possible way to feel good about yourself this Earth Day.

Kastalia MedranoEarth DayApril 22, 2016

Today is Earth Day, a thing to which people always like to hitch a lot of symbolism and good will. Should you find yourself unwilling or unable to plant trees this afternoon or perhaps skewer some garbage with one of those garbage-skewering things, Apple has given you the easiest possible out.

Just keep on sending those iMessages, the company says soothingly in a new video. Every time you send one, the message is processed through the Apple Data Center, which is powered by 100-percent clean energy. Apple would like you to feel virtuous today.

I have nothing against Earth Day. Earth Day is rad. Using it as a marketing hook to get people to get out and do good things for the planet is totally fine, but this is a pretty meaningless move on Apple’s part. The video doesn’t actually accomplish anything or urge people to any sort of action; this is just Apple patting itself on the back for 45 seconds.

Apple has made a lot of overtures toward clean energy, some of them good ones. But it’s also been criticized for not doing as much as a company of its scope could be doing. A data center powered exclusively by clean energy is obviously very cool, but Apple could have tried a bit harder today.

What’s way more exciting than this feel-good but ultimately kind of empty video is Apple’s clean-energy initiatives in China, a country where clean energy is obviously not the highest of priorities. Apple plans to install two-plus gigawatts of clean energy there by the year 2020. Since so much of the company’s products are produced there, this seems like a way more meaningful step in the right direction

Source, Kastalia grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and has a journalism degree from the University of Southern California. She spent the past year and a half backpacking around the world and recently moved to New York. Her RTs = unwavering personal convictions.

Everything We've Achieved Since the Very First Earth Day It's not all doom and gloom.

Cassie KellyClimate ChangeApril 22, 2017

Humans have maxed out the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide limit, destroyed the coral reefs, melted the polar ice caps, and even found a way to create earthquakes for the last drops of fossil fuel left in the ground. But it’s Earth Day, so we have to try to celebrate the victories. Here are some of the best moves we’ve made since the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970.

U.S. Policies

While the environment is less healthy than it was in the past, American policies meant to protect what’s left of it have come a long way since the first Earth Day.

The Clean Water Act, established in 1972, was the first law to ensure regulations for U.S. waters. In the same year, the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act was established to prevent ocean dumping.

The Clean Air Act, established in 1970, regulates emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. It’s the reason we no longer have deathly smog, like the cloud that killed 168 people in November of 1966.

The Environmental Protection Agency, established in 1970, is probably America’s greatest environmental achievement. It led to momentous federal research on air, land, and water safety and conservation, and coaxed policymakers to set standards to protect wildlife and human health.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, is the only U.S. law that gives rights to wildlife. Because of this act, we’ve saved bald eagles, grizzly bears, gray wolves, humpback whales, manatees — and, thanks to global efforts, pandas!

Scientific Advancements

Fifty years ago, Americans had a feeling something was wrong with the natural environment — but they just weren’t sure what. Since then, science from multiple fields has overwhelmingly pointed at climate change as the culprit. Similarly, scientific breakthroughs have elucidated a lot of the other problems humans deal with day to day.

In 1995, Paul Crutzen, Mario Molina, and Sherwood Rowland won the Nobel Prize for their perseverance in studying ozone depletion. As early as 1970, Crutzen became the first scientist to notice that the ozone layer was depleting, linking this damage to nitrogen oxide released by aircrafts. In 1974, Rowland and Molina demonstrated that CFC gases, or freons, also damaged the ozone. Together, this research led to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to completely phase out the use of CFCs in refrigeration devices, aerosol sprays, and solvents. When Rachel Caron’s controversial Silent Spring was published in 1962, it sent scientists scrambling to link the use of DDT — the so-called “miracle” pesticide that was used everywhere to kill mosquitoes — to the rapid decline of bald eagle populations. In 1972, the U.S. government banned the use of DDT, and sure enough, by 2007, the bald eagle population made a full recovery. In 1999, a team of scientists found the connection between the rapid death of coral reefs and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This notable study has sparked almost two decades of intense research on marine biodiversity. Although the reefs are still in grave danger, the original study has helped spark several movements aiming to save this vital part of the Earth’s ecosystem.

Cultural Movements

In response to many climate change disasters, such as sea level rise, increased drought and flooding, glacial melt, deforestation, and fossil fuel depletion, numerous large-scale organizations now exist to defend nature.

Greenpeace, founded in 1971, has quickly become one of the country’s leading environmental action groups. It’s known for its outrageous life-threatening stunts; its first — and still most notable — achievement was sailing a small boat into Amchitka island off the coast of Alaska, putting its passengers in harm’s way to stop nuclear testing in the area.

The U.S. Climate Action Network, also a huge proponent of environmental action, has worked with the United Nations to meet climate goals since the negotiation of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.

The Ocean Conservancy, founded in 1972, has made significant progress in protecting the world’s oceans and is one of the few organizations that focuses solely on marine life. In the past 25 years, its volunteers have removed 144 million pounds of trash from beaches during the International Coastal Cleanup and have also derailed proposals to reopen international trade in sea turtle products, ending Japanese imports of Hawksbill sea turtle shells.

Green Tech

America’s eco-friendly technology has lead to the burgeoning renewable energy movement and may be just what the country needs to finally kick fossil fuels to the curb.

Electric Cars are disrupting the auto market for the first time since their inception. Today’s most promising zero-emissions cars include Elon Musk’s Tesla Model S, the Fiat 500e, the Chevy Bolt, the BMW i3, and the Mercedes B250e. Okay, America didn’t invent solar energy, but it is certainly getting better at installing solar panels nationwide.

According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, 14.8 gigawatts’ worth of solar energy panels were installed in 2016, and nationwide, 42 gigawatts’ worth of panels are installed — enough to power 8.3 million homes. Also, about 260,000 Americans work in the solar industry.

American inventor John B. Goodenough designed the first lithium ion battery in 1980 — a rechargeable battery that’s now used in green tech such as electric cars, solar cells, boat motors, surveillance systems, and smartphones.

Tesla Model S charging up.

It’s not all doom and gloom: With a little government intervention, a few bright minds, and some crazy enough ideas, humans can succeed in saving the world we appear to be destroying. In the spirit of Earth Day, let’s focus on how far we’ve come and garner some optimism for where we’re going next.

Cassie is an Ohio native who recently moved to Brooklyn to pursue her passion for science writing. When she's not typing up a storm, you can find her in local coffee shops or used book stores. Share This

Reposted by, PHYNXRIZNG

[hellogreenergrass]

Signy Island - Week Six

18th January

Snowing again. And windy. And generally a bit Polar. Despite these clear signs that today should be an inside day, a day where you hide in your heated laboratory and bask in the technological and mechanical advances that have allowed humans to house themselves on a remote Island in the full force of the Southern Ocean. Wondering if you should put a jumper on, not because you are cold, but because it would make you feel even cosier. Or whether you should treat yourself and put your tea in the thermal mug with the Tardigrade on it that your (very considerate) friends brought you. The advantage being that you could have a large supply of hot tea on your desk without having to strain yourself to go to the kitchen to make another when you inevitably forgot about it and it went cold. Such luxuries are afforded on inside days, all the while the Polar winds whirl outside, forcing the seals into the ocean and birds back to their nests in order to wait it out. This was today.

But I didn’t do any of this. I gamely dragged myself and Iain, to be my field assistant, out into the field to drill 88 soil cores spread over hilly and coastal, weather lashed terrain. Each point to be sampled was 100m away from the other, in a grid nearly a kilometre wide and long. This sounds straight forward enough, especially when planning such things on maps. In reality, one point may be at sea level and another 100m away could well be at the top of the cliff. Or in the case of one point, over the edge of a cliff on a steep and disintegrating bank of moss and scree roughly at an angle of 60 degrees, sometimes more.  I’d set out the grid on my own a few days earlier, and whilst I followed my GPS over the edge of the cliff where it indicated the next point was to be, I wondered if maybe I should go back to base and rope up. I decided not and plunged forth, immediately regretting my decision as I downclimbed what turned out to be an unreversible move. It was later pointed out to me that when one is in a situation where they think, “maybe I should do this thing, like rope up and abseil, or call base and let them know what Im doing”, then that is probably the thing I should do. But I styled it out with an ingracious amount of bum sliding, swearing and a heart rate of at least 250bpm. Safe to say Iain and I found an alternative route, approaching the point from the ground up, rather than giving ourselves over completely to gravity and the God’s of misadventure.

Despite the appalling conditions we had a great day out. Iain is good company and made a dull job brighter, if not the weather. In part because of the large amount of innuendo about large penetrating rods into moist substrate….trust a Glaswegian.

20th Jan

I bum lifted today! No, this was not a crude endeavour you filthy minded so and so you. Nor is it innuendo, (well, sometimes it is around here) but is in fact what we call chick counting when the penguins are still sitting on them. Because you have to lift up penguin bottoms. You see, much more delightful than what you were thinking! I was Stacey’s field assistant for the day and we needed to count the Chinstrap chicks over at Cummings and the Moyes Corrie area on the West Coast of the Island. It’s beautiful around there, and the high winds that still hadn’t dissipated from earlier in the week, only added to the drama. Big waves crashed over icebergs in the bay, the mist continuously rose and lowered it’s skirts, so that every few minutes another part of the view would be teasingly revealed or tucked away. I find that clouds and mists on mountains give a good sense of scale, as if we innately equate a cloud with a certain distance. They belong in the heavens, and we on Earth, and mountains are where they meet. Us tiny specks of biology in comparison to either.Or maybe thats just the romantic in me.

Cummings Cove is also home to the Cummings Hut. A battered and bruised relic of early polar adventures, that was all the lovelier for the brow beatings that Antarctica had furrowed upon its walls. It is essentially a roof planted on short, thick stone walls, with the door attached to the roof and slotted into the allocated space, as if the whole structure came as one piece and just needed a few feet of stone to raise it up for head clearance. It felt very Alpine. The roof has recently been replaced, and just the other week Iain and Matt came out to replace the chimney vent. And on this trip Alex painted the front door to match the fascia. Its now a bright blue (Cuprinol Beach Blue in fact!) and alongside the roof and gables that are ‘BAS Green’, a sort of pale sage, it looks quite fetching. Inside, the hut contains a worktop the length of one side with an array of tinned and dried food stuffs: namely a worrying amount of processed cheese in tins, several butts of drinking water and the Tilley lamps and Primus stoves of yore that furnish all our huts. Along the other side are two bunks with fleece skins over the mattresses for warmth and a mound of down sleeping bags of varying ages, sizes and perfumes. A small Perspex window looks out from the rear gable over the cove and the dozens of fur seals that live there. We stopped briefly, leaving Alex to stock up the first aid kit and finish the paint work, before heading out to count the penguins.

To get to Moyes Corry and the majority of the Chinstrap colonies that we needed to see today, we hiked up the short but steep scree and snow slope that makes the Southern edge of the bay and Cummings area. At the top, the ridge was greener than expected (for a ridge) and on closer inspection showed a multitude of colours and textures in the diverse array of moss and lichen species present. This was Cryptogam Ridge. Naturally. (FYI: Cryptogam is a plant with no true flowers, cryptogram on the other hand is code breaking). Down the cliff from here was our first colony and out of 35 nests this year, only 2 chicks have made it this far. In previous years there have been three colonies at this spot, but today, only one. And this one doesn’t appear to be having a good year. Stacey and her colleagues suspect the combining doom of climate change and the El Nino to be the indirect cause.

Next we had to ascend a small peak and then traverse across its Southern slopes of perilously placed scree, before shuffling our way down the final descent – a 50 degree slide of snow, ice and loose rocks. Remember that here in Antarctica, the South facing slopes are the ones kept shaded and cold, not the North face! A mile more and we arrived at the biggest colony on todays survey list: A few hundred nests of chinstraps. I gloved up, armed with a spray can of blue sheep dye to mark the nests we had checked off, and got lifting! Taking a cluster of nests at a time, I offered my right hand in a distracting  sacrifice to the understandably furious pecks of the parent penguin, whilst lifting its tail up and counting the chicks beneath. Sometimes there was nothing, sometimes an egg, but usually it was a grey fluffy mass  and sprawling wings that stares blankly at you with the blackest little eyes, like beads of onyx dropped into a mound of silvery fuzz. The chicks vary in size, from the recently hatched that are smaller than my palm, to the huge and frankly ridiculous chicks that are near the size of their parents. All the more ridiculous as their parents are still sheltering them, but as they are so big now the parents are lifted clear of the ground and balance atop a massive fluff bundle. So I repeat this process for the best part of 200 times: bend, lift penguin, get pecked and hit (flippers hurt!), shout out the number to Stacey and then spray the rock adjacent blue. Sometimes the nests were at the bottom of the cliff, so I would scramble down to the surging waves, slipping on the rock as my boots – now weighing a few extra Kg with congealed penguin shit – struggled to take grip on the frictionless schist rock. Shit on schist.

At the final colony, we looked down into a wen that was flanked by hundreds of meters of soaring cliff. Stacey pointed out the nests of sea birds that I had overlooked, too distracted by the view of a Moe Island. Moe is essentially a mountain in the sea, and a spectacular feature of Signy. The island stands maybe a mile offshore, perhaps less, and the bulk of it is a mountain peak. Although the whole island cant be more than a kilometre or two in diameter. There is a brief plateau on one side, before the land gives way to a sheer cliff into the sea. Today it was snow capped and what had been huge waves crashing the beach at Cummings, now looked like sloshing ripples lapping at pebbles under the mass of Moe. The cool thing about Antarctica is that latitude has already done the work of altitude. We may live at sea level, but to all intents and purposes it’s the same as being a few thousand meters up in the mountains of Europe. So smaller peaks that we would not even consider a mountain back home, are very Alpine. Both in topography and climate. A hill of 50m above sea level  has more in common with the high mountain plateaus of Northern Norway than anything at the same level back in the UK. Stace and I both stood in silence taking it in: Just beneath us a flock of Cape Petrels floated in the sea, hundreds of them bobbing like black and white flotsam in the swell. Our view stretched to the horizon and it was exhilarating knowing that there was nothing but open ocean for thousands of kilometres, and in fact if we set sail from here and just let the winds take us, we wouldn’t make land fall again until we hit the South Orkneys from the other direction. Such are the currents of the Southern Ocean, circling around and around the continent. I felt so very very lucky to be here.