I was delighted to see that our trip to the Arctic got such a lovely mention in the Arctic Sounder - the newspaper for the Northwest Arctic!

http://thearcticsounder.com/news/show/2323

Thanks to the author for noticing our blogs!

I enjoyed meeting the people of Barrow so much, that I've put together a little video from my trip. I hope it does credit to how remarkable the Inupiats really are!

Before heading for home, we all had a chance to reflect on our amazing Arctic experience. For me, what stood out the most was the experience of witnessing climate change happening NOW! I’ve read loads of articles about how climate change will  effect us, but the Arctic is especially sensitive because it straddles 0ºC much of the year so climate change is already effecting it.  It was a big surprise for me to hear local people already witnessing the effects of global warming and struggling to adapt to a new way of life because of it.

I give my final thoughts on our Alaska expedition to the folks at MTV

I’ll never forget all the experiences I’ve had on this trip. From understanding the way of life in Barrow and learning about all the important research going on in the Arctic to getting up close and personal to witness the retreat of the glaciers and thinning of sea ice – It is all burned in my memory and has definitely helped me to understand why we have to do as much as we can to halt climate change and become less dependent on fossil fuels.

This says it all!

Not only have I gained an immense amount of knowledge on this trip of a lifetime, but I’ve also made a new group of friends who are some of the most inspirational people I have ever met and will no doubt go on to do great things to help this world! Thanks to all the Ambassadors (Aart, Erika, Fillipe, Ines, Jakob and Marie Laure) for such wonderful company and for inspiring me to keep working to make a difference in the world!

A final group photo of the Climate Change College Ambassadors

Thanks also to Marc, Michelle and Philippa, for organizing a terrific trip and the experience of a lifetime. All your hard work was evident in our jam packed, fascinating itinerary! Finally, thanks to our media companions, especially Seb Lander, Irene Quaile and Pieter de Beyer, who I hope will remain lifelong friends of mine.  Your stories from this Arctic adventure will inspire millions to take action to solve climate change – thanks for making a difference!

I was amazed to find out that nearly 500 people have logged on to this blog since the start of my Arctic adventure, including folks from 21 countries and 26 of the United States! I’m thrilled that so many people are interested in our stories from the Arctic, and I hope through those stories we’ve motivated many more people to help stop global warming. It’s not just the responsibility of our governments to combat climate change, we can all do more to reduce our “carbon footprints” and the impact we have on global warming.

For all the ways you can lower your environmental footprint in your own home, check out the website I’ve developed for the climate change college: www.greendiy.ie and feel free to add your own Green DIY tips to the site! It's easy to edit if you're a registered user.

Fellow Ambassadors, Aart and Jakob, help me to show Ireland that the Arctic is heating up and we need to fix it with Green DIY!

As my Green DIY campaign progresses, I’ll post updates here, so stay tuned for more climate change campaigning from Ireland!

Let's Fix It! 

Cara

After a relatively comfortable night camping in the Alaskan wilderness and a great hot breakfast provided by our guides, we were all set for the ultimate adventure – getting up close and personal with a glacier by sea kayak! As an avid sea kayaker, this was the moment of the trip I had been waiting for!

Our kayaking guide, Jen Gresser, shows us where we’ll be paddling

Before we hit the water, Jen explained that if we fell in we had less than 10min before hypothermia set in, so safety was essential! We were kitted out in brand new dry suits just in case!

Our guides also pointed out that it was important not to get too close to big ice-bergs or the glacier, because they could break and roll unexpectedly and cause a lot of damage if we got too near!

We headed off from Thunder Camp to the glaciers in the distance.

I was really lucky to get to paddle Andy’s Morrison’s homemade cedar kayak! - One of the best boats I’ve ever paddled and strong enough to plow through the Alaskan ice!

In awe of the glaciers! This is as close as we could get without putting ourselves in danger of being hit by a falling ice-berg or knocked over by their waves, but it was still pretty awe-inspiring!

Thanks to Andy, Jen, Laura, and Serena for a fantastic trip in the back-country, including great stories and fantastic food (especially the “cowboy coffee”)! Your passion and enthusiasm for the Alaskan wilderness are infectious! Keep in touch, guys!  I’d love to paddle with you all again some time!

On Wednesday, we loaded camping gear on a small ice-breaker boat and headed out from Whittier deep into Prince William Sound. Our destination was Thunder Camp in Harriman Fjord, a black sand beach which overlooks the confluence of Cascade, Barry and Cox glaciers.

Cascade Glacier – One of many retreating Alaskan glaciers

We were greeted by an abundance of wildlife including; sea otters, arctic terns, harbor seals, and even a bald eagle hanging out above our camp site!

Our neighbor, the bald eagle – These guys were once endangered of becoming extinct so I never imagined I’d get to see one in the wild!

Before we got too settled, our guides explained the importance of “leave no trace” camping. We had to be sure that there was no sign of our presence when we broke camp the next day. That lecture included learning what our options were for using the toilet!

Jen Gresser shows us the back-country loo!

Our guides cooked up a fantastic dinner of local Halibut, and we had a fantastic night in the back country

All night long, we listened to the sound of the glaciers cracking and watched huge chunks of ice fall into the sea! It was a magical experience. I was amazed at how active the environment was while still appearing so peaceful.

Our back country home in Prince William Sound

Upon arriving in Whittier, we headed over to the Begich Boggs Visitor Center in Portage Pass to meet Forest Ranger, Lezlie Murray, to learn about the Chugach National Forest, America's second largest national forest!

Lezlie explains that Alaska has 10,000 glaciers, nearly all of which are retreating!

Lezlie was a wealth of information about the area. We were shocked to learn that nearly all the glaciers in Alaska have been retreating, or losing ice, rapidly in the past 100 years. In fact, the Begich Boggs Visitor Center was built in 1985 with a great view of Portage Glacier, but today the glacier has retreated so rapidly that it’s no longer visible from the center and you have to take a boat 5 miles from the center to get a look at it!

Lezlie in the observation room, showing us where the Portage Glacier used to be visible

I check out Portage lake, where the pieces of broken glacier are gathering at the base of the lake.

One of our local guides estimated that the glaciers here are not only retreating rapidly, but also thinning at an average rate of approximately 15 feet per year! That’s a lot of melting ice. We’re glad we got to see Alaska’s glaciers before they’re gone!

Upon arriving in Alaska, a few of us had the opportunity to tag along on a helicopter ride over the glaciers in the Whittier area - A once in a lifetime experience to see the glaciers before they’re gone!

Our eye in the sky - This is the most fuel efficient helicopter on the market – the Robson R44.

Sunset from the sky

During our road trip from Healy to Whittier, we made a lunch stop in Anchorage to meet with the folks from REAP – the Renewable Energy Alaska Project. REAP is a non-profit coalition of urban and rural Alaska utilities, businesses, conservation groups, consumer groups, and Alaska Native organizations working to develop Alaska's renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar, and wave energy.

Megan Sharkey, REAP’s Outreach Coordinator, gave us an impressive presentation on REAP’s projects. We’re really impressed with Alaska’s vision for renewable energy and hope to bring what we learned from Megan back to our own countries!

Find more information on REAP at http://www.alaskarenewableenergy.org/

We had to leave the eco-friendly dome home eventually, and what better way to do it than in an eco-friendly bus! On Tuesday morning, Andy Morrison met us in Denali in his big blue bio-diesel bus!

Andy filled our big blue bus with a blend of 50% vegetable oil and 50% regular diesel to make our journey to Whittier as environmentally friendly as possible.

Andy owns Alaska Back Country Access (www.akback.com), which is a multi-sport adventure company providing all sorts of outdoor activities throughout Alaska. Alaska Back Country Access is about to become the first carbon-neutral adventure company in Alaska!

Andy even organized the purchase of Denali Green Tags to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from our adventures with him.

The money from these Denali Green Tags helps to fund the use of non-polluting renewable sources of power in Alaska.  http://www.greentagsusa.org/greentags/landing/tourgreen/

The scenery from Denali National Park to Whittier was fantastic!

Enjoying the view!

And when we got a chance to stretch our legs, we had plenty of fun in the snow!

Jakob attacking me with snowballs!

After roughing Arctic conditions in Barrow, the Climate Change College has treated us to pure luxury now that we’re back in the sub-arctic. We’re staying at the Denali Dome Home owned by Ann and Terry Miller, who feel like the parents we’ve been missing since we’ve been on expedition!

The Denali Dome Home, Healy, Alaska

www.denalidomehome.com

Ann bakes homemade cookies everyday, and Terry makes us breakfast to order. His pancakes and french toast are out of this world! We’re also get to enjoy the company of their gorgeous Scottie dogs – I might have to take one home with me!

Ann and Terry Miller, owners of the Denali Dome Home 

The thing that strikes me the most about the Denali Dome Home is its unusual architecture. The geodesic dome was invented by the inventor/architect, R. Buckminster Fuller.  I’ve seen these strange domes in other snowy environments, but I never understood what their function was. It turns out they are amazing structure: they're super energy efficient; they keep snow from building up on the roof; they stand up to earthquakes; and they are a really efficient use of space. There is 4800 sq feet of living space in this 9 bedroom Denali Dome Home on a ground foot print with only a 42 foot diameter! Being the Green DIY enthusiast that I am, the Denali Dome is my dream home!

Terry has been kind enough to chat with me on tape about the Denali dome and Green DIY Alaska style so I’m cutting that footage now and hope to get a video up soon. 

If you'd like to learn more about geodesic domes in the meantime, check out http://www.cjfearnley.com/fuller-faq-4.html

We’re caught in a trap…

We found out the hard way that Arctic research isn’t easy! It seems a number of us got stuck in the snow as we sampled in the Denali National Park...

,

 The MTV crew gets stuck!

Seb, The Sun Man, looses his shoe in the snow!

Thanks to Sun Man Seb for saving this damsel in distress and recovering my boot!