Earth Day 2009: Dramatic Polar Photos

A gray day, and the sad sight of a fast-melting glacier, from our boat. Ground zero for global warming studies.

Greenlandic dogs on endless ice fields. I sledge along the white, empty scape. This time see the unpolluted sky is in the northern polar area.

We must heed the warnings: This bay used to freeze over every winter. For the past years only a small part is walkable. And this year's long-awaited polar climate studies were more dire than expected.

Antarctica
An island at tip of the Antarctic peninsula.

First major iceberg. But look at the world's most unpolluted sky!

To realize the size of this massive berg, it helps to know that the "dirt" is a penguin colony.


The color of glacial ice; 9/10ths is submerged.

The Andes chain reemerges in Antarctica -- a surprise.



By Lea Lane
via Open Salon

Earth Day, April 22, is a time to celebrate gains and accelerate environmental progress. But every day is a time to act to protect our planet.

Writing about travel for more than 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting over 100 countries. I’ve breathed air thick with noxious gases, seen mountainsides denuded of trees, beaches eroded by removal of dunes, rivers sluggish with refuse.

I’ve also experienced crystal skies thick with sparkling stars, rivulets of drinkable water, hills blooming with wildflowers and spattered with bees and butterflies.

Cities have both cleaned their air and fouled it. People have both rescued and ravaged the land. We have choices. We make them every day.

As some of you know, last year around this time, in the span of six weeks, I traveled “bipolar” -- from 70 degrees latitude south in Antarctica to 70 degrees latitude north in Greenland. I wrote about witnessing the ends of our precious earth, melting away.

In honor of Earth Day, I offer here some dramatic photos I took of Antarctica and Greenland not included in the previous post. They show the beauty and fragility of our polar world, and I hope that they help remind us to treat our vulnerable planet with respect and love.

Political beliefs are irrelevant. All of us-- throughout the world -- must strive to to protect our precious, magnificent earth – on Earth Day and every day.