Back in 2011, I spent 3 weeks traveling the Gulf of Mexico with Mike Horn as part of his Pangaea expedition.
Mike is a force of nature. He’s considered one of our world’s foremost explorers, with his achievements including a 2-year unmotorised circumnavigation of the world along the equator, a 6-month swim down the Amazon River, and the first expedition to the North Pole in winter.
Just a touch over 50 years of age, Mike is halfway through his next challenge: a circumnavigation of the globe via the north and south poles.
I’ve been following his updates, and the latest one shocked me.
His boat, Pangaea, a 135ft icebreaker that will drop him off on the ice caps of the far north, is the closest a boat has ever come to the North Pole.
This is a sad record; one that Mike and his crew are lamenting.
As our earth continues to warm, scientists predict that within the next 20 years, the Arctic’s ice caps will completely melt during the summer; having untold consequences for the region’s wildlife.
Mike’s expeditions have always served to communicate, in some way, the beauty and fragility of our planet. But we shouldn’t have to see records broken in this way to make us understand the urgency required for a global climate turn around.
I’m not going to end this post with platitudes, but I hope this story serves as another example in the undeniable body of evidence that something must be done.