Introductions. First of all Antarctica. We can finally see it. Look, I took a picture. if you look really hard at the horizon, that gigantic white smudge by the horizon. see it. that's part of Antarctica. The cold's turned from finger-numbing to face-blasting; still a few more notches to go.

Whales, penguins and ice-bergs are happy. Floating all over the place. Mr. Tamer, the leader of the leader ship team is not and has organized a little protest by the hot water machine.

Two additions to the blog. The other two members of the Shell delegation, the Green Sheikh himself, Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi and Bill Spence, our resident expert on CO2 are both going to contribute to this very blog. Sheikh Abdulaziz, as you guys might have heard, is from the UAE where he's a leader in getting youth engaged with issues of sustainable development. Look him up online. Bill works hard in setting the CO2 policy for the entire Shell Corporation. They'll be in charge of the depth and expertise of the blog.

I'll be in charge of the colors and fonts.

Today was a pretty rough day at sea, quite a lot of pale faces. As we're getting ready to land (hopefully some time tomorrow) things will likely get more and more hectic. Quite a lot of groups on board are trying to get their key interviews in before people get too busy to talk. Bill and I had a nice chat today with a team of youngish engineers from China Light and Power (CLP). Amazingly enough they actually won't be returning with us from Antarctica (which means I get to have a whole cabin to myself on the way back). We're dropping them off at the E-Base (you can find out more info about this from the 2041 website) where they will spend five days upgrading the wind and solar power facilities over there. 

So over the next few days we'll all be running around all over the place in zodiacs and hiking and camping all over Antarctica. Went to a few lectures on birds, whales and ice. So expect a lot of that. I don't want to bore you with too many details though, probably best to look up all of that stuff online. What I'll try to do instead is relate how these things are changing with the climate.

A few key points though: ice in Antarctica makes up most of the Earth's fresh water. When I say ice I am talking about 2 and a half kilometer thick sheets of frozen water that make their way at a rate of 2 meters a year from the center of Antarctica to the sea. We'll be looking at a lot of these giant sheets of ice as they come crashing into the sea and hopefully I'll be able to share some nice video of that (not my own of course but there are some professional film makers on board). Other things that are interesting: penguins and seals. These are obviously the bread and butter of any Antarctic expedition. We might be able to catch some action there. What it's all really about though, the dessert and coffee. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed for, are the killer whales. I'm not sure how likely we are to see these. But please please check out some videos of killer whales on you tube. Search for Killer Whale Hunting Seals. There are some nice videos there.

Also starting from tomorrow we'll be getting into the meat of the material, sustainability. The sea's already beginning to calm down and we'll begin to be able to focus pretty soon. Crab cakes for dinner.  

Message from the Green Sheikh:

On our way to Antarctica,

First day I met Robert Swan. I greeted him on Western and Arabic styles, I hugged him and gave him nose to nose as Emirati way of greeting. I am here to learn share, participate and engage with members and team leaders under the Leadership On The Edge Expedition (LOTE). But this still not enough for me, I have to know the impacts closely using my senses and touch, encourage improvement through re-thinking, through behavior change, and sharing what I learned to wide range of people and especially the youth.

Since I joined IEA 2010, asking myself many questions, why am I here, what can I do now, what am I going to achieve on my return and how will I do it.

Most of our experiences during this journey were a bit new (climate, layers of clothing). As I’m coming from warm sand dunes desert to cold icy desert, there are some similarity and differences, but they are connected with climate change and natural ecology. Now, we’re approaching to Antarctic passing the scary Drake Passage with average 8 meter wave height. The ship swing left and right hard, when I am laying on bed, immediately sleep deeply. It’s reminded me of when I was child going to sleep so quickly. It is also funny that during my prayer use one right foot in front and one behind to keep the balance.

We will continue next message for more excitement. Please visit 2041.com for more blogs from other people as well.