Greening of Oil launches Antarctica expedition blog

First day: Abdulla, team fly to Ushuaia, Argentina, world’s southernmost city

BY KAY CASHMAN FOR GREENING OF OIL 

Online magazine Greening of Oil launched a blog March 2 for Abdulla AlMisnad’s voyage to Antarctica with polar explorer Robert Swan’s 2041 team. AlMisnad, a Qatari engineer for Shell, is writing a daily log of his adventures on the two week expedition, which begins today, March 5. View the blog here.

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AlMisnad is going on the expedition to help raise awareness about climate change and the importance of protecting the environment. His daily logs, designed for students age 10 to 100, will be written in both English and Arabic, and will include photos.

Weather and satellite communications permitting, the logs will be posted daily.

AlMisnad and Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Nuaimi of the United Arab Emirates, a Shell envoy, will be part of a team of 70 people from 28 countries visiting Antarctica, the most inhospitable continent on Earth and, unsurprisingly, the only continent without a native human population.

2041 goal is continued protection of Antarctica

2041 was founded by Swan, the first person in history to walk to both the North and South poles. Swan has dedicated his life to the preservation of Antarctica by the promotion of recycling, renewable energy and sustainability to combat the effects of climate change.

In the year 2041 the Kyoto Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty could be modified at the third World Summit for Sustainable Development to allow mining and oil and gas drilling. 2041’s goal is to work towards the continuing protection of the Antarctic Treaty so that the last great wilderness on earth is left virtually untouched by man.

Shell’s executive vice president in Qatar, Andy Brown, said 2041’s initiative aligns with Qatar National Vision 2030, which seeks to preserve and protect the environment in order to achieve a sustainable future.

“Shell sees the Antarctic expedition as an opportunity to raise the profile of sustainable development both within the company and in the broader community, while focusing on local people in regions where Shell operates,” he said.

A life changing experience

2041 promises its International Antarctic Expedition 2010 will be an “exhilarating and unpredictable adventure— a life changing experience” for the men and women who are part of the expedition, which focuses on “leadership, teamwork and personal development,” 2041 says on its Web site.

Harsh and inaccessible, and covered by more than 5 million square miles of solid ice, Antarctica is the world’s highest, driest, coldest and most windswept continent.

“No place on earth,” 2041 says, “provides a more demanding environment to face the ultimate leadership

On his first day—today—AlMisnad and his fellow team members will fly into Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. A windy frontier outpost, Ushuaia is tucked into the Beagle Channel and surrounded by peaks and glaciers.

The new arrivals will be met at the airport by Swan and his team leaders and taken to their lodgings for the night, where a 2041 team leader will check their clothing and gear to ensure they have everything needed for an Antarctic journey.

The next day, Saturday, includes a four hour hike up to the Martial Glacier, review of the “embarkation schedule” for the following day, and a welcome dinner hosted by 2041.

On Sunday, March 7, the expedition departs Ushuaia on 2041’s ship the MV Akademik Ioffe, a Russian scientific vessel that will be the team’s seafaring home for nearly two weeks.

Check out 2041’s Web site at www.2041.com and Robert Hone’s account of his Antarctica adventure. Climate change advisor for Shell, Hone was a member of 2041’s Antarctica expedition in 2009.

Contact Kay Cashman at publisher@greeningofoil.com