As most of you know, I started and kept up this blog in the framework of our UCL course 'Global Environmental Change'. Over the course of the past months, I've been looking different places, researching the influence of climate and environmental change on "cold stuff" there - ice, snow, permafrost. From the Arctic, to Germany, over Austria and other places, back to Iceland. Each region has its own story to tell, and the concern for the cold is alive in all of them.
I hope that with this blog, I've perhaps informed you about things you didn't know before - polar bear/sea ice interaction, the (endangered) existence of delicious ice wine, how we affect the climate through the snowsports industry. Also, I hope I've pointed out some interesting literature, movies and websites, to enrich your own web of knowledge sources.
But much more importantly, I hope that I've brought to your attention how climate change hits much closer to home than you might realize. It affects everyday lives, regardless whether it does yours or not. So many ecosystems and people's existences are based around the cold climate of their area, for which they now have to fear. The planet will survive, the populations on it will not. Which is why the 'mañana mañana' attitude regarding climate and environmental change needs to turn around. Needs to turn into understanding. Into progressive thinking. Into solution-oriented discussion.
Might be a cliché, but I'd like to be able to take the
same picture again in say, 50 years and still be standing
in front of an actual iceberg. Not at this rate..
(At Jökulsárlón, Iceland)
I am still concerned about the cold, if not more so than before starting this blog. I will keep it up, because I'm a passionate budding scientist in this area, hoping to devote my life to glaciology and climate change. So even though the blog might become a little quieter, keep on the lookout for new posts. Thanks to the ones loyally reading and commenting, it's been a great learning experience.
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