Vital to preserve Antarctica

Antarctica is a continent that cannot adequately be described in words or in pictures. It is as much an emotion as anything physical, and is experienced in all five senses. From the pungent smell of penguin rookeries to the feel of freezing salt water hitting your face as the zodiac boats run from the ship to the land, to the recognition, as our ship’s captain Jorge put it, that white is not just a color, but is a spectrum, Antarctica is an incredible experience.

Put aside your preconceptions of this place. You may think of it as endless plains of ice. Yes, they exist, but so do mountains climbing a thousand meters high right next to the narrow channel through which our ship sails. You may think of it as devoid of life, but there are penguins, flying birds, seals and a surprising variety of plant life which has adapted itself to the inhospitable environment of the ice. There are people, too, but few in summer and fewer in winter who staff the scientific stations. But to stand on deck (heavily bundled up against the freezing cold and the wind and the snow or rain that sometimes accompanies our voyage) and look out at this incredible continent is incredible, just incredible.

I don’t know if I will ever have the opportunity to come here again, but in a real sense, I will never leave it. I understand now why my friend Robert Swan has devoted most of his life to a very simple proposition – that it is vitally important to preserve Antarctica forever as a place where nature is in charge, and where we can come to study and learn from this last frontier of our planet.

I’m proud that my colleagues at Kroll are a part of this, and am truly grateful to them for this opportunity to learn, to help where I can, and to bring back the message that preserving this global heritage is worth our time and our concern and our participation.