The Wonderful World of Ice

Ice has always fascinated me , so much so that even though I absolutely hate cold, I applied to be a PolarTrec teacher to Antarctica. Although I wasn't matched up with a scientist that time, I was still enthralled by the stark beauty of ice. Glaciers, icebergs , you name it. As an Earth & Environmental Science teacher, I pass this love on to my students and I use ice to illustrate the impact of climate change. I was both excited that James Balog might be at the talks and saddened that people had not listened to his warning that was illustrated so clearly in Chasing Ice. None the less, it was Day 4 and I had either missed seeing him as he wandered about or was not allowed into the Blue Zone where he spoke. My focus for today was originally going to be talking to the media that was covering the COP and see whether they were merely  " doing their job" or whether they had a vested interest in what I was covering. So, I spent a moderate amount of time today interviewing those that normally interview others. It was interesting and most said that they had no particular opinion one way or the other: Maybe they listen to their own interviewees too often. As I was getting ready to go and meet one of my cohort, I spotted a young man finishing up an interview with the ocean folks on the row and I thought, well what is one more try? We got chatting and I asked him about his feelings with regard to the interviewing just being a job and he replied  that for his radio program, he tried to keep it open enough so that he could attract a number of listeners. We chatted about ice andd I mentioned that there seemed to be little of any conversations about glaciers and other ice. I told him that my true love is ice and he asked if I had watched Chasing Ice...... I told him how much I use it in class and that the people in the video were my heroes. I also mentioned that the glaciers melting hurt my heart and that my students now loved glaciers. He finally introduced himself to me and I recognized him as one of the researchers in Chasing Ice! I was so excited. We filmed a small segment about my students that he is taking it to Mr.Balog... I hope my students will continue to be proud of me and how I stand up for what I am passionate about.
As the afternoon wound down, we made our way on the M7 to the M5 where we got off near the Pantheon so that we could see the pieces of glacial ice that were brought to Paris to make the point that the glaciers are the " Canary in a coal mine" when it comes to climate change. They were stunningly beautiful in the night with lights around them. They were heartbreaking as they were melting right  before our eyes and we walked in the water that had bled from them...they spoke volumes to those of us that were listening... and I share some of that experience with you in pictures and a small recording..