Welcome to Antarctica

Sebastien Copeland is an international award winning photographer and film maker.
In 2005, Copeland co-led a delegation to the Arctic town of iqaluit to raise awareness on the inuit's struggle at the hands of climate change and to put a human face to Global Warming.
Copeland return to the ice in 2007 to complete a collection of photographs assembled into his book : Antarctica - The Global Warning. With an foreword by President Gorbachev, and an introduction by Leonardo DiCaprio, the book will be released internationally in the fall of 2007.

" Scale and light. That is how I will remember Antarctica.As I review week's worth of intense shooting, I am awad by the raw power of nature in this surreal environment, where mankind, yet again, is dwarfed by such gigantic proportions. Towering volcanic peaks plunge precipitously into the sea ; glaciers nonchalantly and inexorably pour into the ocean, where chunks of ice the size of city blocks, carry their last hurray as they float away to their inescapable fate. Trapped in frozen air bubbles are hundred of thousands of years' worth of environmental data." Sebastian Copeland.

The rest of this wonderful prologue is there : http://www.antarcticabook.com/about.html
Welcome to Antarctica with those marvellous images and music : http://www.antarcticabook.com/gallery.html

How do toxic chemicals reach the arctic?

Polar bear cubs

"A poisoned Inuk child, a poisoned Arctic, and a poisoned planet are all one and the same." Sheila Watt Cloutier, chair (2002-06) of Inuit Circumpolar Conference

The Arctic acts as a final "sink" where pollutants become trapped
There is a tendency for many chemicals to move from warmer to colder climates. The so-called "Persistent Organic Pollutants" (POPs) are highly volatile, man-made chemicals that easily evaporate into the air but are slow to degrade.

Pollutants are also transported to the Arctic via ocean and river currents, melting sea-ice, and migratory birds.

Plants and wildlife take up toxins through contaminated air, soil, water, and food. Arctic animals, such as polar bears, whales and seals, are long-lived and have high levels of fat to insulate them against the cold climate.
Many toxins accumulate in fat and animals with a long life span have time to build up high levels of toxins in their bodies. As animals use their fat reserves during periods of hibernation, toxins become more concentrated in blood, organs, and their remaining fat.
Toxin levels increase moving up the food chain (a process called biomagnification) and are highest in top predators, such as polar bears and wolves. Humans are at the very top of the food chain and Arctic indigenous peoples are exposed to contaminants through a traditional diet.