TRAVELING TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

While there is a growing body of research on the presence of microplastics in our planet's polar regions, there has been more data available for the Arctic; however, the effects of global warming on Antarctica are being intensely studied worldwide. These include breakaway icebergs that threaten ice shelves and, consequently, the health of our planet.

Antarctica is largely covered by a continuous sheet of ice that is, on average, roughly a mile thick; contains approximately 90 percent of our planet’s ice; is about as large as the United States and Mexico, combined; and is home to seals, whales, petrels, wandering albatrosses and roughly 12 million penguins. In 2020, a record-breaking heat wave in the Antarctic Peninsula (which is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet) yielded a same-day temperature as Los Angeles of 64.9°F; days later, a 120-square-mile iceberg broke off Pine Island (the continent's fastest melting glacier), which is near its base and responsible for 25 percent of Antarctica's ice loss. In 2017, A68, an iceberg that was about as large as the state of Delaware, broke away from the Larsen C ice shelf and subsequently melted.

Problem Solving From the Ground Up

An astounding 25 to 33 percent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions may be attributed to food production alone. In fact, a 2016 study noted that if we all went vegan by 2050, food-related emissions could potentially drop by 70 percent. And while this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the growing popularity of urban and biodynamic farming, agrihoods, certain wellness trends and a growing number of high-tech gardening devices present an opportunity to help course-correct at the individual level and work towards healing the planet as we heal ourselves, our families and our communities.