Tag Archives: polar ice cap

Jeff Orlowski: Chasing Ice

"Chasing Ice" director, Jeff Orlowski, Greenland Ice Sheet, June 2009ChasingIce_smThe acclaimed documentary film Chasing Ice chronicles the work of photographer and environmentalist James Balog, who has been at the forefront of documenting earth’s melting polar ice cap. This week on Sea Change Radio, we hear from the film’s director, Jeff Orlowski, who started out as a part of Balog’s team and eventually assumed the role of documenting the documenter.

We learn about the difficulties of filming in some of the most remote places on earth, as well as the contradictory feelings that Balog and the other members of the Extreme Ice Survey felt while capturing these beautiful yet tragic earth-changing events.

The New Arctic: A Thawed Diamond

This week on Sea Change Radio we begin a two-part series on the Arctic. If you’re looking for present-day observable impacts of global warming, head North, where the melting of the polar ice cap has opened up oil reserves, shipping lanes, and many other opportunities for trade and transport. If you’re looking for a preview of the unanticipated consequences of climate change, including new sorts of geopolitical conflict over territory and commerce, the Arctic is also a good place to watch that unfold.

Our guest this week is author David Fairhall, whose book Cold Front: Conflict Ahead in Arctic Waters explores these very issues. Fairhall and host Alex Wise talk about the environmental, economic, and political ramifications of a new, thawed Arctic, and discuss whether the last best hope for ecological preservation in the Arctic lies in the hands of the scientific community.