Over the course of four decades, arctic explorer Will Steger has witnessed by kayak and dogsled the effects of global warming on the polar ice caps.
An educator and environmental advocate, Steger warns people around the world about the changes he has seen in Antarctica, Greenland and the Arctic Ocean.
"Burning fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, so it was always obvious to me that the world would be warming," Steger says. But, he says, he "had no idea it would accelerate at the speed it's been going in the last10 years."
The National Geographic Society's first "explorer-in-residence," Steger is coming to Duke Jan. 24 to talk about his expeditions, which include the first confirmed dogsled journey to the North Pole (without re-supply) in 1986 and a 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland. He'll also talk about the cumulative effects of people relying on fossil fuels, and how global warming is affecting the landscapes he loves.
The event at 4 p.m. in Reynolds Theater is sponsored by Dr. Peter Agre, Duke's vice chancellor for science and technology. It is free, but tickets are required and are available through the University Box Office.
Steger has been talking about global warming since the 1960s when he taught junior high school science. He has written four books on environmentalism and testified before Congress about protecting Antarctica. Millions of students have followed his expeditions online.
About three years ago, Steger started approaching the global warming debate from an economic perspective after noticing how the use of ethanol dramatically benefits rural towns in his native Minnesota. Crops that produce the biofuel, notably corn, grow there in abundance. Yet ethanol meets only a small percentage of the region's energy needs, he says.
"Think what it would mean to our economy if 30 or 40 percent of our energy needs were met in the U.S. instead of by a foreign country," he says. Denmark and Germany, for example, are reducing their carbon output, and their economies are growing.
He advocates for policy change and for individual commitment.
"In our individual lives, anytime we make a purchase or turn on a light, these are decision points," Steger says. "Individuals need to educate themselves and take on personal responsibility."
Policies, such as state-mandated carbon emission reductions that became law in Minnesota, can motivate individuals, he says.
"A lot of really great things could happen, but if we slide any further, there are some consequences," he says.