climate breakdown – These Vagabond Shoes.

What I’ve been reading | Autumn 2022

A collection of thought-provoking essays, articles and blog posts from various sources I’ve stumbled across over the past season, and I want to share with you. This autumn, I’ve been thinking a lot about extreme experiences and risk, and managing fear, both personal and global.

Extreme Environments

In Defence of Adventurous Mothers

Written following the death of ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson on Mansulu in early October, and examining the criticism directed towards women with children participating in high-risk activities in extreme environments.

An Acquaintance with Fear

Former British Royal Marine and safety specialist operator Aldo Kane explores managing fear while operating in risky and extreme environments.

The End is my Beginning

An essay by Tamara Lunger on when things go wrong in an extreme environment and those who are left behind must pick up the pieces and continue based on her experience on K2 in 2021.

Existential Risk and Ecological Anxiety

Half of the World’s bird species in decline as destruction of avian life intensifies

Findings from the State of the World’s Birds report that human activity and climate crisis have put almost half of all species in decline, and around 1 in 8 at risk of extinction.

Britain faces biodiversity collapse

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations on the globe, and current levels of biodiversity may not be nearly enough to mitigate against the risk of ecosystem collapse.

Climate tipping points could lock in unstoppable changes to the planet – how close are they?

An assessment of the potential climate tipping points which will result in ecological collapse and devastating changes to the planet, and changing understanding of risk with advancing models.

“More Like War Photography” photographing the Arctic during a climate crisis

An exploration of the ethics of tourism to the polar regions to capture an environment hanging in the balance.

What I’ve been reading this season | Summer 2021

Climate Crisis

Our climate change turning point is right here, right now.

An article by Rebecca Solnit that examines our inability to recognise the impending climate crisis without a tangible catastrophe as we make our transition into the anthropocene era.

Just how historic was Western Canada’s heat wave? Nothing can compare.

An article from The Tyee outlining the devastating impact of the “heat dome” conditions experienced in North America in June and July 2021.

A heatwave thawed Siberia’s tundra. Now, it’s on fire.

A National Geographic article examining the devastating impact of fire in the boreal forests and tundra peatland regions of northern Siberia, ecosystems that lie over frozen permafrost soils.

What I’ve been reading this season | Spring 2020

Some of the things that have captured my attention over the past few months, inspired by similar blog posts by Alex Roddie and Chris Townsend. A collection of interesting, thought-provoking, and beautiful readings from around the internet that I want to share with you.

Nature and the Outdoors

The true story of the White Island eruption

The volcanic eruption of Whaakati / White Island in December 2019 was truly shocking. In this essay, Alex Perry examines the events to challenge our perception of risk in the outdoors.

Darkness gets to be itself

Sarah Thomas’s country diary mirrors my own star-seeking night walks early in the lockdown period, before the northern summer nights encroached.

The TGO Challenge: In the beginning

Instead of taking part in the 41st TGO Challenge in May, I joined the virtual challenge on social media, and enjoyed this dive into the history of the event from Chris Townsend.

A Very British Bog

Ronald Turnbull reminisces about the land left untrodden while we are in lockdown with a wander through the bogs and flows of the British Isles.

Nature’s Party

A lovely post by Ramblers Scotland President Lucy Wallace, about finding joy in noticing the small things about the turning seasons.

How the Slow Ways project network could change walking in Britain

During lockdown I contributed to the Slow Ways project by mapping a series of routes in Scotland. This article introduces the initiative to a wider audience.

Environment

The sound of icebergs melting

An acoustic exploration of solastalgia, the pang of future loss of astonishing natural beauty in a rapidly changing environment, in the Antarctic, revealing how listening can be seeing.

Anatomy of a heatwave

These times are certainly unprecedented. While I was in Antarctica, and the rest of the world was waking up to COVID-19, the continent experienced extraordinary temperatures.

Rising tides, troubled waters: the future of our oceans

A deep dive into the history and the uncertain future of our global oceans in a warming world.

Life in Lockdown

The frontier couple who chose death over life apart

Through the tragic story of the Bealers, Eva Holland explores the idea of control and choice over a time and place to die in this thoughtful essay.

First Class, Business Class, Working Class

A deeply honest piece by Jamie Lafferty about being the outsider in your chosen career, and finding that success is balanced on a knife-edge.

Solitude

A powerful piece of writing by Ursula Martin about the slowly unravelling monotony of life in lockdown.

What the coronavirus can teach us about hope

This essay by Rebecca Solnit dissects the foundation rocking clarity brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, and optimism for the future as connections are rebuilt.

18 interesting facts about the Arctic

A selection of facts about the Arctic you’ll find rather interesting.

While researching ahead of my time in Antarctica, I was continually side-tracked by snippets of information relating to the Arctic, and articles making comparisons between the two polar regions of our globe. Stories from the rich history of the people who make the region their home, and the explorers seeking new discoveries about the region; the unique ecosystems and wildlife; fascinating geographical phenomena and the spectacular natural beauty of a landscape carved from rock and ice, dark and light.

I’ve long been fascinated by the polar regions, and have travelled widely in the European Arctic. I accidentally booked a bargain ski break to Finnish Lapland at the end of the polar night*; road-tripped from Tromsø to Kautokeino, Kirkenes, and Nordkapp in the never-setting sun; and sailed southwards from the Norwegian Arctic (ending up in the Algarve), crossing the circle on the way down. I’ve explored the north coast of Iceland, and the southern tip of Greenland, though whether those constitute the actual Arctic depends on the definition you prefer (see below).

*where I taught myself to ski Nordic-style and discovered the magic of saunas and salmiakki.

In the process, I’ve uncovered several interesting facts on which to hang my own experience and understanding, and I’m sharing the best of them here.

Continue reading “18 interesting facts about the Arctic”

15 interesting facts about Antarctica

A series of interesting facts about Antarctica that I uncovered during my research.

Earth’s southernmost continent held us in its thrall long before it was first sighted in January 1820, still just a blank space on the map. The limitless solitude and silence, the vastness of scale, occupying mythical space in our imagination. Even now, with the possibility to visit the continent as a tourist, we are drawn by the idea of blankness, the purity of a landscape without the cultural associations of our own, where we can make our own connections and add new pins to the map.

I’ve done a large amount of research recently to familiarise myself with Antarctica: the short human history and tales of exploration; ecosystems and wildlife; the rock and the ice; the striking natural beauty of the continent. In the process, I’ve uncovered more than a few interesting facts on which to hang my own understanding and experience, and I’m sharing the best of them here.

Continue reading “15 interesting facts about Antarctica”

Armchair Travel: 10 Books about the Ocean

I’ve put together a selection of my favourite books with an ocean theme, including nature writing, biography, and childhood favourites.

I’m incredibly fortunate to have spent almost all of the spring and summer of 2019 working as a deckhand and wildlife guide on board Irene of Bridgewater, a traditional gaff ketch with over a hundred years of history, exploring the stunning coastline and islands around the British and Irish Isles, with occasional trips to the other side of the channel too.

I know I’ve already presented you with a selection of sailing adventures in this Armchair Travel series, but I just can’t stay out of the ocean. So here are some of the books that have excited and inspired me about the sea.