In our last piece, we explored women transforming South Asia’s agricultural communities and river ecosystems. Now, we look to the women who are adventuring to and exploring the Arctic and Antarctic polar territories.
Arctic Angels
The plight facing the Arctic is worsening. Since the 1990s, more than 2.6 trillion tons of ice have disappeared from the continent. In 2020, NASA found that the sea ice extent in the region was at its second lowest since the agency began tracking it with satellites in 1979.
In 2022, the Concordia research station on the eastern Antarctic plateau recorded temperatures swelling 70 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they should have been, marking a world record for a temperature jump. That same year, the 460-square-mile Conger ice shelf, larger than New York City, fell into the sea.
Overall, ocean levels around the world are eight to nine inches higher than they were in 1880. Ingrid Bååth, a Norwegian-born activist in the United Kingdom, explained the science behind it to Fairplanet.
“We’re so dependent on polar ice for the albedo effect, which occurs when ice reflects heat back into the atmosphere,” Bååth said. “Without it, heat will just sink into the ocean, warming it up further, and contribute not only to ocean acidification but also to a host of other devastating knock-on effects.”
Photo Courtesy 2041 Foundation
This poses a danger to humans and marine life alike. As water levels rise, people face increasingly ferocious tropical storms and lost coastlines.
Meanwhile, the receding ice means less algae growing underneath it. The lack of algae is a lost food source for krill, whose numbers have decreased by at least 80% since the 1970s. The blue whales, leopard seals, and penguins that, in turn, eat the krill are likewise imperiled.
These changes are visible worldwide. Iluuna Sørensen told Atmos that she once could look out the windows from her family home in Greenland and see whales a few times per month, but now she just hopes to see one per year.
“I already see change now, and seeing this change so rapidly is just alarming how much action we have to take,” Sørensen said. “When I started in climate action, I was like, ‘Oh, I want my kids to see the same nature as I do,’ but the truth is I have already seen a change from when I was a bit younger.”
Photo Courtesy 2041 Foundation
Bååth and Sørensen are members of Arctic Angels, a group that now counts 70 women passionate about intervening to save the ice before it is too late. Global Choices launched the network in 2019 as part of its fight to protect this vital region by investing in projects and people.
These women network with one another to protect the Arctic and Antarctic through workshops and an informal book club and discussion group. They also attend summits, give speeches and presentations, and meet with leaders and influencers from the business, civil society, and political worlds to raise awareness and recruit support.
For example, they have attended and participated in multiple iterations of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Nine Arctic Angels attended COP26 in 2021, and that number was up to 19 for COP27 the following year. Some of the women headed to COP27 had extremely specific goals.
Sharon Gakii, who lives in a pastoral community in Kenya where she plants fruit trees and organizes community clean-ups, told the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management that COP27 “must honor its commitment to provide US $100 billion a year to developing countries to invest in green technologies and protect lives and livelihoods against worsening climate impacts.” Evelyn Acham, who champions climate justice and gender equality in Uganda, merely wanted to see one thing: “Action.”
Photo Courtesy Global Choices
The Arctic Angels and Global Choices teams again participated at last year’s COP28 in Dubai, including in a session titled “Can the law save the Arctic sea ice? The case for a 10-year Moratorium to protect the Polar Ice Shield.” The Central Arctic Ocean Ice Shield Moratorium, championed by these teams, would defend the Central Arctic Ocean Ice Shield from activities like dumping of waste, extraction of oil and gas, mining of the seabed, and testing of nuclear weapons.
The Arctic Angels and Global Choices are also reaching consumers beyond these conferences. For example, Vivobarefoot released a winter boot intended for children, who it refers to as “little Arctic Ice Defenders.” With a waterproof membrane and recycled polyester webbing, mesh, and lining, the lifestyle company claimed it was their “warmest-ever kids’ winter boot.”
Proceeds from every pair of Lumi x Arctic Angels boots went to support the Angels. It was not the only time the Arctic Angels collaborated with the brand. Vivobarefoot also co-sponsored an expedition to Antarctica, on which Emma Wilkinson, who helped build the Arctic Angels network, wore custom Lumi boots.
Photo Courtesy Global Choices
Robert Swan, the first person to walk on the North and South Poles, has led more than 4,000 people on expeditions over the last 20 years. With his son Barney at his side, he was at the forefront of the 2041 ClimateForce: Antarctica expedition in March 2022. One hundred seventy-two leaders of communities and companies, scientists, and young activists from 35 countries joined the expedition on a carbon-negative voyage on a ship called the Ocean Victory through the Drake Passage to the western Antarctic Peninsula.
The 10-day expedition was named for the Antarctic Treaty, which was signed by 54 countries in 1959 to dedicate themselves to protecting the region. It was labeled a global commons, belonging to all of Earth’s peoples and only to be used for peaceful and scientific reasons like data collection and research. As it is set to be renegotiated in 2041, the trip was meant to teach attendees and promote a mission of preservation.
Photo Courtesy 2041 Foundation
After returning from the trip, Sofia Ferrigolo, an Angel from Brazil, noted a profound sense of sadness, she told Fairplanet.
“Upon my first landing, I saw the little penguin footprints on the ground right next to human footprints,” Ferrigolo said. “Seeing that was such a humbling, out-of-this-world experience. I was also overcome by a certain sadness because I didn’t know what the future would hold — but the experience inspired me to try my best to keep it as pristine and untouched as possible.”
On the other hand, Wilkinson reminisced to Greenhouse Communications that she “returned hopeful. The people I met reminded me of our inherent goodness. The beauty I witnessed reinspired my commitment to the environmental movement.
I know this journey will shape my life and advocacy in ways I can’t yet see, and I have deep gratitude for Global Choices and Vivobarefoot supporting me on this journey.”
Divya Nawale, from southern India, came back with a game plan. “The real action starts when you go back. Or at least, as it did in my case,” she explained in a blog post. “I wasn’t an expert when I went, but I came back to become one. I started working on ways to reduce emissions through my own lifestyle choices, as well as hinting those to people around me. In the decade since returning from Antarctica, I have traveled to all seven continents. I have offset all of it using non-profits that plant trees in India.”
Female Researchers Answering The Call
They are not the only women who have journeyed to a polar region but are among a select few in a traditionally male-dominated space. While the U.S. Navy established the primary American outpost, the McMurdo Station, in 1956, its ban on women was not lifted until 1969. Soon after, Christine Muller-Schwarze, a psychologist from Utah State University born in Germany, became the first woman to work with the U.S. Antarctic Research Program. She went there to study penguins and managed to observe 50 rookeries at Cape Crozier.
The first team of solely female researchers from Ohio State University ventured to Antarctica later that same year. The group included geochemist Dr. Lois Jones, entomologist Kay Lindsay, geology graduate student Eileen McSaveney, and chemistry undergraduate student Terry Tickhill Terrell.
Over four months, they developed insights into the geologic history of the minerals in the icy lakes in Antarctica’s Dry Valleys. They then went on to the South Pole with two other women in a Navy-operated LC-130, and stepping off the cargo plane together, they became the first representatives of their gender there.
According to the National Science Federation, about one-third of scientists in Antarctica are women today, and more organizations are emphasizing the inclusion of women in polar research.
For example, Australia-headquartered Homeward Bound trains cohorts to be leaders of the future with louder voices and more influence.
In 2023, it sent the largest female expedition to Antarctica, with 188 female scientists from 18 countries, and it hopes to elevate 10,000 to leadership positions around the globe. CEO Pamela Sutton-Legaud noted in a press release that “more than 50% of women in technology roles leave the industry before they turn 35. We exist to enable more women within this sector by helping them harness the tools they need to excel in their industries — particularly in the fight for the sustainability of our planet.”
Photo Courtesy Homeward Bound
With a woman like her driving the ship, things seem to be moving in the right direction. Some of the first names to partake in polar expeditions think so, too. McSaveney had a similar sentiment after witnessing a documentary that featured McMurdo station.
“It was obviously so commonplace to have women working there that no particular mention of it was made in the commentary,” McSaveney told the Antarctic Sun. “That told me that things are now as they should be — and gave me a really warm glow inside.”
Photo Courtesy 2041 Foundation
This series will conclude with a piece where we will set our sights on North America.
