Travel to Polar Regions

The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World

Format: Hardcover
Author: Andrew Revkin
ReleaseDate: 22 April, 2006
Publisher: Kingfisher
Rating:

*'Walking on Water' takes on NEW MEANING . . . *
He watches the icy expanses recede far below while he weighs questions and answers about global warming, and the challenge of presenting these to young readers who are often lured in other directions by iPods & computer games. After moving 400 yards an hour on an ice floe at the top of the world for three days, Science Writer Andrew Revkin looks down from a helicopter.

Tomorrow's scientists need to be 'shook up' and know there are still discoveries to be made; they can be the ones inventing new techniques needed to retrieve & examine rock core samples from deep below the ice. (See pictures on page 66). They can be detectives competing with the changing ice for answers to frustrating puzzles about the rising seas, for example.

The editor has used engravings and diagrams along with the latest photographs to give an impressive smattering of the history of arctic exploration. The double-spread of a lone seal on pages 100-101 should have been placed to better advantage, to help make Revkin's point about the loneliness of the Arctic where the silence is often interrupted by questions about the future of mankind. This is a excellent, stimulating book for all ages to read and discuss together.

The polar regions have always drawn explorers and it is our luck that the New York Times sent Andrew Revkin to the North to look for ways of stirring the public. We must each take an active interest and help stimulate youthful curiosity by showing the techniques used today. It is not enough to feel the exhilaration of travel without becoming responsible global citizens. In a recent interview by Gwen Iffel on PBS, Revkin cited the "slow drift" of events that do not receive adequate coverage by the media, as for example the recent announcement that the first whale species in China is now extinct. Consider also the projection that by 2040 the Arctic Ocean could be blue for the first time in a thousand years.

Already the levels of contaminates in the bodies of Inuit persons living in the North is beyond acceptable. The Pole is indeed moving . . . can we be instrumental in putting the puzzle pieces back together and work toward unity for the good of the Earth and our children's future?

We must not lose generations of the ingenuity of bright young minds to Wars and the Pestilence of mediocre minds.



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Comments on The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World
Scientific and political issues mentioned could have been a good springboard for young adults to understand that scientific methods can serve as a process to follow when trying to answer difficult questions. While intended for a young audience this serves as a very basic introduction to Arctic exploration and scientific study. Additionally, it is unfortunate that Mr. Revkin did not include even a passing mention of Dr. John Rae (Fatal Passage). This is a good book to provoke discussion and does little to answer the "big" questions. Mr. Revkin also might consider using a paradigm from Paracelsus that all substances are toxic - its the dose that differentiates the poison.

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