Lewis Gordon Pugh is kayaking across some of the most dangerous seas in the world to send a message.  His goal is to get as close to the North Pole as possible and help us hear this:

“Global warming is, I believe, a significantly greater threat to us, to our economies and to our way of life than any or all of recent issues that have headed national agendas: the credit crunch, global terrorism, the price of oil, healthcare, ageing populations etc. World leaders need to attack this threat head-on. This response will need to be as aggressive, and as global, as the world’s response to fascism and Nazism in the mid-twentieth century. And I think the best way to approach this problem is as though a war is being fought, a war whose outcome will determine the fate of all of us.

“Our response so far, such as it is, has been predicated on a ‘best case’ scenario - but any war that has a chance of being won is planned on a ‘worst case’ and it is the ‘worst case’ that I believe can be witnessed here in the Arctic. From what I have seen over the past week it is not a question of ‘whether’ but simply ‘when’ the Arctic will be free of summer sea ice. Those leaders who ignore the warming signs and fail to act with the vision, tenacity and determination that I believe is necessary imperil not only future generations, but the current one as well.”

Follow Lewis’ journey here.

If you’re like most people who ‘add up,’ you spend a lot of time thinking about the health of our planet.  Sometimes you worry, sometimes you get frustrated, and sometimes you get really angry about what’s happening.  On the other hand, there are moments of elation as you hear a politician actually talking sense or a columnist finally getting it right on the environment.  Only by getting real do we realize what opportunities these challenges hold for us!  More on that later.

But, the thought that occurred to me last week, as I was kayaking solo around the waters of South Carolina and blissing out on the sounds of the water and the sight of diving birds and jumping fish, is that it is so easy to get wrapped up in ‘the fight.’

As summer comes to a close, consider if you’ve really enjoyed it as much as you possibly could?  If not, find your first free moment, run outside, hug a tree, listen to a bird, or take off your shoes and splash around in a creek.  We deserve to enjoy.

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