Expedition draws closer - THE TRUTH IS IN THE DETAILS NOT TOLD

Expedition draws closer

Expedition draws closer

BY KEVIN VALLELY, NORTH SHORE NEWS JUNE 5, 2013

IF you believe in something, stand up for it.

Regular readers of my column know that I believe strongly in sustainable building practices and that I try to put forward ecologically conscious ideas that homeowners can use to decrease their global footprint. As responsible First World citizens I feel it's our duty to do everything we can to shape our future for the better.

In coming months I hope to speak to these issues in a very unique way.

This summer myself and three teammates are undertaking a major expedition to the Canadian high arctic to bring awareness to climate change. Our hope is to traverse the Northwest Passage solely under human power in a single season to speak to the changes that are transforming the Arctic and the world.

We'll be undertaking our expedition not in an icebreaker but in a tiny fibreglass rowboat, traversing through the infamous ice-choked Northwest Passage that once represented the impenetrable crux for explorers looking for a western passage through the Americas to the Orient.

Our expedition is an absurd proposition when looked at historically but climate change has lifted the veil of impossibility. Not long ago the Northwest Passage was near impossible to traverse in a steel-hulled ice-breaker. Today myself and my team are hoping to row it in a single season, without sail or motor, in a fragile, thin skinned rowboat. The Arctic has changed.

If we can make this traverse we will be able to demonstrate first-hand the profound effects climate change is having on our world. Something like this has never been done before because something like this could never have been done before. It can be now.

There seems to be a disconnect between what's actually happening with climate change and what's being done about it. The sad reality of our geo-political world is that short-term goals always seem to trump long-term planning. We hope our actions can add one more voice to the chorus that is demanding change. Barry Lopez in his book Arctic Dreams holds out some semblance of hope that greed and short-term thinking won't be our undoing:

"The cold view to take of our future is that we are therefore headed for extinction in a universe of impersonal, chemical, physical, and biological laws. A more productive, certainly more engaging view, is that we have the intelligence to grasp what is happening, the composure to not be intimidated by its complexity, and the courage to take steps that may bear no fruit in our lifetimes."

If you believe in something, stand up for it. This is my hope this summer. Reader's can check out our expedition website at mainstreamlastfirst. com.

My expedition will take me away from the North Shore News until next September and, during this time, guest columnist Dalit Holzman will take over the reigns of Building by Design.

Dalit's will be a different voice than my own, exploring the residential design world from the point of view of an ecologically conscious builder. Her company, the Econ Group Ltd., are a collection of young, dynamic individuals whose approach to residential construction belies a penchant for sustainability and modernity. I'm certain readers will greatly enjoy her contribution.

Kevin Vallely is a residential designer in North Vancouver. Contact him at kevinvallely.com.

© Copyright (c) North Shore News
Read more:http://www.nsnews.com/technology/Expedition+draws+closer/8480776/story.html


BLOGGER COMMENT:

I THINK THAT NOT TELLING THE TRUTH OR MISS-REPRESENTING THE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR EXPEDITION SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT YOU AND MAY VERY LIKELY TELL ABOUT HOW YOU OPERATE YOUR RESIDENTIAL DESIGN BUSINESS? NOT HAVING BEEN A CUSTOMER OF YOURS I CANNOT SPEAK TO YOUR BUSINESS DEALINGS AND WILL LET YOUR CLIENTS TELL OF THEIR EXPERIENCES.

WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT I HAVE RECEIVED EMAIL FROM YOU SAYING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO SPEAK YOUR MIND AS YOU SEE FIT. AND THAT YOU HAVE DONE IT REPEATEDLY TO THE MEDIA AND LIKEWISE THE MEDIA TAKES YOUR NEWS RELEASES AND POSTS THEM WITHOUT CHECKING THE FACTS.  SHAME ON THE NEWS MEDIA!

YOUR EXPEDITION WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.THELASTFIRST.COM/ CLEARLY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF... AS YOU HAVE CONTINUED IN THE PRESS AND PERSONAL INTERVIEWS TO EXPRESS INACCURATE FACTS AND MAKE FALSE CLAIMS... SHAME ON YOU KEVIN VALLELY

LET ME REMIND YOU AND MY READERS ABOUT SPECIFIC FACTS AND RECORDS I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE SET STRAIGHT:

1. ROWING BETWEEN INUVIK AND POND INLET, ABOUT 1500 MILES IS NOT A NORTHWEST PASSAGE TRANSIT. THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE IS A SEA ROUTE OF ABOUT 3500 MILES BETWEEN DAVIS STRAIT AND THE BERING STRAIT.

2. YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST TO ROW IN THE ARCTIC. MATHIEU BONNIER AND DOG 'TICO' ROWED BETWEEN QAANAAQ GREENLAND AND NOME ALASKA IN 2010-2011. THEIR'S WAS NOT AN OFFICIAL NORTHWEST PASSAGE SINCE THEIR ROUTE FAILED TO CROSS DAVIS STRAIT AS THE STARTING LINE. BUT ROWING SOLO HE ACCOMPLISHED MORE THAN TWICE THE DISTANCE YOU INTEND TO ROW WITH A FOUR MAN CREW.  SEE THE WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.EXPEDITIONTICO.COM FOR DETAILS.

3. IF YOU REALLY THINK YOUR EXPEDITION IS ABOUT "CLIMATE CHANGE" THEN TELL US ABOUT WHAT EXPERIMENTS OR DATA COLLECTIONS YOU INTEND TO MAKE DURING YOUR EXPEDITION - OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO SPEAK THE RHETORIC RUBBISH BY THE MEDIA ABOUT CO2, SHRINKING ICE AND GLOBAL WARMING? SAVE YOUR BREATH - WE HAVE HEARD IT AD NAUSEAM - NO MORE PLEASE. BUT IF YOU ARE ADDING TO THE REAL SCIENCE - SPEAK UP WITH YOUR HYPOTHESIS DETAILS AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO READING YOUR REPORT.

4. IF YOU REALLY THINK YOUR EXPEDITION IS RECORD SETTING THEN I CHALLENGE YOU TO HAVE GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS CERTIFY YOUR RECORD. ANOTHER IDEA WOULD BE TO ASK "ROWING CANADA AVIRON" (RCA) TO COME FORWARD ALONG WITH GUINNESS - MAKE IT OFFICIAL. ROZ SAVAGE DID IT FOR CROSSING THREE OCEANS - SOLO - I MIGHT ADD. YOU AND THREE MEN CAN START WITH A MUCH EASIER ROW OF 1500 MILES BETWEEN INUVIK AND POND INLET.



5. IF THE ARCTIC ICE IS REALLY MELTING - WHY DOES THE MEDIA REPORT EXPERTS SAYING IT IS EXPANDING? (YOU KNOW ICE REQUIRES BELOW 32F TEMPERATURES IN ORDER TO NOT MELT AS FRESH WATER ICE - STAY A SOLID - RE-FORMS AS WINTER ICE!). THE EXPERTS ARE REPORTING IN APRIL-MAY OF 2013 THAT THERE ARE 296,000,000 SQ. KILOMETERS MORE ARCTIC ICE THAN IN THE SAME PERIOD OF 1995. http://opinion.financialpost.com/2013/06/01/lawrence-solomon-arctic-sea-ice-continues-to-expand-silently/



Barry Lopez also said this in his book Arctic Dreams "Because you have seen something doesn't mean you can explain it. Different interpretations will always abound, even when good minds come to bear. The kernel of indisputable information is a dot in space; interpretations grow out of the desire to make this point a line, to give it a direction. The direction in which it can be sent, the uses to which it can be put by a culturally, professionally, and geographically diverse society, are almost without limit... We know more about the rings of Saturn than we know about the narwhal... we know next to nothing."

THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT...

GOD SPEED ARCTIC JOULE AND HER CREW!