Anna and I went hunting on the weekend... iceberg hunting. Being in St. John's, Newfoundland for a few more months, we thought it would be great to try to see some of these rare, beauties of nature. So, we rented a car and made our way up and down the extreme east coast of Newfoundland, an area known as "Iceberg Alley". From about now until the end of June or thereabouts, icebergs that have cracked off the Arctic Ocean ice shelf migrate south until they melt, usually in some place a bit south of here.
Sometimes, like in about 1996 or so, I remember an iceberg that came aground near St. John's harbour. I was so big that once it settled there, it remained fixed for the rest of the summer and slowly melted, meanwhile creating a little micro-climate (left) in the eastern Avalon region (a few degrees colder!). This year, we haven't seen anything so massive and imposing yet, but we did, still see some impressive mountains of ice in the distance and some near-to-shore, so called "Bergy Bits", or "little" icebergs, with an above surface expression of approximately the size of a house!
We located these icebergs with the help of a neat website called icebergfinder.com. They give some information about icebergs in general, but notably, the location of icebergs identified either by eye, or even satellites. T
his information really narrows down your hunting locations. The best location by far, was in a place called Bay Bulls, just south of St. John's. We parked the car and hiked for about 45 minutes along the East Coast Trail to a wonderfully, secluded, peaceful place, where the sun shone brightly in the spring sky and not a cloud was in sight. The waves lapped along the craggy rocks and we sat in awe of our little Bergy Bit. Just, a little over a stone's throw away, we could see the iceberg gently rocking with the waves, with a beautiful green tint around it's base.
It's a spectacular thing to witness to tell you the truth, the iceberg. And, we did spend quite a while ruminating over and discussing how much longer we have until the last icebergs travel down the coast of Canada. Will we live to see a day when there are no more in the Northern hemisphere? At the rate of ice melting in the Arctic, and assuming at least some positive feedback mechanisms kick in, it is likely that by mid-century, the Arctic Ocean will be ice free in summer. That means, more or less, no icebergs. I'm not sure if Iceberg Alley has become more crowded over the years, but it would be an interesting thing to look into. I will probably look into this in more detail.
Peace,
Grant
Sometimes, like in about 1996 or so, I remember an iceberg that came aground near St. John's harbour. I was so big that once it settled there, it remained fixed for the rest of the summer and slowly melted, meanwhile creating a little micro-climate (left) in the eastern Avalon region (a few degrees colder!). This year, we haven't seen anything so massive and imposing yet, but we did, still see some impressive mountains of ice in the distance and some near-to-shore, so called "Bergy Bits", or "little" icebergs, with an above surface expression of approximately the size of a house!We located these icebergs with the help of a neat website called icebergfinder.com. They give some information about icebergs in general, but notably, the location of icebergs identified either by eye, or even satellites. T
his information really narrows down your hunting locations. The best location by far, was in a place called Bay Bulls, just south of St. John's. We parked the car and hiked for about 45 minutes along the East Coast Trail to a wonderfully, secluded, peaceful place, where the sun shone brightly in the spring sky and not a cloud was in sight. The waves lapped along the craggy rocks and we sat in awe of our little Bergy Bit. Just, a little over a stone's throw away, we could see the iceberg gently rocking with the waves, with a beautiful green tint around it's base.Newfoundland is well-known for its icebergs. Not surprisingly, in this globalized world, we even bottle Iceberg water. Note the hint of cynicism.
It's a spectacular thing to witness to tell you the truth, the iceberg. And, we did spend quite a while ruminating over and discussing how much longer we have until the last icebergs travel down the coast of Canada. Will we live to see a day when there are no more in the Northern hemisphere? At the rate of ice melting in the Arctic, and assuming at least some positive feedback mechanisms kick in, it is likely that by mid-century, the Arctic Ocean will be ice free in summer. That means, more or less, no icebergs. I'm not sure if Iceberg Alley has become more crowded over the years, but it would be an interesting thing to look into. I will probably look into this in more detail.
Peace,
Grant
Well, today is Earth Day, and being so, I usually take some time to reflect on where we are going as a civilization and how we are affecting and modifying the Earth in a substantial way. One recent, visual manifestation of this to me was the "St. John's Bubble".
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am presently living in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada on a research visit at Memorial University. "The Far East of the Western World", so it's called. Being from Newfoundland, originally, I am thrilled to be living here again (especially now that the winter is over!). So, the subsequent environmental criticism doesn't in any way mean that I don't respect or recognize my roots. Culturally and in other ways, St. John's is a wonderful city filled with friendly folk ready to open their hearts (and homes) to anybody wishing to visit.
St. John's has a relatively long history (with respect to European colonization of the Americas - some 500 years). It is a place where the streets were designed for horse and buggy, not SUVs, where the people are as colourful as the houses they live in and the Sea is not just a way of life, but its salts grow deep in our bones. Newfoundland is where the winds buffet the landscape and ancient rocks are exposed more often than they are buried under a thick layer of soil. Our people are equally rugged and healthy, proud and bold, unique both culturally and through our geneology. I'm proud of my history, but I also don't want to look back some day and be ashamed of the decisions we are making.
Like most of the Western World, and increasingly, the East (esp. China and India), St. John's is using more stuff, consuming more stuff, and throwing more stuff out. The Big Box stores are slowly, but surely sucking the life out of downtown. St. John's seems to be at a breaking point, in fact. It was recently deemed the least sustainable small city in Canada. It has no curbside recycling program, not to mention municipal composting, food travels nearly the longest distance of anywhere in Canada to arrive at our grocery stores, and to top it all off, there is the "St. John's Bubble". This bubble is at the same time both real and metaphorical. Metaphorically, it is a demographic bubble. In the past decade especially, the population of the St. John's metropolitan region has boomed, along with increased investment in the oil and gas industry. In lockstep with this demographic bubble, of course is a consumption bubble. One that is stressing the complex systems of society, overshooting the ability of the region to sustain itself. And, in here, lies the reality of the bubble. What does one do with all that extra waste? St. John's has decided to simply pump all 120 million litres of it every day into our tiny, historic harbour, creating a large, visible sewage bubble down at the docks. My wife and I walk past the Bubble every day on the way to the bus and marvel at its brown hue and the hovering gulls and floating ducks squawking and quacking over what bubbles up. It's really incredulous!
So, what is to be done? Well, thankfully, solutions are on the way. For several years now, the city has responded to public outcry over this eyesore, and the general pollution of the harbour by constructing a sewage treatment plant. It is apparently millions of dollars over-budget and still will not be completed for some years, but at least this is a step in the right direction... or, more acurately, a bandage, a technological fix. In a global perspective, this remains our collective solution to society's woes; technology. Technology is good. The plow is technology, the clock and our ability to clothe ourselves are technological developments. But, we should be weary of technological fixes to some problems. It doesn't get to the root of the problem, our overconsumption lifestyles. The easiest solution is to reduce our consumption.
So, I challenge you. On this Earth Day, start a resolution... to step more carefully on our Earth. Stop and breathe the wind, drink the water, sow the right seeds and you'll reap her harvests.
Peace,
Grant
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