I was working on a volunteer project in Greece when my Dad gave me a ring and asked if I wanted to work for Todd on the ice bear project. I'd heard of the project. But I didn't really know what it was all about. I said yes anyway. If someone asks me to help them out, I almost always say yes. The job was volunteer, and pretty much full time. But it was about a subject I cared about, and it was a chance to prove to myself that I could be organized, focused, and make things happen.
Yes I'm worried about climate change. Looking at the very bare facts of it scares me. Even without opinion and politics getting in the way it seems obvious we need to make some changes to our lifestyles. I know lots of people throw their hands up in the air and start protesting at this point. But to be honest with you I'm really not interested in whose fault it is. I'm just concerned with living my life, with minimal impact on our world. It feels like a precious place to me, a beautiful place, and I just want to do my bit to protect it.
I'm 18 years old. I quit school over a year ago, because it all felt all wrong to me. It just wasn't a place I fitted. Leaving college was the hardest decision I have made yet, and also the scariest one. It felt like the right thing to do, but I've been given a lot of stick for it, people assume I'm lazy, assume I'm the type of person to give up easily. I have been assigned a title by the government which is akin to ASBO youth. I dread the question, 'so what are you studying?' It is always assumed I am in education, and when anyone finds out other wise, a surprised look of disappointment appears, and I desperately attempt to justify myself without sounding crazy.
Without the support of my parents I would never have made it any further. But luck has been on my side from the start, and at the end of the day. I know this is right for me, and I will make it work.
With the ice bear project, I had no idea what to expect. I said yes purely because I liked the project, I liked the idea, and more than anything I wanted to help. I'm more than 2 weeks into the job now, and at times I feel totally incapable. I have no experience in the area, I have to be organised, I have meetings, I take notes, I email important people and they reply to me. It feels like a job better suited to someone with 20 years of experience behind them. And to be completely frank, I am endlessly grateful that I don't get paid. I chose to do this job, I want to do it, and I will give and am giving it, the best shot I possibly can. But its not the kind of jobs 18 year olds have, for a reason. WE ARE NOT ORGANISED PEOPLE. until now I've never written a report, taken down minutes, arranged meetings. I'm very shy when it comes to phone calls. BUT... I'll give it my all, for free. Just because I want to, just because I care. And I love it. I just give thanks to the patience and trust the other members of the group are putting in me. Thanks guys, I'll try my very best not to let you down!
I'm writing this blog because I want you all to know what I'm getting up to, and what this project actually is.
The Ice Bear project is an art project. But so much more. Its about Climate Change. Or rather. Its a reaction to climate change, and to the melting of the ice in the Arctic.
For most people. The Arctic is pretty far away. We've all heard that the ice is melting up there. But its not affecting us at the moment, and its often being dismissed as rumour. Unfortunately, it's no rumor. The first satellite went up in 1957. So, we have pictures, of the arctic, from space, from then, till now. In that time we have lost 70% of our ice. What exactly that means for us, personally, is still unclear. The world is changing so fast, that all models are out of date before they are even finished. But, whether you like it or not, the world now is changing faster, and to a greater extent, than it has since our race first walked this earth. This is not a fact disputed by science. All the argument is on if the human race is the cause of this, and what exactly is going to happen. But no one is predicting anything particularly nice. Losing the Arctic is sad, its a unique environment, with its own people. But I can understand that as most of us have only seen it on the telly, we don't necessarily feel that emotionally attached to it. For us the problem is, what happens next? Maybe the ice melt will cool down our seas, giving the British isles a climate more akin to Alaska. Maybe the rise in water level will cause floods across the land. Maybe, without that vast mass of white ice reflecting back the suns rays, our part of the world will heat up, and we will have drought to face.
One thing is for certain. Change is coming, we can't say what, and we can't say when. We do need to take action. There is much debate about this. What action should be taken, is what we personally do going to make any difference now, is it too late? My thinking personally is, change is positive. We need to move forward as a species. We live in a corrupted world piled up with stuff. Lets pull together. Community, is important, doing your bit, is important, being aware, is important, being open to this change, is important. Maybe what we do now wont stop the ice melting. But it will get us ready to change, to live more simply. To work together, and try to heal some other damages.
