NO PLACE FOR A MAN
Journey to the Barents Sea with brave people from Greenpeace to protect what is left of the paradise
Journey to the Barents Sea with brave people from Greenpeace to protect what is left of the paradise
The objective of our tour on Greenpeace's ice breaker 'Arctic Sunrise' to the Barents sea was to make noise by protesting and spreading awareness that Norway is expanding it's drilling exercises far north into the pristine Arctic.
This particular rig is near the Bear island (Bjørnøya), a peculiar nature reserve of extreme but delicate beauty. It is a tiny island but a haven for millions of birds who nests on the southern cliffs every year. These cliffs are one of the largest breeding/nesting place for birds north of the Arctic circle. Because the island is for the most part of the year covered by snow, if a spill was to happen, it would have long-lasting, devastating consequences and it would be mission impossible to clean up the mess.
(click on image for larger view)
Bjørnøya, despite it's illustrious name, sadly has not seen a single bear for a few years already. The journal filled out by the only human inhabitants of the island (staff of 9 Norwegian scientists and meteorologists), used to be full of written pages of bear sightings, but now it is full of empty pages. Pack ice which used to serve as vessels to bears, who came from Svalbard region, is now almost gone. The cause is in ever-receding ice which due to warming of the climate does not extend far enough to reach Bjørnøya anymore.
