The Fjords of Chile

Danny Catt — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:50:53 -0800

Southern Coast of Chile

If you have ever journeyed along the Inside Passage on the central coast of British Columbia and up into Alaska, or if you have cruised the fjords of Norway, then you will have an inkling of what the southern coast of Chile looks like.

Glacier on the southern coast of Chile

Glaciation carved these fjords and we had a chance to see some of the glacial tongues that come down from the peaks to meet the sea. As in many parts of the world though the glaciers in southern Chile are retreating rapidly. Whether it is due to human caused climate change (global warming) or due to one of the planet’s natural cycles of warming and cooling … or a combination of both I am not sure. But, I am one who prefers to follow the precautionary principle… if we don’t know for sure let’s do whatever we can to change the trend!

If you are curious to learn about climate change I encourage you to check out a number of sources. You can look at the Environment Canada website, you can read Global Greenhouse written by Greg Cairns, BCIT’s Environmental Education Coordinator, on Catt-Trax2 Global Connections (under Global Warming). I would also highly recommend you watch the movie 'An Inconvenient Truth' (now available on DVD) and check out the associated website at www.climatecrisis.net.

Some of you might be thinking, and rightly so, does your journey not contribute to climate change (with all of the traveling you are doing)? And the answer is yes. However, I am pleased to be able to say that one of the supporters of Catt-Trax 2, Eagle Eye Tours based on Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is making my journey ‘carbon neutral’.

If you want to learn more about how this works, read Making Global Connections with Tourism, Cam Gilles short essay on Catt-Trax2 Global Connection (under EcoTourism).

I look forward to learning more about the effects of climate change here in the southern hemisphere when I reach Antarctica in early March.

Catt-Trax 2 - Fjords

The Fjords of Chile