If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side fo the oppressor.
If an elephant has it’s foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality,.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The issue of voting rights legislation lights me up. And when I get lit up I can be a real pain in the ass. I’m totally ok with that. When we feel pain, we take action to treat it.
I’m directing my attention away from Senators Manchin and Sinema in my attempt to sway Senate opinions on the need for codifying voting rights into federal law. They are intransigent, indignant and immoral on the subject.
There are sixteen Republican Senators that voted in 2006 to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1964 for another 25 years. That means that the provisions of the ’64 Voting Rights Act should be in effect until the year 2041, if I did my math right.
You might ask, as I did, why do we need new federal voting rights protections when we already have the Voting Rights Act. Read this linked NPR piece for why it is needed.
So, I’ve made it a mission to write to each of the sixteen senators who supported the Voting Rights Act in 2006, but for some reason don’t want to face up to voting Yes or No on the two bills that they just filibustered to death here in 2022.
Will it do any good. I have hope that it will especially if enough people do it. In case you decide to write to any or all of these sixteen senators, I’m including a list of the senators and a sample
It’s time to get the elephant off the tail of democracy. This might help a little. It gives me hope to feel like I’m doing something to effect change and that I am doing my part to make love visible.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has it’s foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Legend has it that on October 31, 1519, a priest and scholar named Martin Luther walked up to the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany and nailed a piece of paper to the door with 95 “revolutionary” opinions that ultimately led to the Protestant Reformation.
Luther was particularly against the Roman Catholic Church practice of asking for payment in exchange for the forgiveness of sins, a practice called an “indulgence.”
In the spirit of Martin Luther, I have my own set of 55 Theses to be nailed (or taped) onto the entrance to the chamber of the United States Senate:
No more automatic weapons in the hands of private citizens
Voter suppression efforts must be stopped
Re-establish truth; no more counter revolutionary alternative propaganda.
Anti government sedition efforts will be tried in a court of law
Address reactionary conservatism in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government
Federal government institutions are to be protected and encouraged.
Re-establish Democracy through law.
Once and for all “Make America Great.”
Face racism and act on it.
Participation in tough love and altruism by encouraging grass roots activism
End COVID disinformation and hold the dis-informers responsible in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Re-flip the message back at the political Right.
Call out any disinformation when you see or hear it.
Speak truth to untruth; Wash away untruth with overwhelming amounts of truth.
Government works; the Supreme Court must return to the Constitution.
The American Flag belongs to all Americans; fly yours with pride in the Constitution that it represents.
Subscribe to any publications that promotes journalism and reports factual information.
Call out authoritarianism as undemocratic.
Corporate America will use their money to promote and strengthen Democracy.
Hold the Republican Party responsible for causing COVID death and institutional disruption through an intentional campaign to spread disinformation and division.
All politicians will make decisions to protect their oath which is to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Celebrate diversity; lionize multiculturalism
Encourage courage
Celebrate our “citizen civic sentries” that stand guard to protect our institutions; poll workers for one.
Encourage artistic expression
One person never has all the answers.
Listening is more than hearing.
Talk, email, tweet and listen
Educate not indoctrinate
Anticipate disinformation and get out in front of it; once it’s out, it is extremely hard to undo.
Individual actions matter…write that letter, post or hold that sign, share that humor. It all helps.
Celebrate the real heroes: Abraham Lincoln, Desmond Tutu…
Life is Beautiful
If it feels wrong, it is.
If it feels right, it is.
Think, but avoid overthinking. trust your soul
The climate is changing (Ask Boaty McBoatFace)
Listen to Science
Trust your heart, your head can be manipulated
Seek out knowledge and truth; listen to stories as they will educate your heart.
Be observant and vigilant
Be open to the truth of others; be willing to reconsider your own.
Have experiences
Fear is real but it is defeatable.
Hope conquers fear
Work hard, stay occupied with doing what you can do.
Sometimes it’s ok to just be.
Wear a clown nose
Sing in the shower
Write a blog or a journal. It helps to ease the moments of fear and frustration.
Accept change and act to make that change be the change that you wish it to be.
Have the courage to make change
Recognize the frauds, learn how to recognize them and call them out.
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
These times are hell on the mental health of social activists. There are lots of us out here including many of you. COVID by itself would offer sufficient challenges to the level of engagement needed to bring about the necessary societal changes in the United States of America, my home country.
But thanks to the propagandists on the right spewing out disinformation on COVID, Climate Change, Inflation, and just about anything that could remotely be considered as fodder for fueling the divisions in the country on a daily basis, anxiety levels have been magnified to unnecessarily high levels.
That’s not to mention the treatment of the law at the highest levels of the judicial system. Why is law breaking all of a sudden the law of the land? The Supreme Court is apparently now in the business of making up the law that it using as legal precedence. Just today they ruled that OSHA does not have the legal authority to mandate vaccinations in the workplaces of large employers.
The agenda of this handpicked right-wing court is to weaken and ultimately kill the United States government through a concerted case-by-case destruction of any precedent that allows government to serve it’s citizens. The Right calls this the “Nanny State.” B.F.S. This is yet another in the continuing saga of someone, somewhere not wanting the United States to exist anymore. They have their media in place, they have their figure head in place, they have the top judicial institution in the United States in their hip pockets in order to attain their means.
Wow, I didn’t start this out to be a rant, but it is starting to read like one. I guess that I can justify it by saying that it my a pressure release valve, part of my mental health maintenance plan. It’s time for a song. This one is from the Unitarian Universalist Hymnal and is one that I will be performing (virtually) in a quartet a week from Sunday. This recording is of the UU Choir of Baltimore, Md.
Once to Every Soul and Nation performed by the Choir of the First UU Church of Baltimore
Oh no! I’m starting to sound like Mark Thiessen or Victor Davis Hanson! Those of you reading this that are Republican, I think it is high time that you hold your leaders accountable for their conscious or unconscious complicity in this most obvious American Coup de’etat. I don’t know what to do besides write, offer financial support to organizations trying to strengthen democratic institutions or commiserate with people that believe as I do. You need to take action.
Republicans need to change. It’s not Democrats that are going to change them. It’s that simple. Democrats can and will listen to you (at least this one will), but y’all need to come back to Earth One and speak rationally and factually with us. I’m not hearing or seeing any of that now.
I suppose that is what the forces residing in the depths of that life force sucking black hole on the political Right don’t want you to do. Just go along. Don’t question, just trust those feeding you the Constitution-less, Republican, Anti-Patriotic pap (C.R.A.P.). They want you to march along in lockstep in a state of fear, ignorance and reverse truth.
Break free. I don’t know what you need to do. I think that you are capable of figuring it out.
You have your models. The Lincoln Project, Congresswoman Elizabeth Cheney. I’ll bet as sure as Henry Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record, that there are others. Find those others, emulate them, influence them, follow them.
The answer is that simple.
I thank my wonderful wife for sharing the wider world of news with me because without her bringing to my attention to stories that are literally right under my nose in our local hold-it-in-your-hand newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News, and the news from the New York Times digital edition, I would become just another partisan political hack like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck and anyone that has been sucked into the anti-American personality cult that is the Republican Party. I wish that Mrs. Carlson, Mrs. Hannity, Mr. Ingraham, Mrs. Beck and Mrs. America would speak reason into their ears as Mrs. Halen has into mine.
I also confess that as much as I respect the journalists at MSNBC and the regular dose of Earth 1 that I absolutely must hear, I find myself needing to back off of Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O’Donnell just a little bit. Maybe if I were better at filtering the reality of real life, I could continue to take it in. But the normal news, the normal everyday news that they accurately report with a liberal bent that I acknowledge, accept and enjoy, has me on a daily roller coaster ride that simply more than my socially conscious mind can handle right now. I need to back off of TV news for awhile.
In no way am I backing off of my activism and social commentary. I am going to continue ignoring right wing, shock-jock, anti- journalism entertainment sources. I will continue to listen to my wife as she filters the news for me. I will watch MSNBC, but just less of it. I will investigate the rational right-leaning commentators that you suggest.
I’m going to do more yoga, keep up with my 100 mile a week goal on my bicycle and get out with my wife for hikes in the marvelous state and county parks that surround us. And play a little more golf with my friends. I need some peace of mind.
I love being a social activist. I also love being alive. I love life. Will you stick with me? Oh, and I do have a movie recommendation. It’s called “Don’t Look Up.”
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
“Be The Light” by Lea Morris. This song was written the day after Inauguration Day 2020 and was based on the poetry of Amanda Gorman. Performed by the Alegria Singers of the First Unitarian Church of San Jose under the direction of John M. Ector.
Be the light. What epic words those are.
Be the light indicates to me that light is what we all need right now. At this time of the year when light, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, takes a back seat to darkness, it is of more then just theoretical importance
The December Solstice has passed and daylight is slowly, minute by minute each day, beginning to seek equality with the darkness. This light of the world of Science is the movement of energy from atom to atom, molecule to molecule, vibrating electron by vibrating electron until it reaches light sensitive sensory neurons of life forms that can detect changes in light.
The light that Lea Morris is referring to in “Be the Light” is not the light of the physical world rather it is the light of the soul, the spirit, the mind. The darkness that Lea refers to is the darkness of the soul, the spirit, the mind.
The brightest light emerges out of the darkest dark. In the physical world it is theoretically possible for light to be trapped in never ending darkness simply because the force of gravity is so strong that light cannot emerge from the darkness. I am referring here to the “Black Hole” of astrophysics.
The Black Hole of astrophysics does not have an equal in the non-physical light of the soul, spirit and mind. Light cannot, and I will boldly claim, will not be trapped by darkness in the world that humans have the ability to change.
The soul light will emerge out of this time, a collective “dark night of the soul” for all of us because that is how it is meant to be. How do I know that it is meant to be? Maybe I do and maybe I don’t. However, I believe that I instinctively know that we will emerge from this dark period based on the paths of man-made evil and darkness from the 20th and early 21st centuries. The darkness of Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, and Milosevic appeared in their times to be inescapable.
It must seem to many of us that the past five years has matched the level of darkness from the times associated with the above names. Yet, the periods of evil that we as imperfect beings are bound to experience based on our imperfections, have their moments in time and then are ultimately exposed by the greater light of the true human spirit and the light of goodness outshines the light of evilness simply because…
Maybe this is nothing more than unsubstantiated hope. Yet, I believe in unsubstantiated hope. In religious circles, it is called faith. I am a person of faith therefore I believe in hope. I believe that out of hope comes that human construct called love. I believe that love wins.
In the physical world light energy can temporarily disappear. In the human world, the light of the mind, spirit and soul will never disappear. It is timeless and forever.
Listen one more time to the music of Lea Morris as performed by my small but mighty church choir. Music speaks louder than words.
As we emerge into 2022, may this be so and may the new year be a happy one as we emerge from the darkness.
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
My trip to South Georgia Island and Antarctica was a gift both literally and figuratively. I had the opportunity to go because I was invited by a friend that didn’t feel comfortable traveling under the conditions required for going on a cruise in the Southern Ocean.
I visited a place that was so distant a possible destination that it wasn’t even on my bucket list. The chances of going there were slim to none. Thank goodness of having even the slimmest of possibilities, because the slim was just enough to give me the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to a mystical, magical, real place.
Now, it’s time to take advantage of this gift and share it with those of you for whom my travels offer a window to the untraveled and largely unexperienced world since March 2019 when the Coronavirus led to a global pandemic known simply as COVID-19.
The idea of blogging about Antarctic travel really hadn’t occurred to me until I was on the plane from Miami to Buenos Aires. The possibility of having the technology available to make it a reality didn’t happen until we got on the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, the Gateway to Tierra del Fuego National Park and the greater region known as Patagonia.
Internet access on a ship cruising some of the world’s remotest waters to it’s most remote continent was a challenge and it was far from free. $50 for 500MB and $90 for a gigabyte of the precious ethereal property made me think seriously about whether this was financially feasible for a three week period. How far would a gigabyte of data go? I had never really faced the finiteness of access to the Internet before.
We had been granted our first 300MB of data free, but I quickly found out how quickly one can burn through that ceiling by leaving one’s wifi on even after leaving the internet and turning off your phone, tablet or computer.
I decided to first send out text only posts. Andy, new friend from the cruise, convinced me to try sending out at least one photo per post at lower pixellation. I still burning through data at a somewhat (for my budget) alarming rate. What else could I do? Well, duh, how about typing the text offline and then copying and pasting it onto my blog site? It took me a week or so to figure that out. I guess that solution worked as I used a total of 2.5GB of data for the three weeks on the ship. I had just enough for the las blog post and a few important email messages.
Bottom line is that getting this blog out turned out to be a link to the outside world, anywhere in the world beyond the homes and communities of many of my readers. It was a chance to take a trip through words and photos to places that had been made inaccessible to most by pandemic travel restrictions.
The cost of the shipboard data was trivial in retrospect as I heard and continue to hear about how much you appreciated reading about my distant exploits and getting a visual taste of the experience. The late evenings sitting in the ship Library composing and sending “singingcyclistmusings” was time and energy that I am now delighted to call my gift to all of you. A chance to allow the gift that was given to me to keep on giving as you all share it within your networks and communities.
I was very chincey (sp) in my sharing of photographs during the trip due to the data limitations on the ship. I have assembled a few into a first draft presentation for you to see. It is in the form of a link to a Google folder. I hope you are able to see it and enjoy it. It’s been wonderful hearing from you and if you are one of the many folks that read it and didn’t reply, I have equal hopes that you got as much enjoyment from the writings as I got in publishing them. I have more photos and a trip slide presentation if you’d like to see more and get the trip in story form. Send me a personal email.
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
Kudos to the Polar Latitudes Antarctic tour company and adventure travel organizer Wilderness Travel for a COVID-free and mask free experience for all but the first two days of our Solar Eclipse/South Georgia Island/Antarctica cruise. Your protocols were spot on in allowing the 110 passengers on board the Seaventure to live and thrive in our mask free bubble for the final 15 days of our 18-day cruise.
Special kudos to Dr. Luann Freer and Dr. Robert Partridge for developing the protocols for this voyage. There were stories floating (pun intended) around the ship that two cruise vessels were forced to return to the port of origin, Ushuaia, Argentina to quarantine after one or more passengers tested positive for COVID.
So how did our trip manage to go without a COVID hitch for nearly three weeks? The answer is really quite simple. We were all required to be vaccinated at least a month before we arrived at our staging spot at the Alvear Art Hotel in Buenos Aires. The Argentine government required a Negative COVID test no more than 72 hours before arrival in Argentina. That was a tricky proposition in itself, but that is a story for another day.
We were tested by Wilderness Travel in Buenos Aires. Every one of us passengers tested Negative. The next day we were put on busses and transported to the airport where we hopped on our charter flight for the port of embarkation at Ushuaia.
Still in masks as we would remain for the next two days on the water, we maintained our meal groups that had been established back in Buenos Aires at the hotel. On the third day at sea, we again received a rapid test. When everyone again tested Negative, we were determined to be COVID free and were able to roam about the ship and eat with people outside of our pods mask free for the remainder of the trip.
I’m going to make a big deal out of this because this cruise was a model for how to successfully combat COVID and return to some semblance of normal life. The crew of the Seaventure as well a Polar Latitude and Wilderness Travel staff went through the same protocols. The crew of the Seaventure, at least those with frequent contact with passengers, kept their masks on for the duration of the cruise.
The protocols worked beautifully which begs the question that if 200 people in relatively close quarters on a cruise ship can create a COVID-free bubble, why can’t this model be duplicated on a larger scale?
I’m going to get political for a brief moment only to make the point that COVID is NOT a political issue. It is a public health issue. The people who have turned us into Red and Blue camps around COVID are to be condemned for their actions. Although I have my opinions on the motivations of these people for creating COVID Free-Spread regions of the U.S., I can say that their actions are, at best, innocently ignorant and at worst criminally negligent in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Shame on them.
While under the care of Wilderness Travel and Polar Latitudes from November 21-December 12, 2021, we were able to halt the spread of the COVID. We did have a small outbreak of a common cold virus towards the end of the cruise, but thanks to immunization against COVID, frequent and thorough hand washing, social distancing and mask wearing, we were able to basically halt the spread of the more dangerous COVID because it simply had no host to infect and simply died out in our 200- member bubble.
Can this be repeated with a larger population? The answer is yes. The science is quite simple. A virus can’t survive outside of a warm body. Take away the warm bodies that it needs to survive and it will die. End of story.
One Whale Breathing and Another Taking a Dive in a Sheltered Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula (Photo by Bruce Halen)
The point of this is to point out what a success looks like in ending the global COVID pandemic. Thanks to those that showed us and taught us about this marvelous, fragile wonderland and, incidentally, showed us how to deal with a deadly virus.
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
Closing the Loop: Back to Ushuaia
Smooth seas, blue skies and sunshine welcome us to our last full day on the Seaventure on this beautiful Saturday morning in the Southern Ocean on our way back to our port of origin in Argentina.
Three weeks or so ago we wandered the Alvear Art Hotel in Buenos Aires and saw strangers. Three weeks later we wander the decks of the Seaventure and see familiar faces and new friends.
There have been disappointments along the way. Missing out on the site of the old whaling station on South Georgia where Ernest Shackleton and his rescue team found relief for the rest of his Endurance crew left behind on Elephant Island. A foggy morning on Eclipse Day after a valiant effort by Captain Tino, Wilderness Travel and Polar Latitudes to find us an opening on the eastern horizon to see this celestial spectacle. The extra time on the ship left us feeling a bit housebound. Not seeing the rock Hopper or Macaroni penguins would have been nice.
Leaving the disappointments behind, I see images of tens and hundreds of thousands of King Penguins. Fur and elephant seals in abundance, sometimes too much abundance for us to get on shore and get closer to this most unique and special collection of bio-mass.
Then there was the Science. Deck 5 Bird Inventories with Lisa and Michael. Cloud observations with Julia, contributing photos of whale flukes for identification by “Happy Whale.” It was a very cool experience to be on the Science Zodiac as we gathered data on phytoplankton for two research projects.
The snow-capped peaks rising from the ocean floor, the glaciers making their slow and inexorable gravitational journey to the sea, the still waters of Paradise Cove (to the best of my recollection), the climb up to the high ground on Useful Island where whalers used the 360-degree vista to spot whales. Porpoising penguins showing off their hydrodynamic bodies to dart and open up momentary holes on the glassy surface of the water.
The climb up to the high ground on Useful Island where whalers used the 360-degree vista to spot whales. Porpoising penguins showing off their hydrodynamic bodies to dart and open up momentary holes on the glassy surface of the water.
The whales. Humpbacks, Fins and Killers in the Gerlach Straits and the protected bays. Up close and personal. The photographs, the thousands taken, the hundreds kept, the dozens that will make the cut to share with family and friends. The magic of Paradise Cove as it lived up to its name.
Alex, Conrad and Tim became much more than trip lecturers in Astronomy, Mountaineering and Environmental Science. They became friends that you could sit down and chat with at dinner, at the bar or out on deck watching the latest natural wonder that we encountered together. The life experiences and enthusiasm that you have for your respective interests has educated and inspired me to do more to understand our fragile, beautiful planet and how to make it a better place for all creatures great and small.
Leila, Rob and Jenny worked tirelessly and lovingly to provide us with the richest possible experiences. I can’t say enough about the Polar Latitudes staff. Their knowledge, their dedication to educating us about this beautiful, larger than life and ever so fragile ecosystems, their tireless efforts to prepare sites for us to visit while at the same time preserving the places so that we would take only pictures and leave only footprints. Afterall, this is their home. We are the transient visitors.
The Housekeeping and Dining Room staffs that kept us comfortable and ever so well fed even when the weather and sea conditions made their already challenging jobs even more difficult. And they did their work with smiles and a sincere desire to be of service. The birthday and anniversary songs at dinner showed the enthusiasm and joy that makes them human and so much more than staff. Thanks to the unseen crew members who kept the ship operating and for their help getting into and out of the Zodiacs on our explorations off the ship. And how can I almost forget the Polar Plunge, a baptismal Polar tradition.
And for anyone or group that I missed THANK YOU! too for sharing this experience with me and with us.
This final full day on board is full of more lectures and activities as we continue bonding and wrapping up this experience.
Special thanks to Bob and Ellen for the opportunity to have this experience. I am so very grateful. Inviting me to be a part of this is a priceless gift. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hopefully I can squeeze in a couple more photos out of my remaining data. I got one!
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
My internal clock is all screwed up. First it was the three hours lost to travelling from the west coast of the U.S. to the east coast of the U.S. Then there was the loss of another two hours between Ushuaia and South Georgia Island, then, I think, we gained one back somewhere along the course of changing longitude.
However many hours have passed since I left San Francisco, my internal clock, my Circadian rhythms, are all discombobulated. I have stayed up until 0200 and awakened at 0400. On Eclipse day, December 4, I was awake for 20 hours. What the hell time is it anyway? I have only a fleeting clue. My body seems to know when it needs sleep, when it needs food, when it needs a shower. I listen to it and act accordingly.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but travel does make a reason for adjusting one’s routine. We’ve been abord the Seaventure since November 23 if I remember correctly. Saturday became Sunday during the pair of flights from San Francisco to Miami and Miami to Buenos Aires and nothing in my perception of time has been the same since.
I can’t believe that we biological creatures who have been granted the ability to alter our physical environment were meant to stay put and not leave the place and time zone that we were born in, but you have to admit that there is something about changing your location on the globe that is downright unnatural. The Sun rises and sets in 24 different human created “time zones” and it makes total sense astronomically that as the Earth rotates on it’s axis at a tilt of 23.5 degrees to the Ecliptic that the typical 24 hour daily cycle of the Earth’s rotation results in a staggering of lighted time and darkened time.
Try telling that to my body in it’s never-ending quest to adjust to global travel in a matter of hours. I guess that ultimately it is a small price to pay for understanding other cultures, for scratching the itch to explore and experience new things and for expanding the limitless possibilities in life. Maybe by the time I wake up and go substitute teach on Tuesday, December 14 at 0800 PST at Cabrillo Middle School in Santa Clara, California, my body will have figured out what my brain is unable to figure out.
But try telling that to my body as it continues its quest to eat, sleep and explore! I didn’t get to food and other things this time around. Oh well. Maybe next time. (If I’ve already sent this photo, forgive me. I’ve lost all concept of time or space. I’ll make it up to you later.)
Humpback Diving in the Sub Arctic Southern Ocean (photo by Bruce Halen)
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
We were in Paradise Cove this morning, but I’d say that the whole trip has been a trip to Paradise. I had a ticket and I was able to offer you a ticket, albeit vicariously through this Blog (unless you are reading this on the Seaventure), but a ticket to a mystical, magical, fragile and endangered place none-the-less.
We are underway towards Ushuaia, Argentina via what is known as the Drake Passage. “The Drake” is known for rough sea conditions so Hannah has been bracing us for the challenges ahead on our voyage out of Paradise.
There was an auction of goods and services this evening before dinner. The beneficiaries were the South Georgia Heritage Trust and a whale conservation organization called Happy Whale. I bid and won a chance to do announcements at some point during our return journey to Ushuaia, Argentina. This is a charitable donation and can be written off of income tax. I mention this because I know my wife will be reading this and I want to come clean so I don’t end up in the doghouse when she finds out that I donated $150!
Folks were VERY generous with their donations. Items ranging from hand knitted mittens and doing an announcement from the bridge to an original art piece by Hannah, our cruise director, brought in thousands of dollars for two super causes.
Our three days of calm protected waters came to an end this evening as we entered the above-mentioned Drake Passage. Writing this blog has become challenging as my upper torso swings forward and backward as I try to keep my fingers on the keyboard.
This last day in Antarctica included two hikes and boy did they feel good. Nice vistas, Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, Cormorants (Shags), Antarctic Terns and gentle snow fall made for a chance to learn more about this marvelous place and get a chance to get up close and personal with it. Not to mention a chance to stretch out our legs and actually feel like I was burning at least as many calories as I was consuming. It was a great way to say my “see ya’ laters” to Antarctica.
Porpoising Penguins in Paradise Cove on the Antarctic Peninsula (photo by Bruce Halen)
I only have a couple more of these to write as we arrive back in Ushuaia on Sunday. It’s kind of a no brainer for me to write my experiences on this trip. Part of it is that I want to have a record of this incredible experience for myself. But the real reason is that I wanted to bring my friends and family along to share the journey with me. That includes the new friends that I have made on the Seaventure and the marvelous people making sure that we arrive safe and healthy at our destinations, the folks at Wilderness Travel that but the trip together and the folks at Polar Latitudes that brought the continent and South Georgia Island to life for us.
Thanks to all of you for this marvelous journey and my undying thanks to Mother Earth for making it all possible.
https://newslit.org/
Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
(Tomorrow evening we begin our trip back to Ushuaia, Argentina across the Drake Passage)
Polar Latitudes’ primary responsibility for nearly three weeks now has been to keep all passengers and crew of the Seaventure well fed, warm and dry. So why I ask you would they then encourage you, or at least offer you the opportunity, to get dunked in the frigid Southern Ocean?
Enter the Polar Plunge into the lexicon of polar explorers, adventurers and visitors. It qualifies as one of those experiences that serve as a right of passage of sorts or maybe a baptism of sorts. It certainly isn’t for everybody, but everybody certainly thought about whether or not this is something that they were going to do. Have you assessed the risks and the benefits before attempting something unknown?
Mountaineer and Climate Change Activist Conrad Anker knows about risk assessment. Conrad is a very skilled climber, one of the best of his generation, perhaps ever. Yet as technically skilled as Conrad is, he thinks rationally to consider whether or not it’s worth it to reach the summit. In the documentary film, Meru, Conrad faced this decision when he was within 150 feet of summiting this peak. He and his climbing partners turned around knowing that they were not prepared to spend another night on the mountain. If they had had attained the summit, there is a good possibility that they would have died on the mountain. They simply didn’t have enough food to stay out another night.
So, the polar plunge is a lesson in risk assessment. For me, I considered my general health, the condition of my heart, my experiences jumping into extremely cold water and my desire to continue to conquer a lifelong fear of the water. I decided to do it. In fact, I was the first one to do it. Some made the decision not to do it and that is perfectly ok. Each person needs to do their own personal risk assessment on challenges like this.
Why does Polar Latitudes offer this opportunity? After getting to know more about their staff and the staff of the tour organizers at Wilderness Travel, I think that this is an intentional way of offering their clients a chance to learn and grow.
The Polar Plunge was at the end of this wonderful, snowy, cold, “science” day,
We started the day loading into the now familiar zodiac craft and departing for a landing at the head of Neko Harbor. I had made a pact with myself that I was going to participate in as many Citizen Science activities as I could squeeze in and today’s opportunity was yet another chance to further the cause of science.
Today’s project was a phytoplankton project in support of two doctoral projects. We gathered a small sampling of water complete with water microorganisms were living in it and then ended their little lives…with a purpose. That purpose was to record how much biomass that this sampling of water had in it at that moment in time.
Then we gathered a larger quantity of seawater by dragging a net attached to a plastic bottle and later separated it from the ice with a small hand pump. I don’t remember exactly how that was going to be handled or used. But it was done with a purpose.
And then came the cool part. We lowered a wifi connected device that measures water temperature, salt content and chlorophyll to a depth of 70 meters and brought it slowly back up. It gathered the data and instantaneously sent it to an app on an ipad and bingo, you have 1100 data points! All very cool and it will help researchers assess the health of the phytoplankton population in the Antarctic.
We also measured the clarity of the water using a black and white dish shaped device called a Secchi disk. You lower it into the water until you can no longer see it. Ours disappeared at 9.7 meters.
When we finished our Citizen Science activities, we wound through the ice and climbed a designated path around a Gentoo penguin colony. During the Citizen Science and the hike through the snow in a gently falling snow, you could hear loud cracks as ice was calving off of the glacier above the harbor. I never saw where the ice was ending up, but it didn’t appear to make it to the harbor where it could cause tsunamis in the bay. My thoughts quickly went to climate change and how it was affecting Antarctic glaciers.
It was a magical day in a magical place. Enjoy this photo taken last night at around 2300.
Lenticular Clouds on the Antarctic Peninsula from ship (photo by Bruce Halen)
