Atlas Shrugged is not the only atlas that has gotten the better of me; there was another one that I used to purposefully flip through even as a child in my geography class. It had two distinct parts: physical and the political, the latter very logical and used more often than not to learn the names of countries and their capitals. The former, more amorphous and ambiguous part was always a mystery. The blues, greens and browns were something I identified with very easily but the whites at the top and the bottom of the globe always glared uncannily at me! The Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Continent, the teacher told us – the North Pole and the South Pole and that’s where it probably all began.

Antarctica is not only the largest wilderness on earth but also the last wilderness left on our planet.Recently, I had the opportunity to be part of a young explorers’ team for the International Antarctic Expedition led by renowned polar explorer and environmentalist and motivational speaker, Sir Robert Swan.

Throughout the voyage, this Leadership on the Edge programme built our team and leadership skills and provided a suitable environment to debate key issues facing Antarctica and the planet at large.

My experience has convinced me of the dire need for strong action on climate change, an issue that is currently on the backburner. I believe that this expedition has opened new vistas for me as I learnt that the Climate Change problem is more real than i thought and WE CAN do something about it!. I cant forget the Polar plunge, when we dived into the waters , the penguins and the seals and the sight of the moon rising in the south polar region.  But what is more important is the fact that the effect of science, reality and politics of climate change trickles down to our lives as well and that is what I would like to share with all of you.

Antarctica is as fragile as it is beautiful! It has already been badly impacted by by the green house gases (GHG) which have cause a depletion in the Ozone layer over the region. The threat of further damage to the ecology of the place looms large with uncertainty in the extension of the Antarctic Treaty. Climate change is also being accelerated by the indiscriminate exploitation of fossil fuels in many parts of the world which is in turn impacting sea level rise, extreme weather conditions and this has its effect on agriculture and fisheries.

I went along with an expedition called 2041, which is  founded by polar explorer, environmental leader and public speaker Robert Swan, OBE, the first person in history to walk to both the North and South Poles. Swan has dedicated his life to the preservation of Antarctica by the promotion of recycling, renewable energy and sustainability to combat the effects of climate change.And we believe that today every one of us can make a difference too.