British Arctic explorers lacked local knowledge of the environments through which they passed and sometimes consulted Inuit shamans, whose geographical knowledge was known to be extensive. One expedition to seek the Northwest Passage exemplifies how they supplemented their deficit with indigenous environmental knowledge.
Part of the scientific agenda of the British Arctic land expedition of 1819-22 was to investigate whether the appearance of the aurora borealis was accompanied by any sound.
In this online exhibition, historian Christian Kehrt describes how polar researcher Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) focused on gaining detailed knowledge about the origins of Greenland’s weather and climate conditions and the dynamics of its ice sheet. His expedition diaries, which are at the core of this online exhibition, are a crucial document for anyone interested in the history polar expedition. His dense and well-preserved diaries allow for a detailed look into everyday life, continuities, and changes in polar exploration in the first half of the twentieth century.
The Finnish-Swedish scientist Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (1832–1901) conducted ten Arctic expeditions over the course of 25 years, from 1858 to 1883. He covered a considerably vast area: from Greenland and Spitsbergen to the Bering Strait. It is quite exceptional that a scientist of his time participated in such a number of Arctic expeditions in such a large area. His reports on the explorations, written in several languages, considerably expanded knowledge of the polar regions.
The Finnish-Swedish explorer and scientist Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (1832–1901) became in 1878—1879 the first European explorer to sail the Northeast Passage. He was also one of the pioneers of the Nordic conservation movement, proposing the creation of national parks and the protection of endangered species.
In Wild Earth 6, no. 1 Bill McKibben imagines new organizations like “MACHO” (Manly and Courageous Hunters Organization), Stephanie Mills visits Leopold’s shack, and Daniel Dancer seeks a deep photography ethic.
Wild Earth 6, no. 2 features Bill McKibben on nature writing and common ground, Laura Westra writes about ecosystem integrity, sustainability, and the “Fish Wars”, and W. O. Pruitt explains “The Caribou Commons.”
This docudrama revolves around a man living in the devastated future world of 2055, looking back at old footage from our time and asking: Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
Deep Blue is an underwater exploration into the secret lives of sea creatures.
This film follows photographer James Balog’s multi-year record of the impacts of climate change on the Arctic.
