REVISTA DAP AVENTURA 2015-2016

Aventura al fin del mundo 2015 - 2016
Good habits to protect the most pristine place in the world
ANTARCTICA’S “GREEN” CULTURE
Those who live in
the White Continent
must adopt a series of
conducts so as to avoid
contamination and
unwanted interventions
on the local ecosystem
Eating, cooking, having
a barbecue or even
going to the restroom,
can be very different in
the frozen lands
Common habits such as having a quick bite
on the street, boiling an egg, celebrating the
victory of your favorite football team with a
barbecue –something we are very fond of!-,
or simply going to the bathroom whenever
you feel like it, may seem very trivial to
people elsewhere. But in these faraway
lands, these actions may turn complex, in
the face of having to care for and preserve
what is considered to be one of the most
pristine sites in the globe. Antarctica…
Its population, mainly composed of military or
science staff and part of their families, have
had to make dramatic lifestyle changes the
moment they set foot on the ice, with the
purpose of avoiding damage or intervention
to the White Continent’s ecosystem.
This is the case of those who make up the
Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva Air Base
in King George Island, where life not only
takes place around the cold, the snow and
the large distances to travel, but also around
watching for the environment.
It is strictly forbidden to smoke in or outside
the facilities; the traditional fire cooking is
not possible, due to smoke emanations, the
classification of waste is an unbreakable
norm to all, and whoever arrives here must
immediately follow these new rules.
Served waters are the only disposal that
cannot leave Antarctic, so there’s a modern
water purification system using worms, which
cleans the waters so it’s safe to send them
back into the sea.
Any other waste is stored and periodically
removed to be sent back into the continent.
Previously, of course, it is carefully classified,
compacted and reduced to aid in its
transportation.
Antarctic Airways became a sponsor
for the “Green Alliance” contest, in
the context of the 2015 season of
“Global Change” television show,
together with the Chilean Antarctic
Institute, giving its winners the
chance to visit Antarctica. The
objective was to empower the
incorporation of “Antarctic values”
in the Chilean school population.
The motive is a strong belief in the
importance of learning from life in
this very special place, bringing its
ethical dimensions into our everyday
life, wherever that takes place.
Besides everything done to care for the
environment itself, it’s interesting to note that
to make life possible in these latitudes, the
collaboration between the bases is crucial,
making national differences diffuse at best,
when local well-being –and survival!- is at
stake.
In a world with a growing concern for the
ecosystem, the question is: what can we learn
from everyday life in the White Continent?
14
Adventure at the End of the World