THE ARCTIC : Extreme Training

When you decide to make a solo journey overland from Russia to Canada by way of the North Pole, you don’t just get up and go. No, you train, you practice, and – you hope – you prepare for all eventualities.

            That’s what Borge Ousland, a veteran f polar trekking, did before his journey. Knowing that he might unexpectedly break through as he trudged across the frozen Arctic Ocean, he slipped beneath the ice in a fjord not far from his home in Oslo, Norway, wearing skis, so that he could work on escape techniques. Aware that he would have to swim across leads too wide to leap, he donned a dry suit he dubbed “Captain Nemo,” testing its drawstrings inside his house while wearing makeshift skis. Borge was conscious of the strength it takes to haul a heavy sledge across high-Arctic ice and trained five or six times a week for nearly a year, dragging two rubber tires while wearing a 66-pound pack. “It’s the same kind of physical effort, “ he says.

            The trek was Borge’s fourth major solo effort following journeys to both Poles and across Antarctica. “This is my last big solog,” he says. “I’m quite content.” Still, he rules out nothing, “There will be other trek with other people at other places, but it’s far too early to know now.”

SAND DUNES : Flexible Seawalls

First line of defense against rising sea levels and storms, about 280 barrier islands ring the United States coast. The infantry are sand dunes, designed to give way to the sea gradually – unless human disturbance intervenes. Dunes like these on Padre Island and nearby Mustang Island stretch 130 miles along the Texas Gulf Coast. They help block storm surges headed inland toward Corpus Christi and other communities. Once covered with grass, Padre Island dunes were overgrazed by cattle until 30 years ago. Then condominium building began ton Mustang and the north and south ends of Padre Island, a threat that is intensifying today.

In 1982 federal legislation created the Coastal Barrier Resources System, which now covers some 1300 mils of shoreline. While the legislation does not prohibit development on barrier islands, it limits availability of federal flood insurance and other assistance.

On Texas beaches wildlife often needs help. The hawksbill sea turtle shown below was wrapped so tightly in fishing line that its left front flipper had to be amputated. It was treated and released by the University of Texas’ Animal Rehabilitation Keep at Port Aransas on Mustang Island. Four other sea turtle species – rare Kemp’s ridleys, loggerheads, greens, and leatherbacks – may nest on the islands. All are endangered or threatened, so turtle eggs laid on the beaches are collected and incubated at protected sites; the hatchlings are later released.

ANTARTICAL ACCIDENTAL – AN ALL - WHITE PENGUIN

“We thought it was a lump of snow,” recalls Gerald Kooyman, a biologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He and his son, Carsten, were counting chicks, nearly 20000 of them, in an emperor penguin colony near Cape Washington in December 1996. But the lump moved – it was a young penguin. Only its brown eyes were a normal color. (True albinos, which cannot produce any pigment, apepeart to have pink eyes.) With its shimmering coat, how will this penguin fare against predatory leopard seals? “When it’s swimming near ice, it may be camouflaged,” says Kooyman. “But if a seal sees it from above, with contrasting dark water below it, it’s a risk.”

RIGHT WHALES : A STRIKING CASE FOR MORE HELP

Northern right whale populations have yet to recover from four centuries of harpooring. Perhaps 300 exist, swimming from New England waters along the coast to give birth off Georgia and Flordia. There they meet oceangoing vessels – too often with results like this wounded flke. “Since 1970 we have recorded 45 northern right whale deaths, including 16 struck by ships,” says Scott Kraus of the New England Aquarium in Boston.

After six whales died in early 1996, protective measures were increased. The national Marine Fisheries Service now directs all vessels and aircraft to stay 500 yards from this species. Fishermen and many lobstermen must modify gear so that lines break if a whale becomes entangled. The Navy, which has long conducted training exercises from its base at Mayport, Florida, has moved some activities farther offshore, and its ships are avoiding the calving grounds as much as possible.

“But we need to figure out how to keep commercial shipping vessels from hitting whales,” Says Kraus.

ADAM’S SONG

"Adam's Song" is a song by the American rock band Blink-182, released on September 5, 2000 as the third and final single from the group's third studio album, Enema of the State (1999). Primarily composed by bassist Mark Hoppus, the song concerns suicide anddepression. It was inspired by extended periods of touring in support of the band's previous album, Dude Ranch (1997), during a time in which Hoppus was single. Internet rumors suggested the song was inspired by a fan's suicide, or the play Adam's Letter.

Following lighthearted previous singles, "Adam's Song" represented a change of pace for the band, and was regarded as one of their first "mature" songs. It received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who considered it one of the highlights of Enema of the State. The song peaked at number two on Billboard 's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and also was a top 20 hit in Canada andGermany. The song also created controversy when a survivor of the Columbine High School massacre committed suicide as the song played on repeat.