"We're not giving up. Let's save the Arctic!" Thank you!

Many thanks to those of you who sent me emails with their opinions on the "Arctic problem"! 
Here are some sentences that I think are very meaningful: 

"It's unbelievable how the great powers of the world close their eyes in front of all this [...]. In spite of everything, we're not giving up! Let's save the Arctic!" 
(Francesca, Italy) 

"We're destroying everything. The Arctic is one of our last chances (maybe the biggest one) to try to turn the tide. I think that if we lost this battle...we could have lost the war."
(Michel, Canada) 

"If we were able to save the Antarctic, more than 20 years ago, we can do it again and save the Arctic."
(Ebba, Sweden) 

Keep sending me emails with your opinions and suggestions to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com!

Arctic: we are all involved.

Gazprom and Shell have recently started to drill in the Arctic waters. 

The greenhouse effect reduces more and more the ice layer. 

We're destroying the sunshade which stands right over the heads of everyone in the world. 

The "Arctic problem" concerns us all. It is about us all. 

The Arctic is an extremely fragile ecosystem which is today threatened: we have to stop its deterioration. 

It is home to beautiful animal species like the polar bear, the walrus, the Arctic fox, the seals, the whales and the narwhal. 

Polar bears are strongly affected by the ice melting: it often happens that they swim for miles and miles before they find some stable ice...and too often they die trying. 

Please, sign the petition of Greenpeace to help things change! http://www.savethearctic.org/. 

Greenpeace also launched an initiative to make our voices heard on the Arctic problem: it consists in reaching a high point (a hill, a mountain, a skyscraper, a panoramic point...it doesn't matter what, it only has to be high), taking a photo and then sending it to Greenpeace or publishing it on Facebook or other social networks with the hashtag #ontop to #savethearctic. https://act.greenpeace.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1844&ea.campaign.id=30943. 

So...what are you waiting for?? Go take a photo! And send it to thenorthernlightsdiary@gmail.com, I'll publish it on the blog. 

If you want to, send me an email with your opinions on the Arctic situation or with your suggestions for the topics of the posts. 

Alone we can't do much...but together we are strong! 

Floating nuclear power plants in the Arctic...Imminent catastrophe.

In Pevek, a small Siberian town bathed by one of the earth's coldest seas, the Russians are completing the first prototype of floating nuclear power plant. 
This power plant is composed of 2 mini reactors of 35 megawatts, mounted on a platform which can be transported offshore. Indeed, the designers created this all to be able to transport it in the remotest regions of the Arctic Ocean. 
As if this were not enough, this power plant is going to be used to give energy to the drills of the Arctic oil platforms. The manifacturer said that other floating nuclear power plants of 1000 megawatts to be moored off the cost of Siberia are in planning, to produce energy that, through submarine cables, will be brought to the mainland. 

The power plants are using the Arctic marine water for the cooling. 
If something went wrong (which is very likely) an intervention in those seas would be almost impossible, while the destruction of the extremely fragile Arctic environment would be granted...and an enormous, shocking tragedy would be about to fall upon us all. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WWF is the biggest organization for the defence and the conservation of the environment and the species at risk. It was born on 29 April 1961 with a declaration called the Morges Manifesto and since 1985 it has been investing over US$ 1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives. 

WWF's mission is building a future in which humanity can live in harmony with nature. WWF focuses its efforts on two broad areas: biodiversity, to make sure that the earth's web of life remains healthy and vibrant for generations to come, focusing on critical places and critical species which are very important for the conservation of our earth's rich biodiversity; footprint, namely to reduce the negative impacts of human activity, to ensure that the natural resources required for life are managed sustainably and equitably. 

WWF is currently focusing on Amazon, Arctic, China for a Global Shift, Climate and Energy, Coastal East Africa, Coral Triangle, Forest and Climate, Green Heart of Africa, Heart of Borneo, Living Himalayas, Market Transformation, Smart Fishing and Tigers. 

WWF's core values are: 
- Be a global organization, independent, multicultural, political but not partisan
- Make use of the best scientific information available to identify and pursue its own goals 
- Search for dialogue and avoid unnecessary contrasts
- Create concrete solutions for conservation through the combination of field projects, policy initiatives, capacity building and education
- Involve local communities respecting their aspirations and needs
- Tighten appropriate collaborations with other environmental and political organizations and institutions, governments and public opinion to strengthen the effectiveness of WWF
- Critically evalue the adequacy and the efficacy of its efforts to reach the defined goals and to be a careful steward of funds