OUR TRAVEL ICE BUCKET LIST

Polar opposites have both beauty and dangers in common. A look at the North and South Poles shows their magnificence. And we are seeing more evidence that they are in growing peril. Repeated bouts of warm weather this season are triggering red alerts with polar researchers.

We are sharing images from two environmental photographers to consider in this BN Daily Fix.

NORTH POLE -- CHRISTIAN ÅSLUND

Christian Åslund is a Swedish photo journalist, based in Stockholm, who has spent much time capturing the beauty of the North Pole.

Working with environmental organizations such as Greenpeace, as well as various news publications, Åslund aims to tell the stories that need to be told about the Arctic, its role and its impact on the rest of our planet.

Åslund calls what he does “photo activism.”

NORTH POLE NOW

The loss of sea ice also means more of the polar coasts are battered by storm waves, increasing erosion and driving some native communities to move.

In fact, according to latest modeling, by 2030, the Arctic could be ice free for the first time in more than 100,000 years.

Arctic sea ice appears to have reached a record low wintertime maximum extent for the second year in a row, according to scientists at the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA.

Arctic sea ice plays an important role in maintaining Earth’s temperature, precipitation levels, sea levels, and general weather patterns.

SOUTH POLE -- DAISY GILARDINI

Swiss-born photographer Daisy Gilardini fell in love with Antarctica during her first trip there in 1997, and has since spent most of her time photographing the Polar Regions. She’s joined over 60 expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic, most of them on research vessels and icebreakers as well as overland.

The award-winning photographer has been published internationally by leading magazines and organizations, such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, BBC Wildlife, Nature’s Best, Audubon, The Telegraph, Outdoor Photography, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, among many others.

Gilardini is passionate about environmental issues and has made it a lifelong commitment to disseminate conservation messages.

Gilardini makes an important point: “If humankind wants to survive and evolve with our planet we have to act responsibly, by acknowledging with humility that Nature is not depended by us but we are dependent by Nature.”

While Gilardini’s images show how remote and isolated polar regions appear, they are also a call to humans’ primordial connections with Nature, the interconnection among all species, and the importance of delicate ecosystems.

“As environmental photographers it is our duty to capture the beauty of places and species at risk and raise awareness through the universal power of the images we capture,” Gilardini asserts.

If we can be moved by the beauty of these frozen landscapes, if we can come to understand the true fragility of the life they support as well as the tipping points they influence, Gilardini believes we can take action.

“While science provides the data necessary to explain issues and suggest solutions, photography symbolizes these issues,” Gilardini explains. “Science is the brain, while photography is the heart and we need to reach people’s heart and emotions in order to move them to action, for Nature and for us.”