He is my hero He's trekked across Antarctica via the South Pole, set a speed record crossing the Greenland ice cap, and reached the North Pole with hungry polar bears at his heels. But now David de Rothschild navigates a new landscape: cyberspace.
His portal "Adventure Ecology" uses the excitement of daring expeditions to inspire interest in environmental issues among schoolchildren. "We can make saving the planet an adventure," de Rothschild explains. "I want to make it so engaging, fun, and fascinating they want to get involved."
Adventure Ecology Web sites include classroom lesson plans; reports on de Rothschild's expeditions; and a gateway for children to learn about global environmental problems, play ecology-oriented video games, and chat with other Adventure Ecology Club members around the globe.
"We didn't want to create a rigid, flat site that would put kids to sleep," de Rothschild notes. "Instead, we give them a chance to grow their own world, create their own viewpoints, showcase them, and inspire others. And don't underestimate kids' power to influence their parents. We provide fundamental, unbiased content so people can ask informed questions. If no one asks questions, nothing changes."
The focus on children is deliberate. "There's a native Indian proverb that says we don't inherit the Earth, we borrow it from our children," de Rothschild recalls. "Children have a boundless enthusiasm, energy, and optimism for tackling issues and finding solutions. We want to catch them before they lose their curiosity about the natural world. Curiosity is a great driver of change. But in protecting our children, we've also made it very hard for them to go out and experience nature. That's something our Web site can address."
De Rothschild's passion is fueled by personal expedition experiences. Wearing shorts in Greenland, sitting shirtless in a North Pole tent, and sweating rather than shivering in the Arctic let him feel climate change firsthand. "It doesn't take a scientist or glaciologist or ice core specialist to see that there are vast amounts of open water where there should be ice—and that spells disaster. When I went to the North Pole we had a fixed amount of food, gear, and supplies. If we used too much fuel one night, we had to cut back on another night. It opens your eyes to every single action and makes you incredibly efficient at living within your means. Our planet's finite resources are no different. Humans use 95 tons [86 metric tons] of coal, 150,000 liters [40,000 gallons] of oil, and 3 million cubic feet [85,000 cubic meters] of gas every second of every day. It's going to run out.
"If someone you love has a health crisis," he observes, "you'd research, find the best doctors, the latest cures, whatever it takes to get that person healthy again. Well now our planet has a health crisis. But are we really doing everything we possibly can? If we fail, there's no second chance."
Society's slow response can be attributed in part to what he calls a nature-deficiency disorder. "We go from our house to our car to our office and don't even think about what season it is. Meanwhile, a new pattern of natural disasters has emerged that isn't natural at all. Katrina, tsunamis, typhoons, brush fires, monsoons—these events wake us up and remind us that we're still part of the cycle. I do believe solutions are out there. We have the technology. What we seem to lack is a common will. Yet history proves that with a common will, humanity can overcome obstacles and accomplish astounding things."
The Adventure Ecology portal will track future de Rothschild expeditions taking teams of explorers, artists, and scientists to six environmentally stressed locations around the world. Capitalizing on the power of extraordinary events, his adventures will continue to be dramatic and unconventional. "For example, we're planning to build a raft out of household waste products, bottles and such, and sail it across the Pacific," he says. "People have a lot to learn about ecology—but first you have to get their attention."
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