Devil and Eagle Islands
Step right up folks! That's it come closer... come take a look at the most wondrous substance on earth. Look how it sparkles and shines in the bright Antarctic sun. Feel how cool it is to the touch. Isn't it incredible?! What is it you ask? Well, it's ice of course, but not just any old ice...this is Antarctic ice! No, it's true. Sure there are a lot if imposters around. Heck, sometimes they even make it into your evening cocktails, but this is the genuine article, and I am here to tell you there is no more valuable substance on the entire planet! Ah, I can see the doubt in your eyes, but indulge me for a moment and I'll make a believer of you.
You see this ice here is older than you or I, possibly even older than the word ice itself. It's traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles to get where it is today. It's is a wonder of natural engineering, so simple and yet so integral to our incredibly complex world. What kind of world would we have without it? Well, not one we'd recognize for sure!
For starters, this ice is the central air conditioning unit for the entire planet. No, no, not this little piece here, but I brought this one here just as a sample for demonstration purposes. The ice in Antarctica is huge, "GI-NORMOUS" even! Having started as a tiny snow flake possibly thousands of years ago, it fell to the earth and joined with millions of other snowflakes to eventually become part of one the Antarctic's many glaciers. The glaciers here are SO big and SO numerous they cover over 98% percent of the continent. Now with all that ice in place, the continent (which is my home by the way) reflects enormous amounts of solar heat back out into space thereby keeping us cool enough that I can wear this spiffy tuxedo year round. Trust me--you don't want to see my skinny bird legs in Bermuda shorts!
Of course, it doesn't only keep us cool, it also feeds us. Hey, stop that! No, don't eat the props, PLEASE. I didn't mean it feeds us directly, but rather provides the basis for our food chain. You see the sea ice that forms down here every year creates the perfect habitat for an underwater forest of microscopic algae called diatoms. Now these diatoms grow like crazy underneath the sea ice when the first rays of sunlight start to filter through. That's because they can photosynthesize just like the plants you know and love back home. Now, I don't think these diatoms are all that tasty myself, but they sure attract a slew of krill. And krill on the other hand is SUPER tasty. Best food in the world, don't you agree? You don't eat krill? Are you serious? EVERYBODY eats krill! Whales, seals, fish, flying birds, swimming birds, and of course, yours truly! How could you have possibly gotten so big if you don't eat krill? Hmmm, brownies, huh? Well, I've never had brownies, but trust me on the krill thing; millions of penguins can't be wrong!
Now this brings me to the point of this little demonstration. You see, this miracle product is slowly disappearing from our world, just like the block I'm standing on now. It started out slow, barely even noticeable except to those of us that live down here year round, but nowadays it seems to be disappearing alarmingly fast. It's getting down right hot down here some days. And I often have to go farther and farther to find enough krill to provide for my little penguin family. (The commute is a killer!) Some of us are starting to get concerned. So, we got together and elected someone to get the word out and hopefully find a solution to this problem. No, no not me! I'm just a penguin after all; not really cut out for politics. No, we elected you! Now those crazy chinstraps thought we should elect the leopard seal, but to be honest I think that's just because they are afraid of him! Luckily the Emperors provided the voice of reason and said we should pick someone who gets to see other parts of the world (and who doesn't have a taste for the flesh of the voters!) So, I guess congratulations are in order. Now what are you gonna do about this? We can't lose our precious ice you know! We obviously don't expect an answer right away, but between me and you, sooner would be better than later. I'll keep my colleagues busy with rock collecting and chick-raising to give you some extra time, but eventually even bird-brains figure things out. Besides, you don't have all the time in the world, because this world's time just might be running out. So get back with me as soon as you can okay? We'd really appreciate it. Oh, and keep away from those leopard seals, they can be quite nasty when there's not enough krill around!
Step right up folks! That's it come closer... come take a look at the most wondrous substance on earth. Look how it sparkles and shines in the bright Antarctic sun. Feel how cool it is to the touch. Isn't it incredible?! What is it you ask? Well, it's ice of course, but not just any old ice...this is Antarctic ice! No, it's true. Sure there are a lot if imposters around. Heck, sometimes they even make it into your evening cocktails, but this is the genuine article, and I am here to tell you there is no more valuable substance on the entire planet! Ah, I can see the doubt in your eyes, but indulge me for a moment and I'll make a believer of you.
You see this ice here is older than you or I, possibly even older than the word ice itself. It's traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles to get where it is today. It's is a wonder of natural engineering, so simple and yet so integral to our incredibly complex world. What kind of world would we have without it? Well, not one we'd recognize for sure!
For starters, this ice is the central air conditioning unit for the entire planet. No, no, not this little piece here, but I brought this one here just as a sample for demonstration purposes. The ice in Antarctica is huge, "GI-NORMOUS" even! Having started as a tiny snow flake possibly thousands of years ago, it fell to the earth and joined with millions of other snowflakes to eventually become part of one the Antarctic's many glaciers. The glaciers here are SO big and SO numerous they cover over 98% percent of the continent. Now with all that ice in place, the continent (which is my home by the way) reflects enormous amounts of solar heat back out into space thereby keeping us cool enough that I can wear this spiffy tuxedo year round. Trust me--you don't want to see my skinny bird legs in Bermuda shorts!
Of course, it doesn't only keep us cool, it also feeds us. Hey, stop that! No, don't eat the props, PLEASE. I didn't mean it feeds us directly, but rather provides the basis for our food chain. You see the sea ice that forms down here every year creates the perfect habitat for an underwater forest of microscopic algae called diatoms. Now these diatoms grow like crazy underneath the sea ice when the first rays of sunlight start to filter through. That's because they can photosynthesize just like the plants you know and love back home. Now, I don't think these diatoms are all that tasty myself, but they sure attract a slew of krill. And krill on the other hand is SUPER tasty. Best food in the world, don't you agree? You don't eat krill? Are you serious? EVERYBODY eats krill! Whales, seals, fish, flying birds, swimming birds, and of course, yours truly! How could you have possibly gotten so big if you don't eat krill? Hmmm, brownies, huh? Well, I've never had brownies, but trust me on the krill thing; millions of penguins can't be wrong!
Now this brings me to the point of this little demonstration. You see, this miracle product is slowly disappearing from our world, just like the block I'm standing on now. It started out slow, barely even noticeable except to those of us that live down here year round, but nowadays it seems to be disappearing alarmingly fast. It's getting down right hot down here some days. And I often have to go farther and farther to find enough krill to provide for my little penguin family. (The commute is a killer!) Some of us are starting to get concerned. So, we got together and elected someone to get the word out and hopefully find a solution to this problem. No, no not me! I'm just a penguin after all; not really cut out for politics. No, we elected you! Now those crazy chinstraps thought we should elect the leopard seal, but to be honest I think that's just because they are afraid of him! Luckily the Emperors provided the voice of reason and said we should pick someone who gets to see other parts of the world (and who doesn't have a taste for the flesh of the voters!) So, I guess congratulations are in order. Now what are you gonna do about this? We can't lose our precious ice you know! We obviously don't expect an answer right away, but between me and you, sooner would be better than later. I'll keep my colleagues busy with rock collecting and chick-raising to give you some extra time, but eventually even bird-brains figure things out. Besides, you don't have all the time in the world, because this world's time just might be running out. So get back with me as soon as you can okay? We'd really appreciate it. Oh, and keep away from those leopard seals, they can be quite nasty when there's not enough krill around!
