textfiles-politics/politicalTextFiles/chron.txt

 
Via Greenlink II
=================================================================
 
                  GREENPEACE WORLD PARK BASE 
 
                       ANTARCTIC DIARY 23
                        Jan 11,1990
 
 
Our Resupply ship the MV Gondwana has left Auckland, New  Zealand 
on the second leg of this years campaign to have this vast frozen 
continent  protected  as a World Park.  This last  twelve  months 
living  at  Cape  Evans has been a remarkable time  for  me  both 
personally  and  as a small part of the world wide  movement  for 
environmental  protection.   When  we left New  Zealand  on  22nd 
December  1988 the challenge was to highlight Antarctica's  place 
in  the  mind's of people all around the world.   From  the  many 
contacts  we have had from many countries and from hearing  about 
the growing influence of the Green political movement I feel sure 
that  we  humans are collectively changing our awareness  of  the 
natural  world  and in particular Antarctica's place  in  natural 
order of things. 
 
It has long been a fear that oil exploration and exploitation was 
the biggest and most imminent danger that the natural world faced 
in  Antarctica.  1989 seems to have been a year full of  examples 
of  the  damage that can be done in the polar regions  when  fuel 
spills  occur.   In our own backyard we saw  for  ourselves  that 
where  large quantities of fuel are handled the possiblities  for 
large  spills  seems  to be almost inevitable.   The  US  McMurdo 
Station, 25Km to the south has had a series of large fuel  spills 
in  the last eighteen months ( Over 450 000 Litres or nearly  118 
000  US Gals ) and none of these spills have been cleaned  up  to 
date.   While we were investigating the environmental  impact  of 
one  of  these spills in early October we uncovered  yet  another 
fuel  spill  which was later admitted to be in fact a  number  of 
spills  going back as far as 1983 and no records exist  of  these 
periodic  spills.  This spill site was only 150 Metres  from  New 
Zealand's Scott Base and was on an area of foreshore sea-ice that 
thaws each summer thus releasing the contaminating fuel  directly 
into the sea.
 
Both  New Zealand and the US are major sponsors of  the  Minerals 
Convention  which  is an agreement  among  the  Antarctic  Treaty 
signatory nations.  This Convention which is also know around the 
world as the Wellington Convention, after the capital city of New 
Zealand  was  negotiated  behind  closed  doors,  sets  out   the 
conditions under which minerals can be extracted from Antarctica.  
 
There  are  a growing number of governments,  now  responding  to 
public opinion at home opposing the ratification of this Minerals 
Convention.   Australia, France, Italy and Belgium have  rejected 
the  convention  and along with a number of other  countries  are 
actively  pushing  for a  comprehensive  Envronmental  Protection 
agreement for Antarctica in the form of a Wilderness Reserve.
 
Oil hungry nations and their supporters remain in favour of  this 
Miners  Convention stating that they wish to keep  their  options 
open  for future oil exploration of Antarctica while  reluctantly 
pursuing  the more sensible path of energy conservation  and  the 
development of alternative energy systems.
 
Well, in my last diary written at World Park Base I found  myself 
with  the  treat  of oil-exploration in my  mind  and  I  haven't 
written  about  the Polar summer that is blazing  around  me.   I 
suspect that there are two factors involved in my  preoccupation.  
The  news of the rusting hulk of the Kharg 5 tanker spilling  its 
contents uncontrollably into the Atlantic off the Morroccan coast 
has  brought  back to me the 1989 events... the Bahia  Paraiso  - 
Anvers Isand Antarctica, the Exxon Valdez - Prince Philips  Sound 
Alaska, the US South Pole Station,  the US airfield McMurdo Sound 
Antarctica...  all  sites  of environmental  disasters  in  Polar 
regions.   The  other  factor is that as a  New  Zealander  I  am 
saddened  by the fact that my government remains a major  sponsor 
of a Miners Convention for Antarctica.
 
Outside  my window the sea-ice is in full-melt and the  stretches 
of  open  water are growing before our eyes.  In the  Cape  Evans 
area  more than twenty Weddell Seals are basking ashore  and  the 
Skua  chicks  are  growing.   The  amazing  thaw  that  we   have 
experienced  this year continues to feed the thousands of  little 
streams and dozens of miniature lakes that dot the area.  We have 
had  about two week of settled weather, ideal for  preparing  the 
base  for  the  arrival of our resupply ship  and  our  many  old 
friends.
 
My  kindest regards to all our supporters and friends as my  time 
here at World Park base comes rapidly to and end.
 
Phil Doherty.