Polar explorer shares experiences in Philly

Polar explorer Eric Larsen is in Philadelphia this week to speak about being the first person to trek to the South Pole and the North Pole, and climb Mount  Everest in under a year.

Photos courtesy of Eric Larsen | Mobile gallery

 

Polar explorer Eric Larsen is in Philadelphia this week to speak about being the first person to trek to the South Pole and the North Pole, and climb Mount  Everest in under a year.

Larsen, who returned from his Everest summit in October, is giving speeches around the country to  connect people half a world away to the places most vulnerable to climate change.

More info: Save the Poles website

Larsen said he noticed the effects of global warming all around him on his treks. Ice looked thinner in the North Pole than when he visited previously in 2006, and wind patterns had changed.

But he’s frustrated that conversations about climate change still seem to still dwell on these details — whether climate change is happening rather than solutions to the problem.

“We have been seeing these changes due to climate changes for quite some time, yet they’re very far away and distant and they don’t seem to have any sort of immediate effect,” Larsen said. “My goal has always been to connect people to these places.”

Through his lectures and other outreach efforts, Larsen hopes to educate people about how “big and vast and beautiful” places such as the North and South Poles and Everest are, and how much they are changing.

“Then we can start moving forward to action,” Larsen said.

Larsen was to speak Monday at Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont.