News from Atlantic Rising http://www.atlanticrising.com/default.asp At the top of the Altamira Suites in Caracas there is a bar where well-heeled Venezuelans sip cocktails while their Blackberries flicker on glass tabletops. From the roof there is a view across the city, a landscape of skyscrapers branded with the names of western corporations. The Four Seasons Hotel designed in the style of a boat, floats across a sea of lights that twinkle amiably from the distance hillsides of Petare, one of Latin America's largest slums. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=103 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=103 Its not often that Atlantic Rising plugs a cause other than its own. However, the time as come to get behind a project that can make a real difference to the troubled country of Liberia. And we need a tiny bit of your time to make it possible. A close friend of Atlantic Rising - Catriona Forbes - works for an architectural NGO called Article 25. As a qualified architect, Catriona has been offered the chance to lead a project to design vital infrastructure and buildings in the Gola Forest - West Africa's last virgin rainforest. This project would provide employment opportunities in conservation and eco-tourism for people who otherwise have little incentive to conserve the forest. For more information click here. We cannot miss out this opportunity. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=102 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=102 "Let me tell you a story", Charles Brewer-Carias fixes me with cool eyes and an enigmatic smile disguised by a moustache which looks like it has fought its way off the pages of The Dangerous Book for Boys. With 27 species of flora and fauna bearing his name and over 200 expeditions to the Venezuelan jungle under his no-nonsense belt, Charles is something of a legend in the world of exploration. He speaks six languages, holds the world record for making fire with sticks (2.7 seconds), has his own brand of hunting knife, has discovered the world's largest quartzite cave and the world's oldest living organism, he's a national swimming champion, former Minister for Youth and Sport and a qualified dentist to boot. To compare him to Indiana Jones is to do him a disservice. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=101 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=101 Birthday presents on Atlantic Rising are given and earned through a careful process of negotiation. For a long time I had wanted to climb Mount Roraima, a tabletop mountain or tepui, in southern Venezuela and after much arm twisting Will agreed to indulge me. It was to be a great Victorian adventure. Roraima has such steep cliffs that for many centuries it was considered insurmountable. Explorers failed to return from expeditions to its foothills, inspiring Conan Doyle to write a tale of a Lost World nestling on its summit, inhabited by pterodactyls and the missing link between man and ape. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=100 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=100 It is 5.30am in the morning. The sun is creeping over the horizon. I am driving along the coast road back from the airport. Early morning joggers pad along the sea wall, silhouetted against the grey dawn. Otherwise Georgetown is still. I turn the car onto Camp Street and cross the fetid canals latticing the city. A low mist hangs over the water. At the junction of Camp and Barrack Street the stillness is broken by a moment of conversation. A hundred people have gathered in a crowd. Young and old stand together, white and blue shirts standing out in the early light. They talk in low voices, a quiet murmur hanging in the air. All are dressed smartly for work. Breakfast bags gripped next to their sides. Umbrellas hanging limply from wrist. They stand patiently. As if they have been standing for days. Waiting. This is the passport office. It opens at 9am. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=99 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=99 We are not at our best at 6am. An injection of caffeine, a spray of deet and a chance to exorcise hammock induced back spasms are usually required before we engage with the world. However, last week was different. Our days began with sleepy calls to the UK, where 25 students were ready to pounce with clever questions and thoughtful comments about the expedition and climate change. A double espresso is no match for Hazel's question, "how do you reconcile the differences between local and global sea level rise?", in terms of wiping sleep from your eyes. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=98 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=98 Manaus is not a pretty city. It groans with assembly plants - Samsung, Nokia, Sony, Hyundai - crowding the outskirts after the government made Manaus a free trade zone. Very little is actually made here; components are mostly shipped from India and China, but a lot is assembled and companies benefit from the low taxes. However, it is a city with attitude. And standing at its centre is a building which exemplifies Manaus' somewhat quirky relationship with international trade. The Manaus Opera House looks a little like a forgotten slice of Neapolitan ice cream. As children, we hungered for this exotic dessert, only to demolish the vanilla and chocolate sections leaving the strawberry forlornly melting on the plate. Jorge dos Santos's design has distinct similarities. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=97 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=97 The oddest social function of the trip so far has got to be the Queen's birthday party we attended in Georgetown, Guyana.We received hand delivered invitations on pristine white card. The High Commissioner and his wife requested the pleasure of our company at a party to celebrate the queen's official birthday. Dress code: elegant. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=96 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=96 Atlantic Rising has been playing at being cowboys on a spectacular ranch in southern Guyana called Dadanawa. It was once the largest cattle ranch in the world and to get there you have to drive for about 50miles on pretty bad roads. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=95 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=95 Dona Olinda was approaching her 100th birthday and as she sat on the veranda of her American-built home in Fordlandia in the Brazilian state of Amazonas her family cleared up around her in preparation for the party. Fordlandia is a sleepy community nestled on the misty banks of the Tapajos River where Henry Ford tried to establish a rubber plantation to bypass the British stranglehold on the white gold of the early twentieth century. He hoped to gain control over every step in the production process of his Model -T. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=94 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=94 One of the best things about Atlantic Rising is that it allows us to meet (either in real life or via the internet) some really interesting people doing some properly amazing things. One of these people is Tim Moss - there are few places he hasn't cycled, swum or run. And he is keen to encourage others to do the same, he has kindly written a piece about adventure especially for our website. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=93 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=93 Residents of Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, live their lives below sea level. The rising sea is an immediate threat and the city only survives thanks to a sea wall. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=92 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=92 There are certain activities which we do, not because they are fun, but because the bragging rights are just reward for the pain of enduring them: swimming in Scotland, reading Penguin classics, visiting Hadrian's wall. All of them tick boxes and fill the awkward dinner party silences, but the actual time you spend doing these activities is sweaty and painful. Sometimes you think it will never end (Tale of Two Cities), sometimes you think you might die in the process (Cumbria in January). All of them are much cheerier in retrospect. Onto this list I will add windsurfing on the Amazon. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=91 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=91 Life in a hammock is a cross between speed dating and a trade fair. People look at your wares - your hammock, your bags, your clothing and the knot you tie to affix your hammock. You are judged according to all of these things. We scored high on bags, but low on knots. And s soon as your hammock is up you start to scout. Who is next to me? Are they drunk? Will they vomit on my face in the night? Are they hiding a screaming child in that fold? Will they mind when I fart? All of these things require snap judgements and have far reaching consequences. These people will be within inches of you for the next 72 hours. If they have stashed a pet cockerel in their pillow and you fail to notice, there go your lazy mornings. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=90 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=90 Sao Luis was once at the centre of the Portuguese empire. Its streets are paved with stones used as ballast in Portuguese ships and it proudly boasted a telephone just three years after its invention. The neighbouring town of Alcantara was home to the rich plantation owners of the era, so affluent that they could afford to build two palaces fit for a visit by the Brazilian ruler. But he never showed up and the non-event is still celebrated today during the Festa do Divino. Unfortunately, we arrived about as fit for a party as the decrepit colonial architecture of the city and opted for a guided tour. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=89 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=89 After picking up our buoy in Fortaleza we headed for backpackers' mecca Jericoaracoa, full of dune buggies, kite boarders and swanky looking pousadas. We availed ourselves of none of these and instead broke our camping duck for Brazil by setting up our tents in a hostel's courtyard. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=88 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=88 The Golden Tulip hotel casts a long shadow along the beach where Fortaleza's fishermen have landed their morning catch. The crowd assembles in circles around the fish to haggle over prices as leathery-skinned men place weights on scales like opponents moving pieces in a game of chess. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=87 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=87 A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I will have this tattooed on my pill popping finger. For the last 24 hours I have lived in a fuzzy world, suspended over a toilet bowl, with fate's thumb firmly pressed on the vomit button. An ear infection had turned into a hospitalisation and I had nobody to blame but myself. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=86 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=86 Waking up in a brothel at a truck stop was not how I hoped to be spending my 30th birthday. To be fair, there is some debate about whether the establishment was a brothel. All I know is that the proprietress was very unwilling to let us stay, in a way that made me suspect she had other plans for the room. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=85 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=85 After a tortuous wait we have finally been united with Beatrice. Atlantic Rising is back on the road. It was an emotional reunion on Thursday night in a wet container park in Santos. Will and I dressed down for the occasion in flip flops and shorts, looking out of place among a small army of men in hard hats. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=84 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=84 I am a bit slow off the mark in notifying people about work we have produced. This should have been penned on Sunday. Over the past five months, we have been producing a mini-series for the BBC World Service. The series focuses on people in West Africa, whose work tackles issues and arguments around climate change. Some of them are experts, others are ordinary citizens. All of them believe passionately in what they are doing. The series appears in the Outlook strand and airs four times on the day of broadcast. Two have already aired, and another two are coming up on 26th April 2010 and 3rd May 2010. A summary of each programme is included below. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=83 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=83 One of the great advantages of travelling along the one metre contour line (or thereabouts) is that we are never far from the beach. And while seven months on the road has turned us into beach snobs, as beaches go, Brazil scores pretty highly. But it is not the fineness of the sand or the clarity of the water that grabs me, but the carnival of life which is acted out upon them. Brazilian beach culture explains why England won't win the World Cup and why there's no treatment on the beautician's menu called 'The British'. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=81 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=81 Brazilian customs officials do not move fast. We have now been waiting for our car since March 9 which seems like a very long time ago. The news from our freight forwarders at the port rotates on a daily basis - we are told we might be getting the car next week, that sometimes it takes two months to import a car, that the customs officials are happy with our paperwork, that the customs officials have some questions or that Tim needs to sign another form. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=79 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=79 What are we hoping to produce for schools over the next 8 months? http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=78 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=78 We are launching a unique photography competition. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=77 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=77 Taking advantage of our vehicle's incarceration in a container somewhere in Santos I took a few days off from Atlantic Rising to go on holiday with my sister, Bryony. On Monday, our last morning in Rio we looked out across leaden skies as the rain fell on Rocinha, Rio's largest favela. "Top of the hills, great views, come on, it's an excellent zip code", our guide Colin enthused like an estate agent. Perched on the steep slopes above the affluent communities of Sao Conrado and Gavea, Rocinha is far from des-res. Where Rocinha's roofs are flat to accommodate unplanned extensions, Sao Conrado's roofs are home to turquoise swimming pools. In Rocinha tiny alleyways squeeze between honeycomb brick walls, seen from below, the favela is so crammed it looks like a wall of houses. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=75 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=75 A large man finds our capsule in the water, drags it to dry land and does a belly dance around it. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=74 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=74 This afternoon we finally spoke with the man responsible for saving our buoy. In this blog we commend his commitment, professionalism and cool headedness. When we phoned the Golden Tulip hotel, Fortaleza on Saturday morning, we had no idea what to expect. Would they laugh in our faces, report us to the police, or just put the phone down with a resigned sigh? We had not reckoned on Ageu Amaral. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=73 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=73 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=72 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=72 There's a clever little orange button on our website called an RSS feed. By clicking on it you can subscribe to receive updates from our blog emailed directly to you. So rather than wandering blindly to our site every so often, our RSS feed can let you know when we've added new articles and blogs as soon as we publish them. You can even see a summary of them to decide whether they're worth reading. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=71 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=71 Sea level change is affected by a huge number of factors other than water temperature or volume. Don't buy a house in Hawaii http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=70 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=70 I spent yesterday walking back and forth across Santos trying to complete the paperwork to unlock our car, Beatrice, from her container. Santos is the largest port in Latin America - its streets dissected by a series of canals the colour of crude oil, devoid of life or barges. I walked hurriedly weighed down by bags, whilst drops of water bombarded me from unseen air conditioning units in the sky and rolled down the lenses of my glasses to complete my disorientation. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=69 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=69 Yesterday we had our first real introduction to Brazil - a football match. We went to see Santos (Pele's former club - we saw his son but not him sadly) playing an inconsequential team wearing orange. I say inconsequential because Santos won 10-0 and the other team didn't get much of a look in. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=68 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=68 Today thousands of children across the UK are reporting the news as part of the BBC's annual School Report. I was lucky enough to take part because Cardinal Newman School in Hove - one of the schools we visited before leaving the UK - decided to focus their report on climate change and Atlantic Rising. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=67 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=67 In Churchill's view naval tradition was "nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash". We found none of those on board Safmarine container ships while crossing the Atlantic but we did encounter handcuffs, kitchen slops and the fire hose. These we experienced in quick and nasty succession during the crossing the line ceremony. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=66 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=66 Atlantic Rising has been on the road for six months now. We have had lots of adventures, visited great schools and seen several interesting projects. We are currently plotting and planning by a pool in Brazil and really hoping that the next half of the project is going to be even more exciting. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=65 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=65 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=62 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=62 Last week we threw hundreds of letters from school children into the ocean in a giant bottle. Perhaps you will find it washed up on a beach, if so please get in touch. In the meanwhile here are some of the highlights. The spelling is mostly original. "To a person who hopefully does not know me... http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=61 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=61 This is a letter by John MacIntyre who built our 'Message in a Bottle' buoy. Dear Sirs, I am writing because I want those people who will be alive a hundred from now to inherit the rich hospitable sun lit leaf shaded and life tangled world that I grew up in. I hope that our literature and art can be saved and that our children will have time to write and tell more stories. I hope that they will be able to wander and dance and to fall in love in the moss deep northern forests still filled with the flight of birds. I hope that whales, tigers and the great apes will not have disappeared and become mythological. I am also writing because I have spent my entire adult life working as a scientist and owe it to those people yet to live to speak. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=64 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=64 How do you design a vessel to ride the ocean's waves for years carrying a precious cargo of letters and a tracking device? We had no idea, but luckily we knew some experts and asked them nicely. This explains how our 'Message in a Bottle' buoy was designed by round the world yachtsman James Clarke and expertly made by engineer John McIntyre. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=63 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=63 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=60 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=60 Up on the ship's bridge high above the containers and the waves which crash like gentle thunder, Mr Isaacs is on watch. Neatly arranged before him are two packets of cigarettes. He cradles a pair of binoculars in one hand which he brings intermittently to his eyes. Stars float in the sky overhead as the ship bears us away from the shores of Africa. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=59 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=59 Atlantic Rising is in a state of high excitement having just been shown around Safmarine Nuba, currently alongside the port in Abidjan. Readers, I can assure you that containerships really are very big. Although, according to her captain Nuba is actually relatively small, at a mere 210metres long. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=58 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=58 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=56 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=56 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=57 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=57 The sound of pounding metal peals like funereal bells across the landscape. An acrid black smoke drifts above the earth, dyed bright yellow and cyan by ink spewed from fractured printer cartridges. We step across a wasteland of rusting car parts, jaundiced computer shells and the entrails of refrigerators bought decades ago in a country other than Ghana. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=55 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=55 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=54 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=54 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=52 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=52 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=53 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=53 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=51 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=51 Entering Cote d'Ivoire we were greeted at the border by three men describing themselves as rebels. There was nothing particularly rebellious about them. They were, if anything, a little bashful and apologised because they could not find a stamp to mark our passports. The road up until this point had already provided us with ample adventure. By the time we reached the border it had narrowed to a single track the width of a footpath. Forest and path blended into one and soon we were crawling and hopping along with the ants and the crickets. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=50 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=50 Several months ago we were sitting in the dappled shade of St Christopher's Place in London talking to Oliver Steeds. As he swaggered off into the sunset he left us with his eggshell-hued business card. It said simply: Explorer. Around this single word I constructed a swashbuckling persona for myself, of designer stubble, Stetson hats and stories of derring-do told across bars in exotic locations. Tim Bromfield. Explorer. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=49 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=49 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=47 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=47 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=48 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=48 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=46 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=46 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=44 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=44 Everyone we meet in Sierra Leone is talking about corruption. It seems to be the scourge of the country and everyone is affected. Two ministers are currently under house arrest for corruption and young people in slums complain the elders are more interested in lining their pockets than helping the community. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=43 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=43 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=42 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=42 To enter Guinea we had to cross the river that runs along its frontier with Guinea Bissau. By dawn wisps of mist clung to its cool waters, creating an ethereal, other-worldly impression of the land beyond shrouded in myth. With elections approaching and an erratic military ruler in power Guinea is more volatile than normal and our plan was to get across it as quickly and discreetly as possible. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=41 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=41 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=40 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=40 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=39 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=39 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=38 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=38 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=37 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=37 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=36 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=36 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=35 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=35 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=34 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=34 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=33 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=33 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=32 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=32 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=29 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=29 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=31 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=31 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=26 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=26 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=25 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=25 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=24 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=24 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=23 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=23 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=22 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=22 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=21 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=21 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=20 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=20 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=19 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=19 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=18 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=18 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=17 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=17 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=16 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=16 Amongst the flotsam and jetsam of my office is a pile of scruffy leaves of A4 paper. Contained on these pages are several hundred letters written by the 11 to 14 year olds that we have met along our route through the UK. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=12 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=12 We are now full time expedition planning since visiting the last school in our UK network on Thursday. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=13 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=13 Apologies for radio silence blog fans. Atlantic Rising has been very busy over the last couple of weeks visiting schools all over the country. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=14 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=14 American conservationists have been putting a lot of energy into publicising the plight of North Carolina's coastline. Low lying, swampy and sprinkled with well managed conservation areas, it hosts numerous endangered species including the red wolf and red cockaded woodpecker, as well as a splinter group of black bears. It was here that early settlers drained bogs and built dykes, carving a new landscape from the peaty myre that greeted them off their boats. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=11 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=11 A useful, if slightly simplistic, overview of how the oceans will be affected by increased atmospheric temperatures has just been published on Al Jazeera's website. It is a good introduction to some of the issues we will be exploring later this year. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=10 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=10 So sea level change will profoundly change the geography of our coastlines, but what are the knock on effects for inland areas. Population migration and increased competition for agricultural and water resources will lead to inland areas being put under profound stress. A group of scientists in U.S.A are currently researching these impacts on the Lake Wales Ridge area of Florida. The consequences look pretty frightening. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=9 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=9 The climate change discourse is awash with facts but since 2007 there has been scientific consensus around an important one that 'most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities'. This was the statement issued by the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001 from which no national scientific body of national or international standing now maintains a dissenting position. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=7 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=7 Two weeks ago in Banjul, a sea level change adaptation project involving five countries - The Gambia, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal - was launched in Banjul. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=6 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=6 The three big climate change challenges facing the International Community are commonly recognised as http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=5 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=5 I'm in Crouch End surrounded by architectural models and CDs and watching Grace the goldfish who seems to have a problem with her swim bladder. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=4 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=4 Another donation! The fantastic people of Rough Guide have swooped to our rescue and provided us with free guide books to every country that we are visiting. Thankyou very much indeed! http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=3 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=3 Unique photo competition launched by Atlantic Rising http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=76 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=76 I'm pretty good at driving. I'm a man. What more can I say? Not much the Land Rover Experience centre in Herefordshire could teach me then. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=1 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=1 A huge thanks to Gary and his team, who have offered to conduct a carbon footprint of our project for us..for free! http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=2 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=2 We are sitting in some very comfortable theatre seats at the RGS. On the screen in front of us is a man who packed badly for a mountain climb. His thumb is black and shrivelled, his forefinger red and puffy, and the other digits are all missing. 'Now this isn't as bad as it looks, but can anyone tell me what the problem is?' says the smirking lecturer. We check the route to the toilets is clear and stifle a retch. Day 1 of Wilderness Medical Training. http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=15 http://www.atlanticrising.org/news/blog_view.asp?id=15