TEDx Bermuda: As one chapter on polar exploration closes, another opens

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19: Polar explorer Pen Hadow has been to the ends of the earth and back — and what’s more, he’s done it solo.

In 2003, he made the headlines after becoming the first person to trek from Canada to the North Geographic Pole without any assistance.

But Hadow was less interested in talking about his epic adventures than wanting to open the public’s eyes to the changing nature of polar exploration.

“If you accept that the natural world, on which we all depend on entirely for our existence, is showing strain and stress in response to our human activities — then presumably you would accept we need to manage our relationship with the natural better and therefore it is essential we understand how the natural world works.

“The previous explorers discovered where the ecosystems were, the river systems, the mountain ranges, the coast lines the ice sheets. The work now for modern scientific exploration is to understand how the natural processes work, how the systems work, how they interact. What is the function and role of life forms, plants and animals. We are just scratching the surface — there is a vast mount of information yet to be delivered.”

He told how businesses have a major role to play in the process. “The natural world needs more research and businesses need to become more environmentally responsible and communicate their processes. They have a big audiences and can help funding, communicating and supporting.”