First Summer Expedition to the North Pole
Pulling for the Planet - 2006

One World Expedition begins at Cape Arctichesky, Siberia

Dupre and Larsen face pressure ridges in ice at start of journey

GRAND MARAIS, MINN., May 10--The first-ever summer crossing of the Arctic Ocean, which is being undertaken to bring attention to global warming, began at Cape Arctichesky, Siberia this morning at 1 am Central Time. One World Expedition leader Lonnie Dupre and teammate Eric Larsen set off on snowshoes, relaying two 9 ½-foot whitewater canoes (specially modified with sled runners) across 1 1/2 miles of pressured ice to begin the trek. A preliminary flyover to the north showed a patch of open water about 3 miles wide, across which they planned to paddle. The journey will cover 1,240 miles and is expected to take about 100 days.

Dupre and Larsen are making an unsupported journey across the geographic North Pole to Ellesmere Island, Canada. They are carrying all the food, fuel and supplies they need for the entire trek, which means that each man is pulling a canoe weighing about 350 pounds. No one has attempted a summer crossing of the Arctic Ocean due to the dangerous nature of the crossing because of extreme fog, hypothermic temperatures and humidity lending themselves to hypothermia, and unstable ice conditions. They expect to be in and out of the water several times each day as they encounter open leads of water in the ice.

The One World Expedition journey is sponsored in part by Greenpeace's Project Thin Ice, an international campaign to expose the ramifications of global climate change and engage communities to pressure the United States into adopting solutions. The partnership will allow the One World Expedition to leverage Greenpeace's extensive communications network and expertise to reach a wider, global audience. Global climate change threatens hundreds of millions of people on every continent.

"Global warming affects the entire planet but has particular impact on the Earth's delicate polar regions. The amount of ice covering the Arctic Ocean has diminished by 10 percent over the last 40 years ," Dupre said. "It is our hope that people will be inspired by our journey to take their own steps to address global warming."

The explorers are sending journal entries and images every day to the expedition web site, www.oneworldexpedition.com . Audio clips from Dupre and Larsen will also be posted periodically.

As the explorers cross the ice, Greenpeace's ship the Arctic Sunrise will travel along Greenland's coastline in July and August, documenting the impacts of global warming, visiting scientific research stations, and hosting global warming scientists on board. The ship will meet the explorers at the end of their expedition at Ellesmere Island, Canada, and will also serve as backup for possible search and rescue operations.

Dupre and Larsen will collect snow samples at 50-mile intervals throughout their journey and test the quantity and quality of meltwater pools on the surface of the ice. Meltwater, which is difficult to study via satellite imagery because of summer fog, absorbs heat and increases the rate at which ice melts. Snow samples will be delivered to Dr. Paul Mayewski of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, who will analyze them for levels of 50 different pollutants. Meltwater data will be studied by Dr. Don Perovich, a research geophysicist with the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.

The explorers expect to reach the North Pole during the first week in July, and to finish at Ellesmere Island on or around August 21. The One World Expedition is also sponsored in part by ACR Electronics, Inc., makers of personal safety equipment, and by the Rolex Awards for Enterprise.

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