Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Worst News

Hello to Everyone,

It is with a heavy heart that I bring to you the news regarding our beloved webcams. Cables to the two most necessary cams on the post have been harmed due to the storm that has lasted these past two days. As you probably have noticed, sustained winds were around 50 knots. I suppose that this simply reinforces the knowledge that Antarctica is a harsh mistress to its inhabitants. Still, it is hard news to take, especially since our little guys, whose names were finally decided unanimously by all who voted: Fred and Ginger.

The station is unmanned and has been since December 8th of last year--there simply is no one there to fix anything. With this in mind and a promise I made to Mr. Grund, whose benevolence gave us the opportunity to view these beautiful birds, I have written to National Geographic for help. If you wish to help this cause--please write to NG and support this cause. A short email is all that is necessary. Please help keep these cams maintained so that the vision of Gentoo penguins will remain before the eyes of their admirers and in the hearts of those wishing to preserve their environment.

Thank you,
Lin aka wiinterrr, the sad blonde adelie

Penguin Cams In Antarctica


Greetings National Geographic,

I am a lifelong fan of all things NG. Your Wildlife Cams have made such a difference, not only in my life, but those I come in contact with every day. In fact, when I read that subscribing to the magazine helped sponsor such links as Pete's Pond, I immediately re-subscribed.

I have a penguin webcam-blog online that many people have become interested in and who watch and write to me regarding the activities on the monitors. In fact, today I was going to post regarding penguin biology and how the birds feed and feed their young. I had obtained permission last night only to rise today and see that the two most important cams at the site are down for the year due to a storm last night whose sustained winds were over 50 knots.

Martin Grund at the German station, Gars O'Higgins on the Antarctic Peninsula, gave me permission to use his cams on my blog--he is just that nice of a person. However, as he and his comrades were there doing weather related research, they did not have the time nor the propensity to take care of the cameras. I did tell him that I was going to try to find a means to support and/or sponsor the cams so that he and his fellow scientists would not have to be responsible for them. I immediately thought of you and I believed I had time to contact you after the holidays before the late summer storms arrived. Alas, I was not so fortunate.

In a time when global warming is obvious and primary to our own survival, these birds--these beautiful Gentoo penguins--are the barometers for a future we will soon confront. By placing them before the eyes of the world, more people will become convinced that we must save these birds first. By watching these penguins go through the process of selecting mates, breeding, hatching and brooding their young, people will see that these are remarkable creatures who must remain as co-inhabitants of the earth. I want these birds to have a chance to survive and to continue to come to Gars O'Higgins throughout the coming centuries--far beyond the span of our own lives. Imagine the research opportunities that a site hosted by NG would mean to worldwide educational systems.

I am providing contact links to the Gars O'Higgins website, Martin Grund, in addition to my own. I ask that you consider sponsoring this worthy cam-site and bring the reality of Antarctica into the lives of people all over the world.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Lin Kerns

http://www.martingrund.de/pinguine/

http://ivs.bkg.bund.de/vlbi/ohiggins/

http://www.martingrund.de/pinguine/english.htm

http://wiinterrr.blogspot.com/

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