Lessons from Antarctica
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来源：《今日中国·英文版》 2013年第5期
宿友变老婆
跳大绳的作文 By WU JIANMIN
AFTER a lifetime of work in aprofession that entails makingthe right acquaintancesin the right places, I’d rackedup my fair share of frequent flier milesto just about every continent. Not asingle one, however, was courtesy ofAntarctica. In fact, it wasn’t until afive-year posting during the 1970s toChina’s Permanent Mission Office tothe United Nations that I first learnedabout the continent. It was at meetingsof the UN Seabed Committee thatI made the acquaintance of Argentineanand Chilean diplomats whohome countries are nearer the SouthPole.
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My early knowledge of Antarcticawas simply that it differs from the NorthPole, which is largely a body of watercovered in snow and ice for most of theyear. The South Pole, in contrast, has alarge land territory – 13.9 million squarekilometers – that constitutes a cornucopiaof natural resources and wildlife.
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I first t foot on the continent earlierthis year.
Antarctic temperatures, at an average-500 to -600 Celsius throughout the year,are so low that the snow never meltsin some parts of the continent. It is thecoldest place on earth. Becau we werevisiting during the (relatively) warmason, we were witness to thunderingsnow slides down rolling mountains,brash ice, and massive drifting icebergsin all formations imaginable. This vistawas particularly striking at the LemaireStrait, known as the iceberg cemetery.
I boarded an expedition ship alongwith a team of scientists with the intentof exploring this spectacular AntarcticPeninsula. It was as distant from thefamiliar as possible, and one of the mostexhilarating adventures one can have.The tuxedo-esque feathers of penguinsgleamed in the sun, while veral speciesof whales gathered at the bow of ourvesl to feast on krill as hordes of graygulls cawed hungrily overhead.数字的来源
In the company of our guides, I dis-embarked to a shore brimming with variedspecies of wildlife going about theirdaily lives, with instructions to maintaina five-meter distance from them. Wewere cautioned repeatedly that the onlythings we could take away from the visitwere photos and memories, and thatall we could leave behind was our footprints.Even picking a blade of grass or apebble was prohibited.
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The cerulean sky, snow-blanketedmountains and billowy white clouds overthe shimmering a entranced and fascinatedus. It is hard to believe that thisland of overwhelming beauty and peacewas a center of contention in the early20th century. Nine countries scrambledfor it, and poachers streamed in, leavingbehind bloody killing fields littered withthe corps of countless slaughteredpenguins, whales and a lions.
教育书籍 The whaling factory still stands asgrisly testimony to this period of history.I was told that at one point during “processing”whale carcass were inflatedwith air and dumped back into the a tofloat, bearing the flags of different whalingcompanies on their backs to indicateownership. At one time as many as4,000 dead whales could be en on thisstretch of then bloody water.
Thankfully, such brutal practicesbelong to bygone days. The Antarctichas been well protected largely due tothe Antarctic Treaty. At the proposal ofAmerican President Dwight D. Einhowerin 1958, reprentatives from 12countries attending over 60 meetingscautiously negotiated and eventually ratifiedthe Antarctic Treaty on December1, 1959. It came into effect on June 23,1961. With its overarching philosophythat “Antarctica shall be ud for peacefulpurpos only,” the pact has hadworld influence.
In recognizing that the interests ofunited humankind are foremost, theAntarctic Treaty drafted during theCold War between the U.S. and theSoviet Union proved that mutual interestscould unite countries with differentclaims but with a common goal.
When the treaty was renewed in 1991for another 50 years, experts actuallyexpresd confidence that it would lastforever. The world has en remarkablechanges since the Cold War period, notleast the growing scope of common intereststhat empowers countries to reachfar more agreements than decades ago.The treaty prohibits “any measures ofa military nature,” a provision conscientiouslyobrved by all countries over thepast 50 years that has restored peace tothe South Pole. This testifies to the factthat peace is indeed the perpetual commondream of humankind.
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