What did you accomplish by the time you were 16? What have you accomplished so far? A 16-year-old named Parker Liautaud, from London, just returned from a trip to the North Pole. He did it on skis, in four days. Was it just to update his picture on Facebook? Not entirely, although that is a bonus. He skiied for 112 kilometers (almost 70 miles) as an ambassador for One Young World, in an effort to inspire other young folks to take up a cause.
Parker, along with teammate Doug Stoup, finished the journey one week ahead of schedule. Parker's journey was in support of a resolution from One Young World, an international forum for youth leadership. The resolution calls for international legislative action to meet carbon reduction targets by 2020. In other words, Parker and others involved want to make sure future kids will be able to make the same journey, on snow skis.
Parker began his trek in early April, from Svalbard, Norway, The Telegraph reported.
Besides risking frostbite, Parker also conducted research for the European Space Agency and University of Alberta along the way, taking 200 snow thickness measurements per day.
Another lesson from this fella: Don't give up. Parker launched a nonprofit last year called The Last Degree, "dedicated to inspiring, informing and engaging young people in a dialogue on environmental issues facing the polar regions." That same year, he set a goal to become the youngest person to ski to the North Pole. He made it to within 15 miles of his goal, before severe weather conditions forced him to turn back.
He also ran into high temperatures (for the North Pole) and open water, highlighting the damage already been done by climate change.
During his recent mission, Parker has been posting updates The Last Degree Facebook page and via Twitter. He also has a YouTube channel, but it hasn't been updated in a while.
To find out more about the expedition, see oywnorthpole.parkerliautaud.com.
Sponsors and partners of this journey deserve mention, including : PayPal and Mountain Hardwear.
So the story here is that Parker tried, failed, tried again, and succeeded. What can world leaders learn from this? Don't give up on setting targets for further greenhouse gas reductions?
More on Climate Change and Global Warming
15 Year-Old Parker Liautaud Almost Skied to the Top of the World (Interview)
Focus Earth: The Changing Lives of Reindeer
Duran Duran, Scorpions to Record Global Warming 'We Are the World'