My friend, Justin, just climbed Denali and the official expedition name was "Big Guy and the Monster". And Denali is, indeed, a monster! Seeing Justin's amazing summit pictures made me realize that I will never, ever, become a mountaineer. Denali National Park is one of the most beautiful and diverse places I’ve ever seen but the thought of climbing at altitude is just not appealing to me. But I am wicked jealous of Justin’s experience.

Hearing about his trip also made me start thinking about global warming. How are temperature changes going to affect Denali and the Arctic region? Climate change is affecting the poles of the earth more than anywhere else. What is going to happen to the web of life if temperatures continue to change in that region? Anyone who has seen An Inconvenient Truth knows that the Arctic is in trouble. The entire way of life for Arctic Tribes is in trouble. And it all comes back to our carbon consumption.

It’s a tough problem we are facing, but people are working on it. From scientists at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks to NWF Fellow Bree Jambor, who is attending Sheldon Jackson in Sitka, Alaska and working on ways to improve her school’s energy efficiency.

I really hope that everyone has the opportunity to see the Arctic at some point in their life. And I hope we find a way to save such an amazing place.

Photo credit: Justin Fantasia