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 Fashion
Planet took a trip to the Explorers Club worldwide headquarters,
a "Jacobethan revival" mansion located on a quaint
and quiet block on Manhattan's Upper East Side. When entering
this virtual museum of exploration, stained glass windows illuminate
a stuffed polar bear and a portrait of one of their prominent
members, Theodore Roosevelt. Fashion Planet explored the thoughts
of the Explorers Club president , Alfred S. McLaren, Ph.D. A
retired U.S. Navy Officer and submarine commander, McLaren is
steadfast yet buoyant in his approach to life. He is an expert
on ice and global climate change, and his identification of late
summer ice velocity reversal has been credited as "the Arctic
finding of the decade."
FP: What are your thoughts on the prediction
that the Shackleton expedition is going to be the next mega movie
like the Titanic?
ASM: It is interesting that everyone is just getting into it
now. Exploration is every bit as exciting as a Harrison Ford
movie. Early exploration was filled with both savory and often
unsavory characters going into some pretty tough areas of the
world where they weren't welcome. There is a lot of rich material
on these early explorers, like the 5th president of the Explorers
Club, Roy Chapin Andrews. There is quite a story In the 1920s
expedition when he discovered the first dinosaur eggs in the
Dobe Desert. But the Titanic was a love story, romance
for the women and action for the men. I don't know where they
would get the romance from the Shackleton expedition, there were
certainly no women. I also can't imagine what they'd sing to
it.
FP: How do passengers prepare for an exploration?
ASM: It is a lot of fun getting ready for the expeditions as
you thoroughly review the maps, books, videos and history of
your forth coming destination. The Explorers Club Travelers program
provides comprehensive pre departure materials including, educational
materials, maps, and packing lists.
FP: Who are the guides on the expeditions?
ASM: Our leaders are like myself, not just lecturers, but members
with first hand exploration experience in the area. As an aside,
it would be fair to say that we provide the explorers that National
Geographic writes about.
FP: Considering your distinguished record of polar exploration,
are these expeditions still exciting to you?
ASM: Of course. You never know when an opportunity will present
itself. There is a whole spectrum -- from rainbows, wildlife
or icebergs to new species that can suddenly come into your path.
Summers in the Arctic and Antarctica offers daylight in excess
of 20 hours depending on just where you are. The colors are vivid
pastel shades. Beautiful! There are the Northern lights, double
rainbows, sun dogs (multiple reflections of the sun.) On a recent
Explorers Travelers program expedition we were crunching our
way to the North Pole when we suddenly encountered a massive
iceberg. It was as tall as a four story building. We used the
on-board helicopters, helioed on top of the iceberg and took
a walk.
FP: What will the Titanic trip be like?
 ASM: Thrilling. One of our Fellows
and former director, Bob Ballard, discovered the Titanic
wreckage in 1985. Recently the Explorers Club has played a significant
role in promoting continued visitation rights to such wrecks
as the Titanic, including A successful legal appeal against
salvage rights which exclude visitation for observation only.
The chief pilot for and designer of the Russian MIR submersibles
used for the underwater portions of the movie Titanic, Dr.
Anatoly Sagalevitch will pilot many of the passenger dives this
summer. Also present will be photographer Ralph White, who has
made more dives on the Titanic than any other human.
Besides viewing the wreckage, the possibility of encountering
new species of marine life is great. Many people don't know that
97% of our world habitable area is deep ocean. Only 250,000 species
have been identified out of an estimated one to ten million.
Everybody, including the adventure traveler passengers, will
be asked to serve as observers during expedition dives.
FP: With the increase in technology will the discovery and exploration
of shipwrecks increase?
ASM: They already have. In April 2000 we will be exploring an
earlier discovery, the H.M.S. Breadalbane. Only a very
few people have ever seen the wreck which is under the Arctic
ice. The British barque is a three masted ship that sank in the
Canadian Arctic in 1853. It is reported to be nearly intact,
and very well preserved. We will be camping on and diving through
the ice. Then the high-tech and highly maneuverable submersibles
will proceed to 350 feet below the ice to the wreck site.
FP: Can you relax on these expeditions?
ASM: These expeditions are as exhilarating as they are relaxing.
In a very high level of comfort you are instantly transported
to a another world. And you will take the experiences from the
trip with you throughout the rest of your life.
FP: Who are your fellow passengers on these trips?
 ASM: They are a very cosmopolitan and interesting
set of passengers. Sociable and well educated people from all
over the world. And I can't emphasize more the extremely well
qualified Explorers Club lecturers and leaders who will be present.
FP: What is the direction for the Explorers Club in the new millennium?
ASM: The Club is developing a much stronger roll with regard
to preventing further global warming and habitat deterioration
during the next century. Club member Jim Fowler, for example
is a prominent member of our conservation committee. He is a
noted naturalist, I'm sure you've seen him on the morning T.V
shows, and Wild Kingdom.
FP: Is global warming an imminent disaster?
ASM: It is well on the way. Certainly there are many signs confirming
global warming. Most interesting is that tropical insects are
moving north. Like the Dengue fever mosquitoes now in Southern
Texas. In many areas of the world birds are arriving one week
early in the spring and leaving one week later in the fall. Global
change scientists and modelers predictions of more frequent and
violent hurricanes and increased precipitation in the Northern
Hemisphere also appear to be bearing fruit.
FP: What is wrong with that?
ASM: The equilibrium of the planet is being thrown off. Something
is out of balance. Like in chaos theory, if a butterfly flaps
its wings, it is affecting something else which may be on the
other side of the world. Land based ice caps in the Northern
Hemisphere appear to be decreasing. This translates to rising
sea levels. The sea level has risen one foot in the last 100
years. This means that in fifteen to twenty years, coastal cities
may be in serious trouble.
FP: There has been an increased awareness about both global warming
and the depletion of the ozone layer. For instance, I know that
we have been cutting down on freon and instilling other regulations
to protect the ozone. Shouldn't that help the environment?
ASM: It will, but lets say we do everything right starting today.
It would be twenty years till everything stabilizes much less
reverses. The fast food industries and the process of third world
nations trying to industrialize continue to adversely affect
the environment. There are major forces at work here. Not only
are the rain forests being cut down to create pastures for cattle,
the methane gas from the cattle is a big contributor to global
warming. Finally, the ever expanding world population is contributing
to making our world much less habitable for all, not just mankind.
FP: What is the answer?
ASM: Sustainable consumption. The Explorers Club is working hard
to increase interest in the planet and to developing a new generation
of young explorers and field scientists. They are our hope for
the future! They must succeed in bringing about the necessary
changes which will restore environmental balance world-wide.
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