Antarctica: On the Climate Front Lines

Learn about what it’s like at the bottom of the world with Antarctic facilities engineer and climate restoration advocate Ray Sundby, who spent four winters at McMurdo Station and the Amundsen‑Scott South Pole Station. In this episode, Ray shares first‑hand stories of life in the cold and dark Antarctic winter, from maintaining critical infrastructure and water supplies to navigating isolation in small, tightly knit communities of fewer than 200 people.

This video was recorded on July 29th, 2026, and published on August 2nd, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.

Ray explains how McMurdo operates as a self‑contained town, describing everything from ice runways and sea‑ice break‑up to the IceCube neutrino observatory, ice divers, weather balloons, and the ingenious ice pier that allows ships to dock in a rapidly changing climate. Along the way, he reflects on international cooperation under the Antarctic Treaty and how on‑the‑ground changes in sea ice and temperature connect directly to the accelerating global warming we are now experiencing.

In the Climate‑3 closing segment, host Herb Simmens broadens the lens to the wider climate emergency, covering European wildfires, Amazon deforestation and recovery, and a striking quote from a conservative British columnist acknowledging that global warming is now killing the very rural traditions and farming that conservatives claim to love. The episode offers both an intimate portrait of life on the Antarctic frontlines and a stark reminder that climate disruption is reshaping lives and landscapes across the globe.

Links:

• Support Our Mission

• Antarctic Treaty System

• Seasonal Affective Disorder

• McMurdo Station

• IceCube Neutrino Observatory

• Doomsday Glacier and a Seabed Curtain (CEF Video)

• International Geophysical Year

• SNOLAB

• Ozone depletion

• Antarctic meltwater alters future projections of climate and sea level

• Post-glacial rebound

• Climate Restoration Alliance

• Cumulonimbus flammagenitus-Pyrocumulonimbus

• Fires in Brazil’s Amazon dropped to historic low in 2025

• Even the wind carries heat now’: Why even desert camels in Africa are struggling

Special Guest:

• Ray Sundby - is a facilities engineer and climate restoration advocate with extensive experience living and working in Antarctica. He spent four winters of about ten months each at McMurdo Station, with his last deployment at the Amundsen‑Scott South Pole Station, where he held technical responsibility for station infrastructure and safety systems.

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute.

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University.

• Herb Simmens - Author, Co-founder of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), Climate Emergency Board Member and former college instructor.

Video Production:

• Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: crowander.com

Image and Video:

• Image and Video Attributions