Read more about our upcoming tour across the upper Midwest, the Longest Summer Tour and Ellesmere Expedition presentations in this month’s news.

Sincerely,

Nicole Rom
Executive Director

Taking It To The Skies

Northwest Airlines’ in-flight World Traveler magazine features a seven-page article on Will and his former expedition member, and Minnesota resident, Ann Bancroft. World Traveler can be found on all domestic and international flights for Northwest Airlines and KLM.

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Runaway Sled

National Geographic Wild Chronicles, with host Boyd Matson, broadcasts their second in a series of stories covering our expeditions. This episode features expedition member Simon Qaminirq and his dogteam that break loose with Boyd left alone at the reins. Wild Chronicles airs nationally on PBS.

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The RNC

Republican National Convention coverage was extensive a couple of weeks ago. Will drew a lot of attention through the many venues in which he appeared. The St. Paul Pioneer Press ran a story out of Duluth on Will’s opinion of prospective oil drilling.

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While the Ellesmere Expedition finished this past spring, the team members are continuing to share expedition tales with local and global audiences, from presentations to schools and the general public.

US team member Ben Horton is featured on Apple with an image gallery, including photos taken on Ellesmere Island during the expedition.

Will Steger will be joined by Canada’s Sarah McNair-Landry, Colorado’s Ben Horton and Norway’s Toby Thorleifsson on October 23rd to give a public presentation through the National Geographic Society’s Live! Lecture series. This public presentation will follow Will and Toby’s address of the effects of global warming on the Canadian Arctic at the US-Norway Science Week Forum.

And in Norway, in collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Environment's initiative Klimaløftet, a campaign to increase awareness about global warming across the country, Toby launched a three-month lecture tour on September 2nd. Beginning at a high school in Oslo, over 300 school children, along with the Minister of Environment, Erik Solheim and the Minister of Education, Bård Solhjell and other government officials, the audience heard Toby’s eyewitness account of the Arctic Ocean ruins and Norway’s unique ties to the area the team visited. Traveling only by public transport, Toby’s lecture series will reach over 90 schools throughout Norway. You can follow Toby’s lecture circuit, including his blog, online at www.klimaloftet.no.

Will Steger addressed a crowd of over 1,000 youth during Ripple Effect, a peaceful non-partisan youth festival highlighting the need for social and environmental justice held at the MN State Capitol during the Republican National Convention in St Paul. Steger joined renowned Native American leader and environmental activist Winona LaDuke as keynote speakers for the event, which featured nationally famous bands and musicians. The Will Steger Foundation was a proud partner of the festival orchestrated entirely by Substance, a local student organization promoting collaboration between arts and activism.

The Longest Summer Tour (October 13-22) is just a month away and will feature Will Steger, Ellesmere expedition member Toby Thorleifsson, Abby Fenton and dozens of emerging leaders, policymakers, businesspeople and elected officials dedicated to the upper Midwest’s role in driving a new energy economy. With eyewitness footage of global warming from extreme polar expeditions, opportunities to dialogue with policy-makers, scientists and climate experts, and solutions from young climate leaders on the forefront of an international movement to solve the climate crisis, the tour will meet with college students and concerned citizenry to address climate change. The tour will focus on the impact of climate change in the polar regions, Great Lakes, and cities across the upper Midwest.

Our goal is to educate on the impact of climate change, to inspire youth climate initiatives, and to empower individuals for civic engagement and personal change. The Will Steger Foundation recognizes the strength of youth and our commitment is reflected in the choice of tour venues. The Longest Summer Tour has been enthusiastically welcomed at nine college campuses in seven major cities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.

October 14: Chicago, IL – Northwestern University
October 15: Chicago, IL – University of Chicago
October 15: Milwaukee, WI – Urban Ecology Center
October 16: Grand Rapids, MI – Green Drinks
October 17: Grand Rapids, MI – Grand Rapids Community College
October 17: Grand Rapids, MI – Calvin College
October 17: Grand Rapids, MI – City High School
October 18: Grand Rapids, MI – Grand Valley State University
October 19: Marquette, MI – Grace United Methodist Church
October 19: Marquette, MI – Upfront and Company
October 20: Houghton, MI – Michigan Tech
October 21: Ashland, WI – Northland College
October 22: Duluth, MN – St. Scholastica
October 22: Duluth, MN – University of Minnesota – Duluth

Please support the tour by asking friends in the communities we visit to join us and following our progress online. Full details can be found at www.thelongestsummertour.com.

Funding for The Longest Summer Tour has been provided by the US EPA Great Lakes National Program Office and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, with support from College of St. Scholastica, Earthkeepers, ELEVEN, Global Exchange, Grand Valley State University, GreenMark, Illinois Student Environmental Coalition, Lake Superior Watershed Partnership, Michigan Student Coalition, Michigan Technological University, Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Program, Northland College, Northwestern University, Northern Michigan University, Office of Mayor Heartwell, Office of Mayor Ness, SEED, Sierra Student Coalition, University of Chicago, University of Minnesota-Duluth, and the Urban Ecology Center.

As a member of the 1sky campaign, we ask you take part on Saturday, September 27 for Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy. People of all backgrounds have already scheduled over 100 events in 41 states to show Washington that we're ready to build an inclusive green economy--strong enough to lift people out of poverty and solve the climate crisis. But to send an even stronger message, we need more events!

September 27 is only three weeks away, so sign up now to join or start an event near you. The solutions to our economic and climate crises are clear: Invest in clean, renewable energy and technologies that will create millions of green jobs and solve the climate challenge.

Glacier walk on Ellesmere Island
Photo by Ben Horton