The morning after

I often find that I can't write, or maybe I shouldn't write unless it feels write.

The morning after has taken some time to come around after doing the hydrographic project here in Antarctica. This project took a lot, not just of myself but also of everyone that was involved, on the boat and on shore.

It's hard to explain "Why" it took a lot, but it did, and for everyone that was involved I do thank you from the bottom of my heart.

We did what many people said we couldn't do, and that's a nice feeling to have when you do actually achieve that goal, but for me it's not the reason why I pushed on with dogged determination, there were very real and important reasons in my mind as to why this had to be done.

Even now I still sit and think about where this could potentially lead, not just for myself but those who are looking at the results and the obvious potential for this style and type of hydrographic work in any remote and unsurveyed area of the world, and there is a lot of areas out there.

Our little planet has become small, but yet there is so much that is still left to discover and know about it. We are told of the horror projections for population expansion over the next 50 years, we are reminded of the damage that the past and current population is doing to our nest, but yet in the name of science and intelligent management of this spinning globe there is so much that we don't know about it, and most importantly how to manage it best for all future generations.

I only see the small example of what we were able to do down here in Antarctica last month as a tiny reminder that dreams and desires can be made into reality. Let's not ever think that something new can't be done. As we have developed sophisticated skills and technologies, we have also developed
debilitating bureaucratic processes and protective plans that can actually make us less efficient, productive and innovative.

For me, I despise the "C" word, because the word "can't" means that someone has already passed the thinking stages of maybe, could be, possibly and yes, and has taken an easier route by putting a potentially good idea into the too hard basket.

Stephen