Transcript:

Heres a program from our archives.There are currently about 40 scientific outposts in the Antarctic, conducting many different kinds of research. One of the major challenges facing scientists there is cleaning up their own mess. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Ambience, McMurdo Disposal Site, GullsThe sounds we're listening to were recorded at a waste disposal area on McMurdo Sound, in Antarctica.Wilkniss: In the past when people clawed out a beach at the Antarctic, thirty years ago, it was a matter of survival, and a lot of trash and things were thrown away. Of course in the last thirty years there's been a lot of change in attitudes, perceptions, regulation laws, and we have to learn to live by those and do better in the Antarctic.Dr. Peter Wilkniss is director of the division of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation.Wilkniss: In the past we did burning and land-filling. That is not allowed anymore. So now we are trying to retrograde everything we take in. First of all, the people who live there now have to segregate all their wastes. So we bring out metal, we bring out cardboard, we bring out plywood; we bring out plastics. In our stations that are way down south, our biggest town, we have like 700 to 1000 tons of material each year. We can only go in once a year with a ship with an icebreaker, bring it out. We're facing a serious problem, but I think we can lick it if we have the proper approach to waste management: think very carefully what you take in, and how to bring it out, what kind of container. We have this very important research that is needed to tell where our planet is going. On the other hand, we have to do everything we can that our research support our stations; do not cause more damage than the benefits of the research that we seek.This archival program is part of our thirtieth anniversary celebration. If you want hear more, check out our podcast.