Polar fleece to counteract climate change

20 June 2007

Polar fleece to counteract climate change

A group of pioneering students from Victoria University are launching what’s believed to be the world’s first Polar Fleece Day in Wellington on Thursday 28 June.

The unique event is the brainchild of Victoria students Laura McQuillan and Stacey Knott who came up with the idea of wearing polar fleece fabric in order to raise money for WWF-New Zealand’s campaign to reduce the impacts of climate change on polar regions.

The pair hit on the idea after writing a feature for Salient, Victoria University’s student newspaper, about the virtues of the 90s fashion favourite.

When they discovered that 2007 is International Polar Year – the first since 1957 – the idea crystalised into Polar Fleece Day.

International Polar Year (IPY) is a worldwide scientific program focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic and runs from March 2007 to March 2009 , when over 200 scientific projects will take place at the poles, focusing on the impacts of climate change.

The main event of Polar Fleece Day is a fundraising concert at Good Luck on Cuba Street featuring local Wellington talent The Bonnie Scarlets, Tommy Ill, and DJs from the VBC and Scandalesque.

Salient news editor Laura explains why she felt it was important to take action on climate change: “Seeing more shocking images of the impacts climate change is having across the Arctic and the Antarctic inspired us to do something to tackle the issue of climate change.

Polar bears drowning because their Arctic habitat is melting and news about vast icesheets of Antarctica going the same way just made us want to do something positive to help stop this happening. We’d written the feature celebrating the joys of the 90’s favourite polar fleece – so putting the two together and wearing polar fleece to raise money for WWF to help save polar bears, penguins and their friends – as part of their climate change campaign, seemed perfect.”

“The idea is to raise awareness about climate change, and raise money to help WWF-New Zealand tackle the issue, whilst having fun,” adds Salient music editor and Polar Fleece Day organiser Stacey Knott.

Doors open at Good Luck at 9pm on Polar Fleece Day and tickets will be sold on the door with all funds raised going to WWF-New Zealand. Tickets are $5 and organisers are advising Polar Fleece Day celebrants to get there early to beat the rush. Along with some fine live music, there’s also the added draw of some awesome prizes up for grabs – thanks to Civic Video, one lucky Polar Fleece Day celebrant will walk away with a copy of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, WWF-New Zealand has put up two copies of ‘The Weathermakers’, and the New Scientist has contributed a year’s subscription and a laptop bag.

Sponsorship for Polar Fleece Day has snowballed, as advertising and sponsorship manager Jon McQueen explains: “Good Luck have kindly provided the venue for free, and the good people at DB Breweries and Maxium have also sponsored the event - so we’d like to say a big thank you to them as this means all the money raised on the night goes direct to WWF-New Zealand.”

“Polar Fleece Day is a great initiative and we’d like to thank Laura, Stacey and everyone involved in organising it for doing something positive to help tackle climate change.” said Melanie Hutton, WWF-New Zealand’s climate change campaigner.

“The funds raised will help fund WWF’s campaign to reduce carbon emissions which are the cause of warming of the earth and the resulting devastating impacts we’re seeing at the poles. Now is a critical moment in time: we can slow rapid climate change, if we make the necessary changes over the next five years to reduce our carbon emissions. That’s why our climate change campaign here in New Zealand and globally is vital in persuading governments, businesses and individuals to cut carbon emissions. Polar Fleece Day is a great initiative to support our campaign, and to raise awareness that everyone can do something to become part of the solution.”

Along with the fundraiser on 28 June, there will be a pre-event awareness day on 23 June when WWF-New Zealand, The Green Party, Gecko and Polar Fleece Day organisers will take to Cuba Street, setting out stalls and promoting the messages about how people can take action to become part of the climate change solution.

And is polar fleece the dress code / door policy for the event on Thursday 28 June? “All are welcome and it’s not absolutely essential to wear a fleece to get in,” smiles Laura. “But be warned - you may be subjected to some pretty colourful patterned polar fleece on the night.”

For further information:

Notes to editors:
International Polar Year – www.ipy.org
* International Polar Year (IPY) is a worldwide scientific program focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009. IPY is organised through the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

* This IPY is the fourth polar year, following those in 1882-3, 1932-3, and 1957-8. In order to have full and equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, IPY 2007-8 covers two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009 and will involve over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. The projects will give top priority to studying climate change.

* Over the two last decades, Alaska, Siberia and parts of the Antarctic Peninsula have been the three fastest-warming regions on the planet, scientists have found. In January, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), the top scientific forum on global warming, warned sea ice would shrink in both poles by the end of the century.

* IPY occurs amidst abundant evidence of changes in snow and ice: reductions in extent and mass of glaciers and ice sheets, reductions in area, timing, and duration of snow cover, and reductions in extent and thickness of sea ice. Changes in snow cover and sea ice have immediate local consequences for terrestrial and marine ecosystems

Permafrost, an additional form of ice that influences nearly 25% of the northern hemisphere landmass, also shows substantial decomposition due to warming climate. Permafrost degradation affects local ecology and hydrology as well as coastal and soil stability.

ENDS

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