David Thoreson has sailed 65,000 miles around the globe, and he’s documented that journey in 150,000 photographs.
On Saturday, Thoreson was at the Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, where his photos are on display as part of his new exhibit “An Explorer’s Journey into a Changing Climate.”
Thoreson’s exhibit centers around the changes in climate he’s witnessed firsthand during his travels.
"I didn't necessarily go out to be an advocate for a changing climate and what was happening, but I discovered this through my journeys around the planet," Thoreson said.
On a recent sunny day, as birds chirped outside the Notebaert Museum near Chicago’s lakefront, Thoreson was asked what melting ice and changing environments will mean for the planet — and for people.
"It means that what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic,” Thoreson said. “We're noticing it here now. We're starting to see more heat, more rain, more flooding, more drought. The extremes are showing themselves, and this is a direct result of our changing atmosphere and ocean environment."
The exhibit specifically highlights Thoreson’s Arctic travels. In addition to his photos, the exhibit will include personal artifacts, including journals and expiration equipment.
"Humans are having such a big impact on the environment … especially in the polar regions,” Thoreson said. “What I'm trying to highlight here [are] some of my observations [from] being an eyewitness to the changes that are going on in the far reaches of the world."
According to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum’s website, the showcase highlights how being an explorer or scientist can be as simple as observing the world around us.
"I'm a small town Iowa boy, I don't really have any ax to grind,” Thoreson said. “I went out there as a photographer to document the beauty of the planet. As I returned to the Arctic after more than a decade, I noticed there was so much less ice, and it's exactly what the scientists had been predicting."
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