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» Thousands of emperor penguin chicks have perished due to habitat loss

Morgan Hannah
Life & Style Editor

 

ears ago, I watched March of the

Penguins by director Luc Jacquet and I
cried over the simply breathtaking footage
of the marvellous migration of emperor
penguins across the Antarctic.

These birds are the world’s largest
penguin species, with specimens
measuring in around four feet tall, up
to 100 pounds in weight, and living for
roughly 20 years. Penguins require stable
sea ice to breed during the months from
early April when the penguins arrive, to
December when their young hatch. As
if by some magical force, pairs of 15,000
to 24,000 emperor penguins—that’s
around five to nine percent of the global
emperor penguin population—living in
the Southern Hemisphere have historically
migrated all at the same time to the same
breeding grounds along the ice shelves and
bays of the Weddell Sea as their ancestors
have done for generations.

The Weddell Sea is part of the
Southern Ocean and consists of the area
between the coasts of Coats Land and the
Antarctic Peninsula. However, the different
shelves along the Peninsula are receding
due to climate change. The number
of people who are simply unaware or
ignorant of the human-instigated damages
threatening these penguin breeding
grounds is frightening and can no longer
be ignored.

The second largest colony in the
world of these majestic penguins has
suffered catastrophic devastation over
the past several years and has “essentially
disappeared overnight,” according to the
BBC. In 2016, thousands of the tuxedo-
wearing birds’ chicks drowned after the
Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica collapsed.
This isn't entirely fresh news; the Larson
A Shelf collapsed in 1995, and the Larson
B Shelf collapsed in 2002. Scientists had
previously considered these grounds as
“climate change refugia” for penguins, Dr.
Phil Trathan of the British Antarctic Survey
(BAS) told the BBC. Yet fewer and fewer

penguins have been sighted there since the
2016 collapse, according to the BAS, who
photograph penguin colonies and their
guano to keep track of numbers and other
findings.

The impact and subsequent state of
the ice mean that the penguin colony at
Brunt has almost entirely disappeared.
Many of the adult penguins have joined the
nearby Dawson-Lambton colony, seeking
better breeding grounds as environmental
conditions continue to change. This
news is encouraging, as scientists were
unsure whether the penguins would seek
alternative sites in response to the habitat
loss, but the numbers found at Dawson-
Lambton don't make up for the thousands
of chicks lost in the Brunt Ice Shelf collapse
and the subsequent difficulties breeding.
Published model projections suggest that
emperor penguin numbers are dramatically
falling and by the end of this century, it
is expected that 50 to 70 percent of these
birds will be lost to sea ice condition
changes as a result of climate change.

The Pour Boy: Ice, ice, baby

» Cool ice cubes to keep on hand

Jacey Gibb
Distribution Manager

 

H” take: Ice is the secret MVP to any
cocktail. Whether youve slipping
some cubes into a shaker while mixing,
smashing some up to make refreshing ice
shards, or simply pouring booze atop a
single, giant cube, ice can make or break a
cocktail.

If you're hosting, then the ice
situation is easier to control. I’ve been
mocked enough times to know this
sounds excessive, but I always have three
ice cube trays in my freezer, ready to go.
Most occasions rarely call for that much
ice; however, we've dipped into that third
tray more often than you'd think, and it’s

 

helped us avoid having to make lukewarm
cocktails. (You can also use the ice for non-
alcoholic purposes too, I suppose.)

In terms of trays, stick with the
traditional rectangular ones most
apartment freezers seemingly come
stocked with rather than novelty trays, ie.
the ones you impulsively bought at IKEA.
The novelty shape is funny for about 1.5
seconds until it melts and becomes an
unrecognizable shape rapidly diluting your
drink. These trays are also a pain to stack
in the freezer and usually end up spilling,
meaning you'll have fewer ice cubes to
work with. Traditional ice cube trays are
stackable, made out of more solid material,
and deliver nice big blocks for your drink.

You should also invest in a tray of
larger ice cubes. These moulds are usually

made of silicone and create ice cubes
around the two-inch mark. Larger ice cubes
melt more slowly than several smaller
cubes, so these are ideal for when you want
to chill a drink but avoid diluting it too
much (think Old Fashioneds or Negronis).
Having one of these trays on hand is useful,
though keep in mind that, depending

on your freezer, they take a day or two to
completely freeze—so avoid filling them up
the night before a party, or you'll have a tray
of half-water-half-ice cubes.

The final type of ice you'll encounter
on your cocktail venturing is the crushed
variety. People will argue about the
seeming excessiveness of having an ice bag
and crusher, but it’s a simple purchase and
it goes a long way. I even included it in my
home bar essentials list in a previous “Pour

3

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life & style // no. 9

e La Casa Gelato: Just a tourist trap, or
Vancouver's best?

¢ Tips, tricks, and a recipe for amazing
Earl Grey ganache

..and more

Photo by Denis Luyten via Wikimedia Commons

—

It is my hope that with more
knowledge of what is happening around
us, we may open our eyes and our hearts
and try our hardest to lessen our ecological
footprints. Climate change may be
inevitable, but that doesn’t mean we can’t
work together to slow down its progress for
the sake of emperor penguins, many other
threatened and endangered animal species,
and our own selves.

Boy.’ Unfortunately, crushing ice ahead of
time doesnt really work since the shards
will refreeze together, so you'll have to
crush as you go.

All of this is helpful advice for when
youre hosting—so what about when
you're making cocktails somewhere else?
Most people generally have a tray or two
in their freezer, but always err on the side
of caution. It’s also easy to shoot the host
a quick message to see what their ice
situation is like beforehand so you can
potentially pick some up on the way.

You never realize how crucial ice is
for cocktails until you find yourself in a
situation without any. Be the host you wish
to see in the world, and keep your freezer
stocked with all the ice cube essentials.

o