A POLAR…ISING ISSUE
Deianira D’Antoni and Lorenzo Corrado Pirosa
CAP: an unspoiled corner of the deep Arctic region, a large,
multi-year ice island is home to a small community that has lived here for generations…
CAP: …here the inhabitants carry out their traditional activities, passing down their knowledge from the elderly to the young, spending time together in a harmonious and profound relationship with nature.
PUFFIN (thought): Where has she gone; I can’t even see her from here…
PUFFIN: Hey Goose, do you happen to know where Orsa is?
GOOSE: I have enough trouble finding my stuff. I’ve been looking for my frying pan for ten years…
GOOSE: …try having a look in her atelier, I haven’t seen her
around much lately
PUFFIN: Oh, right, why didn’t I think of that before!
CAP: Indeed, she was right there in the great little cosmos where Orsa’s ideas took shape from piles of coarse ice.
PUFFIN: Here you are, finally!
ORSA: Hi Puffin, what brings you here! Look at this amazing block,
can you see what I see!?
PUFFIN: Well not really, not yet at least… I think you should
take a break, how many days have you been locked in here?
ORSA: Not many, at least I think… maybe a few.
PUFFIN: Let’s join the others, they are waiting for us at the ice rink!
ORSA: Yeah, all right, it won’t hurt to take a break.
FRIEND 1 (exclaim): Come on, Orsa… what are you doing standing there, come skate with us!
ORSA: I’m coming…
ORSA (thought): …how odd, it seems the Golden Eagles have arrived early this year.
Some time later…
CAP: Orsa could not have imagined that this would be just one of the many irregular signs that would occur shortly thereafter. Some days later, in fact…
ORSA: It’s shaping up really well. If my friend R. Seal saw it,
his mouth would definitely water!
ORSA: What’s going on?! There’s something wrong with the ice, the base isn’t stable… it seems to be melting.
ORSA (exclaim): I have to get more ice before the sculpture
breaks!
CAP: Unfortunately, not many minutes pass before the new piece of ice also begins to melt under Orsa’s incredulous eyes.
ORSA: What’s going on here?
FRIENDS: Hello Orsa! Did you see that sunny day?
ORSA: Yes, far too sunny…
WALRUS (exclaim): Why don’t you join us? Take a swim, the water is wonderful!
ORSA: I think I will pass for today.
ORSA (thought): There’s little to relax about… this situation
convinces me less and less…
CAP: The island has never been so populated and the community celebrates the annual return of old friends and the unexpected arrival of new inhabitants who have recently moved from the South, taking advantage of the warmer temperatures.
YOUNG GOOSE (exclaim): I love the colours of that mountain, it’s never been so green! Has it?
CITIZEN 1 (exclaim): Mama, look at all that water!
CITIZEN 2: Welcome to Ice Island, come meet everyone else.
HARE (exclaim): It’s shaping up to be a good season!
FX: BLA-BLA
GOOSE (exclaim): I can’t believe it, that’s where it went! I would never have found her inside that block of ice!
CAP: It is not long before things change dramatically. Orsa’s bad feelings were well-founded….
FX: CRACK
FX: BLUBB
CAP: Living on ice becomes more complicated, signs of sudden breakage, someone falls into the water. Some areas are flooded by rising ocean levels.
CAP: Even underwater, due to the light penetrating deeper, the effects of rising temperatures are becoming more and more evident…
CAP: … until Ice Island melts away completely, disappearing into the huge body of water.
CITIZEN 1: I can’t believe it… what have we done to deserve
this…?
CITIZEN 2: Our island no longer exists…
CITIZEN 3: Where shall we go now?
ORSA (exclaim): There, I knew it! The Arctic is not the problem, this has repercussions on a global scale!
CAP: … until one day in the newspaper she reads about extreme weather phenomena; a ‘Far-sighted fox’ is mentioned who, together with his community, managed to save the city of Alicua from the effects of climate change.
CAP: Orsa decides to bring the community together to discuss what to do. It is time to act, before it is really too late.
CITIZEN 1 (whispering): Do you think the Arctic is going to
disappear?
FX: PSST
A. FOX: The situation seems to be getting worse, Orsa, what are we doing wrong?
ORSA: We shall find no answers here in the Arctic, the problem originates somewhere out there, and we are going to continue to suffer serious consequences…
A. FOX: I believe, unfortunately, that you are right.
ORSA: …I’ll head south, I have some friends I want to meet who can help me understand better.
CITIZEN 2 (whispering): We may have to learn to live on only dry land…
ORSA (thought): There he is, hasn’t changed one iota.
ERMINE: How was your journey, my friend, and what brings you so far to the South?
ORSA: Things have changed in the Arctic, we are worried… the ice is melting like never before…
ORSA: …you don’t seem surprised though
ERMINE: Not at all, unfortunately. Even here things are no better since that huge power plant was built…
ERMINE: …it’s replaced most of the green areas. The air has become unbreathable and the city has turned grey, covered by fumes.
ERMINE: I think that the inhabitants are now even suffering the heat.
ORSA: I’m sorry Ermine, that sounds terrible…
ORSA (thought): …hmmm the temperatures have risen here too, there must surely be a correlation.
ORSA: You still paint, right? I loved your landscapes.
ERMINE: Eh, the will is still there, but nature is missing and with it the inspiration…
CAP: The following day, the two friends set to work and head to the library to begin their research.
ORSA: You mentioned yesterday that everything got worse after the
construction of the new power plant…
ERMINE: Yes, exactly
ORSA: … I found news of other cities around the world where more and more extreme weather phenomena have occurred and, even in
those cases, nature had been replaced by concrete, roads, and buildings.
ERMINE: Look, maybe I found something…
ORSA (exclaim): There, I knew it, it’s just as I thought!
ERMINE: …it seems that everything is destined to get worse if the world doesn’t reverse course. The grey fumes covering the city are
just one of the issues
ORSA: And this would explain the backlash in the Arctic…
ORSA (exclaim): What’s going on out there?!
ORSA (exclaim): It’s another piece of the puzzle!… Come on Ermine, follow me!
CAP: Outside the library, a crowd of inhabitants, tired of the greyness, pollution and heat, want to do something. Orsa and Ermine enter the crowd.
CITIZEN 1 (exclaim): We want answers, the heat is unbearable!
CITIZEN 2 (exclaim): It’s impossible to breathe!
CITIZEN 3: Is the city destined to become unlivable?
ORSA: It’s not too late yet, Ermine and I have found some clues.
Industrialisation and growing concrete are the causes of these phenomena and Nature is the key, if we want to improve things.
CITIZEN 4: We must do something, now!
CITIZEN 5: I think I know where we could start!
ORSA (exclaim): Looks perfect to me!
CAP: Orsa and Ermine’s words prompted the inhabitants to work together with determination and the common goal of bringing nature back to their town.
SQUIRREL: These trees will help us reduce temperatures and we can shelter under their canopy as they grow.
CITIZEN 1: Look, it’s already much better, the earth is not as hot as asphalt
CITIZEN 2: The wildflower meadows will be perfect for the Bee family, they will have a place to stay again
CHILD: Mum, can we come back tomorrow?
CAP: After months of work, Orsa, more satisfied than ever, is intent on planting one of the last trees. Suddenly she sees
flashes and lights coming from beyond the fence…
ORSA (thought): ??
CAP: Looking out, Orsa sees a scientist working on weird panels.
ORSA: Hey what’s going on here?
SCIENTIST: Who’s talking? Ah there you are!
SCIENTIST: Hi, I’m a scientist and I discovered a way to capture sunlight and produce energy, isn’t that brilliant?
ORSA (exclaim): That sounds fantastic! And they don’t produce any black fumes?
SCIENTIST: Well, if I prevent them from getting too hot, in theory they shouldn’t…
CAP: An idea jumps into Orsa’s mind: if she could integrate the
scientist’s invention into the new natural area, they would gain benefits from both! Maybe in the future black fumes will no longer be necessary to produce energy.
ORSA: Could you give me some of those? I think I have a way to use them for the good of all.
SCIENTIST: Hey, wait, where are you going? You haven’t even told me what a white bear is doing down here!
ORSA: Well, it’s a long story, I’ll tell you another time! Thank
you very much!
CAP: Some time later…
BEE: It’s really nice here, isn’t it, Bumblebee?
BUMBLEBEE: Eeeh yeah, that Orsa really made a difference.
Apparently, word got around, and a lot of people started building more areas like this in the city.
CAP: Orsa’s journey resumes to head even further South. Now she knows it is possible to help the Arctic. She wants to meet an old and wise friend. Perhaps the situation will be better there, and the friend will be able to give her some advice.
realises something has changed.
ORSA: The mangrove forest looks much smaller than I remember… I can’t believe it… not even here…
ORSA (exclaim): That looks like Lemur’s house, I almost didn’t
recognise it…
ORSA: The door is open, but she seems not to be home, how odd…
ORSA: …and what is this!? I absolutely must find her.
LEMUR: Orsa?! I can’t believe it, is that you? …
CAP: Orsa looks up and recognises her old friend.
ORSA (exclaim): Come down, I have so much to tell you!
CAP: As if not a single day had passed since their last meeting, one second later, one in front of the other telling years apart.
LEMUR: I suspected that things were getting worse everywhere, but I had no idea that it could cause so many problems all the way to the Arctic.
LEMUR: You know how connected I am to this place, but in recent years things have changed…
LEMUR: …my grandfather taught me how to work with mangrove wood and it is thanks to him that I became a woodcarver. Together we built the house where I live and helped the other inhabitants to do the same…
LEMUR: …but since they started building the new port and those skyscrapers, the mangrove forest has been largely felled and entire families of egrets, herons, and other friends have migrated
elsewhere to find fortune…
remaining part of the forest and our home will be destroyed…
CAP: Orsa is incredulous, even here the situation seems to be
worse than expected.
ORSA: Have you already thought about a plan?
LEMUR: I am tired, Orsa, I think there is no way out now. I’m
leaving this place as soon as possible.
CAP: It is night and Orsa cannot sleep, she thinks of nothing but Lemur’s words.
LEMUR: You can’t sleep either… please do not think that I don’t
want to fight, Orsa, I have been doing it for a long time, but all
this has led to nowhere.
ORSA: Then don’t stop now that I am here to help you…
ORSA: … our ecosystems are as fragile as they are crucial. The
Arctic is severely affected by everything that is happening in the rest of the world, and what will happen here will affect the
global balance.
ORSA: If not for you, do it for the Arctic and for all those who have no choice.
CAP: Not many days pass before the excavators arrive. A blanket of smoke can be seen in the distance. Orsa arrives first but shortly afterwards other forest dwellers also gather, Lemur leading them.
LEMUR: There is still time to improve things, together.
CAP: The two opposing factions, between forest and city, are now facing each other
WORKERS (exclaim): What are you doing here, go away, we have a schedule to stick with!
LEMUR (exclaim): This is our home, you cannot destroy everything, we will not move!
FOREST CITIZEN (exclaim): We have the right to be here.
WORKERS: We received this order, and we will certainly not stop because of you…
WORKERS (exclaim): Advance!
CAP: Facing with such obtusity, Orsa loses her mind.
FX: Grrraugh!
ORSA (exclaim): You do not see the consequences of what you are doing! This forest, as well as the home of entire families, is a
great resource for the planet and if you destroy it, it will
burden us all!
CAP: Suddenly, to everyone’s astonishment, a wave rises from the sea and crashes violently into the forest and the city. The mangrove forest cushions the blow and protects Orsa and her friends from the impact. The city, on the other hand, violently takes the blow and the frightened wreckers run away from the harbour.
FX: SCRASH
WORKER 1 (exclaim): Help!
WORKER 2 (exclaim): Run guys!
FX: AAAAH
HUSBAND FISH: Darling, did you hear that?
WIFE FISH: No dear, what are you referring to?
HUSBAND FISH: Nothing, I must be mistaken.
CAP: The forest dwellers, in disbelief, are relieved. The forest is saved.
FX: YEEEH
CITIZENS (exclaim): Hip, Hip, Hurrah for Orsa!
LEMUR: Thank you, Orsa. Without you, we wouldn’t have made it.
ORSA: We did it together and I think something wanted to help us.
LEMUR: I don’t think we will easily restore the forest that was destroyed, not in the short term at least… but we will start by taking care of the one we managed to save.
CAP: Help also came from many inhabitants who moved away from the city, having heard what had happened.
CAP: And fatigue was followed by happy days together at home, knowing that the mangrove forest would take care of them as they had taken care of her.
CAP: That night Orsa sits in the moonlight, among the tall roots, looking up at the starry sky.
ORSA (thought): It was an incredible journey… I met so many people who helped me change things. Without them it would have been impossible. But the world is too big, and this is only a small part of the things that are happening…
ORSA: (thought): it’s time to go home, Puffin is probably worried.
CAP: However, the return was quite different from what she had imagined. Conditions in the Arctic had not improved.
CAP: Her mood drops, the journey she undertook seemed meaningless.
CAP: Many summers has passed…
CAP: … news of other citizens striving to improve their communities gives Orsa hope.
CAP: When suddenly…
GOOSE: It was right here, where did it go?!…
GOOSE: … I think I lost my frying pan again!
To Be Continued
WHAT IS ‘NBS’ ABOUT THIS COMIC?
Climate change is coming; climate change is here. So, what can we do. There are two broad strategies. One is to “mitigate” climate change by adoptive technologies and behaviors that help reduce the changes, such as using less fossil fuels. Second is to “adapt”, by trying to absorb the blows of climate change more effective. There is a key role for Nature-based Solutions in both. In A Polar…ising Issue, climate change is portrayed as a driving force behind environmental destruction, leading to issues like rising temperatures, melting ice, and extreme weather events. NbS are key strategies for helping us deal with these impacts. These solutions, such as restoring ecosystems, planting trees, and protecting natural habitats, work with nature to reduce risks like flooding, heat, and pollution. The story underscores the urgency of adopting NbS to help both local communities and the planet adapt to and even mitigate the changing climate.
