Though many governments are still arguing over the science of global warming and what they can do about the phenomenon, most Canadians have now accepted that the world is getting warmer, and they're looking for ways to take action.

Ann Bancroft, a polar explorer from Minneapolis, Minn., wants to help inspire them to take action. She's preparing for an arduous 850-kilometre Arctic journey through Canada, on foot from near Ellesmere Island to the North Pole while towing a sled, to draw attention to the impacts of climate change.

Bancroft and her ski partner, Norwegian Liv Arnesen, will begin their expedition at the end of February from Ward Hunt Island. They expect to spend 50 days en route to the top of the world, after which they will rendezvous with a scientific research ship to catch a ride home.

Students around the world will be able to follow Bancroft and Arnesen online, where a web site will chart their daily progress. There will be photos and audioblog postings on the site.

At 51, Bancroft is a seasoned adventurer. She was the first woman to cross both polar ice caps to reach the poles and was on the first all-woman team to sail and ski across Antarctica's land mass. She also co-authored No Horizon is So Far with Arnesen, a book about their Antarctic expedition.

Her goal is to help teach students worldwide about the effects of climate change and to encourage them to combat its effects.

"We're both former educators and we use these expeditions as a platform to extend our commitment to education and igniting young people," she tells CTV.ca in an interview from Minneapolis.

"It's a great way to get teachers' attention, get kids' attention -- I call it a spark plug to other issues, other learning."

In 1986, Bancroft was part of the first team to travel unsupported across the North Pole, beginning at Ward Hunt Island. She says it will be fascinating to follow the same route 20 years later, and gauge the damage done by global warming.

With climate change exacting a harsh toll on the Arctic, the explorers are expecting to encounter bad ice along the way and will even be wearing survival suits that will allow them to swim in the frigid waters when the ice is too rotten to support them and their sled.

But the lofty goal makes the extra effort worthwhile.

"I think the mission of this has such a strong driving force, it's got us really excited -- the fact we're not going to a traditional destination, we're not trying to attain any kind of first; we're trying to rally our global audience to help us turn the tide of what's going on globally," Bancroft says.

Small steps matter

She acknowledges that climate change is a major challenge that can't be solved easily or overnight, but her goal is to prove that small steps add up.

 "Here we are, we're pulling our sled, it weighs 260 lbs or so, and we put one foot in front of the other and our goals are far reaching," she says.

"We're trying to go across the Arctic, and you start to think, how can pulling that sled make any difference? It's slow, it's methodical, it's plodding. But the steps add up and it does matter. So it's sort of taking that metaphor or that ethic and saying the little things we do on a daily basis do matter, they do start to add up."

Emilie Moorhouse, atmosphere and energy campaigner with the Sierra Club of Canada, supports that notion, and Bancroft's goals, wholeheartedly.

"I think it's crucial to raise awareness about what's going on in the Arctic," Moorhouse tells CTV.ca.

"The Arctic is basically the cannery of climate change. In the Arctic we're seeing 3 to 6 times more global warming than the global average. So if the world warms by 2 degrees the Arctic could actually experience 10 degrees, so the impacts are much more magnified in the Arctic and drawing awareness to that is crucial."

While Bancroft's initiative is commendable, it's admittedly on a scale that is beyond the grasp of most Canadians, but that doesn't mean that fighting climate change is out of reach for the average Canadian. In fact, Moorhouse says, there are a number of ways people can combat the effects of global warming in their everyday lives.

"People can take into consideration every choice they make throughout their day to try and make the least pollution, the most energy efficient choices that they can while encouraging their government to provide more choices as well," Moorhouse says.

Bancroft agrees: "At the very base level it's our world -- we should care about the world around us, so even if you don't go to the extent of talking about the next generation and who we're going to leave it to, I think right now everyone should pay attention to the world they live in right outside the door, and have an appreciation of it and be a steward of it.

Together, Moorhouse and Bancroft came up with a list of practical steps people can take in their everyday lives to combat climate change.

• Turn down the thermostat: Though it may seem like common sense, Moorhouse says a slight reduction in the use of heat in winter, and of air conditioning in summer, in addition to leaving lights off in unoccupied rooms, makes a significant difference in energy use. That translates to a lower electricity bill, and ultimately less strain on the environment.
• Plant a tree in your backyard: In addition to the aesthetic benefits, a mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. It also provides shade, which can cool your home in the summer, and offers wind protection in winter.
• Leave the car at home whenever possible: We've been hearing about this one for years, but too many people just aren't listening, say Bancroft and Moorhouse. Car pool, ride a bike, take public transit. According to the World Carfree Network, motor vehicles contribute about 14 per cent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning, and the number is rising. The average car releases 136 kilograms of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning for every 15 gallons of gasoline, so every vehicle left in the driveway makes a difference.
• Appeal to politicians to do more: "I mean, it's great to tell people to walk more and ride their bikes more, but we need our cities to be more conducive to getting out of the car more and riding our bikes more," Moorhouse says. "We can't ask people with extremely limited budgets to buy a washer or dryer that is much more expensive -- government need to help people to make those transitions and give them those tools."
• Purchase carbon emissions offset credits to compensate for pollution created by your air travel. The scheme allows travellers to buy credits that are invested in environmentally friendly initiatives such as planting trees, or wind power projects to "offset" the damage. Uniglobe Travel, for example, allows passengers to calculate and purchase the amount of carbon credits they need to offset their portion of CO2. A return flight from Vancouver to Toronto would cost as little as $22.75