CBS News’ Mark Phillips Reports Live From Antarctica Next Week on Climate Change

By A.J. Katz 

CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips arrived in Antarctica on Friday to report for CBS This Morning and CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. His live reports and interviews from the bottom of the planet can be seen throughout the coming week, and are part of the CBS News series The Climate Diaries.

Phillips is on board an expedition sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina to one of the most remote places on earth to observe the effects of climate change on Antarctica.

The CBS Newser corresponded with TVNewser from on-board the National Geographic Explorer, which is “a combination adventure-tourism and research vessel that has several scientific teams on board as well as fee-paying customers.”

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What has Phillips seen so far? “We’re meeting scientists here who have worked in Antarctica for years and who say they are seeing new weather patterns, which are causing changes in the landscape not seen for 10,000 years.”

He brought up the local wildlife who have had to change their behavior as a result of the changes in climate. “Some species of penguin, for example, which previously lived in warmer areas toward South America, have established themselves further south along the Antarctic coasts,” said Phillips. “That has not only put them in competition with the penguin species that used to dominate the area and forced them further south, it’s confused some of the predators which depend on the penguins, leopard seals and even killer whales.”

What does Phillips hope the viewing audience takes away from these special reports? “With any luck, the biggest take away from our reporting here will be to turn the climate change argument, which has gotten very political, back to science.  The polar regions are where the evidence of climate change is greatest, and what happens here will eventually affect us all.”

“It’s an important time to be here doing this type of reporting.”

 

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