Transcripts For KGO Nightline 20121226 : vimarsana.com

Thats changing rapidly. So now an encore presentation of nbcs Lindsay Davis and producer alex waterfields journey to the far north, and just getting there was an adventure of its own. Reporter its the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere in one of the most inhospitable places in the world. Aside from my guides, im all alone. The wind is punishing and the only thing my iphone is good for is taking video. Now were into our third hour. I cant see much through the fog. My three guides are nice, but theyre not exactly inspiring confidence right now. What happened . It broke. Reporter its broken. Were now down to one snowmobile, we just left our backup behind on the ice, and if that wasnt bad enough are we lost . I think hes joking, but this does not bode well. Were deep inside the Arctic Circle on baffin island. Its bigger than california, but with only 11,000 inhabitants, its not the kind of place you can stop to ask for directions. But this is the price of admission for a shot at seeing one of the most elusive creatures on the planet, the narwal, the so called unicorn of the ocean, with that single tusk that can be up to ten feet long. Its the stuff of fantasy, and i for one need to see it to believe it. And sooner rather than later. The narwal is said to be the most vulnerable species in the arctic to climate change, and here the stark reminders of Global Warming are all around us, like these big cracks in the ice, cracks that shouldnt be this wide this early in the summer. My mom would not be happy about this. The Arctic Sea Ice is literally disappearing beneath our feet. On track to be faster this year than any other on record. The effects of the rising temperatures up here are dramatic. Just a few hundred miles away from us, these tourists had a narrow escape when an ice wave caused by a fallen glacier almost capsized their boat. Despite all the obstacles and dangers this far north, we press on, and suddenly i notice some orange domes on the horizon. Its our campsite. We made it. Welcome to the edge of the world, right . Right. So this is our arctic base camp. Reporter im greeted by tom lenart. The only Tour Operator that offers landbased trips this far north. Lesson number one for new arrivals, know whats beneath your feet. Were sitting on about four feet of sea ice with about a thousand feet of water below us. It appears like its firm, but it is actually going up and down with the tides as well. How do you know that its safe . I mean i can you can jump. Reporter and im not going to end up in the thousand feet of water . No, you wont. Reporter the dark hole there, thats the ocean . Thats all thats separating us. Thats it. Dont think about it. Reporter finally, we head to the edge where the sea ice meets the open water. One of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet. I never get sick of it. Planet with six billion people and were one of 20 people watching this. I feel privileged every time we come here. Reporter as the ice continues to disappear, so too will this fragile ecosystem, taking the narwal with it. Its cold. Got the rain coming down. Its sleet. But were going to see some narwals and that makes everything okay. Reporter eric coombs is a budding wildlife photographer and hes on a mission. If we can get those nalwals shooting up their big long ivory tusks, thats the pinnacle moment of seeing a narwal. Reporter but before you see them, you can often hear them, which is why these headphones attached to a nifty underwater microphone come in handy. This sound right here might as well be trumpeters announcing their presence. In the open water. Reporter and then it happens. The rare moment weve come all this way for. In the ice over there. Reporter when we come back, a Close Encounter with these mythical creatures and a close brush with a thousand feet of open sea. 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Its not real. Geicos Customer Satisfaction is quite real though. This computeranimated coffee tastes dreadful. Geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 or more on car insurance. Someone get me a latte will ya, please . Weve decided to were all having such a great year in the gulf, put aside our rivalry. cause all our states are great. And now is when the gulf gets even better. The beaches and waters couldnt be more beautiful. Take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. Enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. And dont forget our amazing seafood. So come to the gulf, youll have a great time. Especially in alabama. You mean mississippi. Thats florida. Say louisiana or theres no dessert. Brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. Nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable. Quit one cigarette at a time. Nightline continues from new york city with juju chang. And now, we rejoin lindsay and the team for a very close encount we are the mysterious narwal. And then, the mortal threat they face on the arctic ice. Once again, Lindsay Davis. Reporter through the fog, which seems to make this moment all the more mystical hes just behind that pack of ice over there. Reporter they spot it. An arched back off in the distance. Quite a sight for sore eyes. I cant believe it. Weve actually seen our narwal. So they exist. Theyre not imaginary. Reporter theres actually one right there. And then another. This one much closer to the edge. Before we know it, narwals are everywhere. Theres so many. Theres like six or seven of them. Reporter but we were hoping for a slightly closer encounter. So we venture out with our fearless leader into narwal territory. So, lindsay, youre kayaking in the arctic. Reporter i am kayaking in the arctic. This area is t this area is the only place in the world to see the narwal. Did you hear that . Reporter absolutely, we hear something very close take a a massive gasp of air. You see that right there . Reporter the fog clears just long enough for us to realize were surrounded. Theyre all around us now. And for just a second we spot it. Dont blink or youll miss it. That ivory tusk. Thats very cool. That was awesome. What got me hooked on the arctic was theyve chosen to come to you. Reporter and youre not afraid . No. Theyre not going to hurt you. Theyre just curious. Theyre just wondering what are you doing here . This is my backyard. Reporter but just as quickly as the narwals appear, theyre gone. A reminder of just how vulnerable these creatures are to climate change. But rising temperatures arent just affecting the narwal. There are four Million People living here in the arctic. As our guide showed me, this is not a winter safari destination. Its his home. The sea ice is his highway, his livelihood. Its how he feeds his family. I love hunting. Reporter thats one of your favorite things to do . Yeah. Reporter hunting for seals. Yeah. Reporter we see for ourselves that hunting seal isnt easy. And with temperatures rising, its getting harder. The ice is too slushy for most of the gear for him to use a traditional dog team. The iron dog he now uses isnt exactly stealthy. The seals can hear him coming from miles away, and then escape down their holes into the ocean below. Oh reporter oh, i think hes very cute. That is when they can escape. Were on our way back from a day of narwal searching when we saw a pup seal. A word of warning, what youre about to see is graphic. Is it sad at all . It seemed like such a cute it was a little baby that lost its life. Its not a baby, its just an animal. Its given to us. The creator gave us this meat so we can survive on it. Reporter how do you explain it to westerners who say its cruelty to animals. This is not cruelty. This is how we survived for thousands of years. Reporter a way of life thats slowly disappearing. Weather and ice patterns are becoming more unpredictable, as we are about to find out in a frightening way firsthand. Back at camp just a few hours later, a crisis. Suddenly we find ourselves at the mercy of the rapidly melting ice. Theres a big crack thats opening up between us. Its meltsed faster than it should have. The elders have said that we should pack up and go. Reporter a crack in the ice thats growing with every passing minute. If it gets any wider, it might become impassable, leaving our entire group stranded on the sea ice. Tom, our team leader, is playing it cool. No, im not stressed. When i have these guys around, ive got complete confidence. Well get it done. Not worried yet. Not yet. Reporter but wildlife photographer eric puts the situation in starker terms. Were going to have to leave immediately and hopefully well be able to make it back before we float off into the ocean. Reporter its all hands on deck to break down the situation as quickly as possible. A bit of trepidation thus far about the crack. Well see. The race against Mother Nature is on, and what i see along the way is ominous. Theres so much more water now compared to when i first came out here. It was just massive expanses of ice before. And now its like Little Islands of ice. We press on. Not even a smoking snowmobile is good enough reason to stop. Until we arrive at the so called crack, which looks a lot more like a lake, and that blue water, open blue ocean, a thousand feet deep. This has all happened in less than six days. Basically it will be five times the size that it was a week ago. Reporter suddenly, the sound of roaring engines. Our guides attempt to cross the 180foot crack to try to get us home. From a challenge. This is the age of knowing how to make things happen. So, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way . Talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. This is the age of taking action. Viagra. Talk to your doctor. Viagra. Sometimes life can be well, a little uncomfortable. But when its hard or hurts to go to the bathroom, theres dulcolax stool softener. Dulcolax stool softener doesnt make you go, it just makes it easier to go. Dulcolax stool softener. Make yourself comfortable. And now the race against the melting ice in the arctic continues, and our intrepided a adventurers prepare to make their dash for safety. Once again, Lindsay Davis. Reporter the snowmobiles make it across the crack. Is it intended to go over water like that . Its not intended to, but people do it. With enough speed. Reporter we see for ourselves what can happen if you dont have enough speed. A very close call. But what about the rest of us . And the sleds. The guides examine a large chunk of ice floating in the middle of the crack to see if it will work as a bridge. Team leader tom is still playing it cool, but even he admits its an audacious plan. Ive done big cracks. Not as big as this one. But i have full in these guys. This is the arctic, and this is their backyard and they know what theyre doing. Reporter so not a doubt in your mind everybodys going to make it across . Ill get you home, dont worry. Reporter i appreciate that. The laughter quickly dissipates. This is the moment of truth. As the natives test the limits of these sleds and their ability to make it across. The first sled does not farewell. It careens across the crack like a runaway train. No one is acting very concerned. Im thinking that this is pretty dangerous. Just as i start to think about the worst case scenario, its my turn. You think were going to be fine . Yeah. Should be fine. Reporter should be fine. Should be . Okay, all right. If you say so. All right. We made it. Thank you the entire team is briefly dipped in the arctic as it makes its way across with varying degrees of success. You okay . Reporter but success nonetheless. Thats everyone. Were across the crack. Piece of cake. Reporter tragedy averted, at least in the short term. But the longterm outlook is rather bleak. Take a look at how much ice there was in the arctic during the summer just few decades back. Now fast forward to whats left today. Scientists say at the current rates, summer sea ice in the arctic will almost certainly be gone in the next ten to 20 years. We saw firsthand the melting of the ice is cause for real concern. Lets not talk about it because i might chicken out. In fact, there was only one occasion where we saw the benefit of a crack in the ice. You should do the rocky. Reporter and that was to fulfill a longstanding arctic tradition that i just had to try before going home. Im glad youre so excited about this. Taking the polar bear plunge. This is the stupidest thing ive ever done. And trust me, membership is not for the feint of heart. Whoo reporter it was pretty fun. I want to do it again. That was great. As we make our way back to solid land, the fog thats been dogging us all week starts to lift, unveiling a bright blue arctic sky. And though i was too exhausted to enjoy it, im told the view was breathtaking. For nightline, im Lindsay Davis. Our collective hats off and our thanks to Lindsay Davis and alex waterfield. Tomorrow night, a special edition of nightline christmas at the white house with barbara walters. Thank you for watching abc news. We hope you check in for good morning america. They will have all the latest on the Severe Weather throughout the country thats now headed east. Were always online, as you know, at abcnews. Com. Jimmy kimmel is next. Well see you here tomorrow. Good night. Dicky up next on Jimmy Kimmel Live im hoping that obama announces this will be the black half of his presidency. Dicky john goodman. Jimmy have you ever actually emptied a mini bar on your own . You bet. Dicky hayden panettiere. Jimmy i would not want to be paul ryans shake weight