Fellowship Grant Awarded
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The Count of Krigsvold Fellowship (previously known as the Westarctica Conservation Scholarship) is an annual $1,000 grant dedicated to supporting graduate research in the field of climate change and global conservation.
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It has been awarded to Sheherazade, a PhD candidate in Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management at the University of Berkeley. Her research stands at the intersection of rigorous scientific inquiry and meaningful community engagement, addressing forest governance in bioculturally diverse regions through the lens of Indigenous leadership and local well-being.
Westarctica Worldwide
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As a sovereign nation-state, Westarctica engages in foreign relations with many nations, micronations, and other international governmental organizations. Grand Duke Travis has undertaken many state visits on behalf of Westarctica and has traveled widely to promote the country's interests and to help raise awareness of micronations in general.
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Our foreign affairs program includes our Honorary Consular Corps, consisting of dozens of individuals representing Westarctica's interests around the world.
Become a Peer of Westarctica
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​Since 2004, Grand Duke Travis has recognized people who give their time and money in support of Westarctica with titles of nobility. Although these titles are not recognized by most world governments, they are intended to be a lasting reminder of your contribution.
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A noble peer of Westarctica has a perfect talking point to initiate conversations about climate change, the fragile environment of Western Antarctica, and our global mission to preserve the environment.
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Global sea ice hit ‘all-time minimum’ in February
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Scientists called the news ‘particularly worrying’ because ice reflects sunlight and cools the planet.
Global sea ice fell to a record low in February, scientists have said, a symptom of an atmosphere fouled by planet-heating pollutants.
The combined area of ice around the north and south poles hit a new daily minimum in early February and stayed below the previous record for the rest of the month, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday.
WESTARCTICA IN THE PRESS
The Wall Street Journal
22 June 2020
Grand Duke Travis ... claimed 620,000 square miles next to the South Pole on the basis that nobody else has, then registered Westarctica as a charity to raise awareness of how climate change is affecting wildlife in Antarctica.
Westarctica is moving steadily to establish a frozen foothold in the large unclaimed portion of the frozen continent. It professes an ambition to actually inhabit the land it's claimed, and then open it up to tourism. Better pack the long johns.
In 2004, Travis exploited a loophole in the Antarctic Treaty to name himself Grand Duke of Westarctica on Marie Byrd Land – but the US Navy, which disapproved of its lieutenant's territorial claims, forced him to abdicate.
Lonely Planet
September 2006
The Independent
30 November 2014
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