Joanne's cold start

Mar 4 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

WHILE most people in the North East will be thinking about swapping the region’s bitter weather for a holiday in the sun, a businesswoman is braving the colds of Antarctica for two weeks in order to highlight the problem of global warming.

Joanne Cornish, a compliance manager at Akzo Nobel Powder Coating in Gateshead, is joining up with renowned Durham-born polar explorer Robert Swan as part of a 70-strong expedition team that will see first hand the damage being done in the area. She will be among 11 other employees at Akzo Nobel as part of its Mission Antarctica programme, and will set off on her adventure next week before returning as a company spokesperson on its efforts to combat climate change.

The team will go to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, before making its way to Ushuaia in the province of Tierra del Fuego before doing conservation work in sub-zero temperatures.

She said: “I am so excited about the trip as it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I have always been interested in the issues affecting climate change and now I have the chance to see first hand an area of the world that has been hardest hit”.