Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz said “see you soon” to his nearly 10 million Twitter fans Monday as he headed to the Apusiaajik glacier in Greenland’s artic. Sanz traveled with an expedition to demonstrate the effects of climate change and call attention to the need for protecting the area aspart of the environmental activist organization’s Save the Artic campaign. Bundled in cold weather clothes and wearing boots with ice cleats, Sanz and a companion displayed a banner proclaiming #SALVAELARTICO in front of a beautiful and isolated glacial landscape.
According to Greenpeace, on its first day, the expedition was able to record the effects of climate change, which has caused the glacial front to retreat 1.5 kilometers in the last 10-15 years.
“We have to acknowledge the fact that if we help save the Arctic we’re saving much more,” Sanz said in a statement released by Greenpeace. “It’s the most important environmental battle because it is one of the few places on Earth where an environmental balance still exists. Much is at stake and what happens there affects us all.”
The singer/songwriter, known for his flamenco tinged pop sound, has sold 1.3 million albums in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. The winner of 15 Latin Grammys and 3 Grammys, he will play concert dates in Spain later this summer. Sanz has frequently spoken out about social causes from the stage, supporting United Nations campaigns against poverty and help for Latin American land mine victims.
The expedition in Greenland comes just days after a group of Greenpeace protesters made international news by scaling London’s Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building, to protest against oil company Shell’s plans to start drilling in the Arctic. The six women climbers who reached the building’s summit were later arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass. In the east of Greenland, the Greenpeace expedition joined by Sanz is located, a new round of oil exploratory licenses seeks to exploit these waters. Greenpeace wants a permanent moratorium in order to protect the Arctic. The petition to Save the Arctic (#salvaelartico) was a global trending topic on Twitter.