Professor Robert V. Percival
University of Maryland Carey School of Law
Discussant: Prof. Christian Calliess, Freie Univ. Berlin
February 13, 15:00-17:00 Garystrasse 55C
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and highest continent on earth. Despite its harsh natural environment, Antarctica is teeming with life from tiny krill to a variety of species of penguins, seals, and whales (including endangered blue whales, the largest creatures ever to exist on earth). Only two percent of the Antarctic land mass is visible because nearly all of the continent is covered with a massive ice sheet averaging more than a mile thick. This ice cap contains nearly 70 percent of all freshwater on the planet and its fate in the face of global warming may have profound effects on the future of the planet’s environment.