A BERMUDA resident is on a 12-day expedition to the Antarctic peninsula as part of a scientific journey examining the effects of global warming.

An employee at John Barritt & Son, Wil Weber was able to join the voyage through INSPIRE!, a corporate challenge focused on leadership, teamwork and personal development. However, in speaking with the from Ushuaia, the southernmost tip of Argentina, he confessed to having an ulterior motive.

"The purpose of the expedition is varied depending upon the team members," he explained. "We have quite a few scientists on board who are studying the effects of global warming and the effects of the hole in the ozone layer.

"But if you look at the web site, it explains that the expedition is actually a leadership and teamwork-building seminar. I'm here for that purpose, but also so I can be a more credible individual when I talk about the environment and global warming."

The INSPIRE! corporate challenges were created by Robert Swan in 2003. Based on his 23 years of expedition-based leadership and teamwork missions, the challenges concentrate on key environmental issues.

Past accomplishments include the establishment of a foundation dedicated to preserving Antarctica as a natural reserve land for science and the planning and construction of an Antarctic education base camp.

"I met Robert Swan, the leader of the expedition, a couple of years ago," Mr. Weber said in explaining his participation in the Antarctic study. "At the time, he was giving a motivational speech in Atlanta.

"I'd listened to a lot of those kind of people over the years but this was guy was credible. He'd done things. He didn't just sell pots and pans off in Des Moines or somewhere. He actually has made a difference in the world. And I went boy, I'd like to learn more about this guy and what he's about. And in communications with him, he invited me along."

Mr. Weber admitted to being a relatively inexperienced environmental activist, explaining that he first became interested in the cause several years ago on learning of the Earth Charter. Developed at the 1992 Earth's Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Charter is a statement on how the world ? as a community ? should treat the earth.

"I thought then, that maybe this is something that I should be interested in," Mr. Weber said. "I felt I had reached a point in my life where, maybe instead of just being a user, I should start giving something back."

He added that the INSPIRE! challenge provided a means of "buying into that plan".

"I joined, pretty much, because of my interest. I had a desire to get something out of it that I really could use later on.

"I'm 62 years old. I don't plan to work all that longer. After I retire, I want to be able to get out and campaign with some credibility; I want to be able to talk to people about what's going on in this world ? about the burning of fossil fuels; about alternative energy sources."

Before his departure for Antarctica on the last week, Mr. Weber said the group had spent two days in vigorous training ? climbing glaciers and working on assigned tasks as a team. Such preparation, the 62-year-old believed, would serve him well during the Antarctic trek.

"Our first mission is to spend several days at King George Island where we're going to be cleaning up waste from the Russian base there. We're also going to be visiting some places that have absolutely amazing historic amounts of glacier thawing and ice shelf melting; where you can actually see where global warming has taken place over a period.

"How, even over the last decade, the Larson Ice Shelf ? a massive formation in that area ? has just diminished and diminished."

He added that scientific studies would also attempt to discover what effect the depletion of the ozone layer was having on the earth.

"I have been doing some campaigning in Bermuda on a very limited level already," he said. "But, (in moving forward), my goal is really just to bring people's attention to problem areas."

The 2005 INSPIRE! Antarctic expedition programme concludes on March 3. For more on the expedition, visit