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Two days before Christmas we reported that American explorer and DeSmogBlog writer Todd Carmichael had made it to the South Pole, making him the very first American ever to reach the South Pole solo and unaided.

And to top it off, Todd set a new time speed record!

I think Todd might have accomplished another world first by being the first person in history to ever market a blog from the South Pole. I know, I know, not nearly as exciting, but still check out this photo of Todd at the South Pole with a DeSmogBlog expedition flag:

(click image to enlarge)

With a little photoshop trickery we were able to reverse the image:

(click image to enlarge)

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We have just got word that American expeditionist and DeSmogBlog writer Todd Carmichael has made it to the South Pole. This makes Todd the very first American ever to reach the South Pole solo and unaided.

And to top it off, Todd has set a new time speed record!

Todd has been writing on DeSmogBlog and Huffington Post for the last year raising awarness about the negative impacts of human-caused global warming on the Antarctica. Here’s one of his most popular pieces: Something Strange is Happening at the Coldest, Driest Place on Earth

Wayne Moore, a physician’s assistant working at the South Pole, sends an update about Todd via the guestbook on this site: “To all his very concerned friends & family, he has made a rapid recovery from the trip and has become a local hero at the station.” Thanks very much for the word Wayne! Besides being an astronaut, I can’t think of anything cooler than working in Antarctica. Cheers to you and everyone else down there.

Now that you’re a hero Todd, you can get back to work helping us!

But seriously, we met Todd about a year ago when he asked if he could write on DeSmogBlog to help promote solutions to reducing greenhouse gas. After a cursory glance at his credentials we quickly obliged. In fact, we even made Todd his own section on the site.

Todd is one of those amazing people you read about that dream big and make the best of everything that life has to offer. The whole DeSmogBlog team is proud to be associated with Todd and really, really hope that he doesn’t come back from his trek too famous to write for us once in a while.

So over this holiday season when you pop a champagne cork, make sure one is dedicated to Todd.

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Here’s the first two audio podcasts we’ve heard via satellite from DeSmogBlog contributor Todd Carmichael as he attempts to become the first North American to ever cross the Antarctic and reach the South Pole solo and unaided.

Enjoy.

Day 5: Hunkered Down

Day 6: On the move again

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Dear Mr. President-Elect,

Greetings from Antarctica!

I'm about to begin my mission to become the first American in history to reach the South Pole, solo and unaided. I'll start walking November 8th from the edge of the ice pack and, if all goes according to plan, arrive at the Pole just after Christmas. If you have a minute around then, I'd love to hear from you, just ring my satellite phone.

It's the least you could do, I mean, I delivered the vote for you here in the Deep South (so to speak).

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30 years ago, the famous naturalist Louis Leaky agreed to send an extraordinary young woman named Birute Galdikas deep into the wilds of Borneo to do the one thing she desired to do more than anything. Galdikas wanted to study and understand the life of the 'elusive red ape' - the Orangutan.

Today Dr. Birute Galdikas is considered one of the foremost experts on Orangutans. To this day she remains in Borneo, huddled in the dense peat swap forests - surrounded by foreign owned palm oil plantations, poachers, illegal loggers and gold miners - a single voice fending off the rapidly developing world and defending the last of these great apes.

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A study in the journal Polar Biology concludes that two recently discovered species of Killer Whale inhabiting the Antarctic sea are at risk due to the effects of global warming at the South Pole.

These fish-eating Killer Whales rely on the ice where fish bunch up in schools in order to evade predators. Scientists are anticipating that as the ice patterns in the Antarctic continue to be altered by climate change, the Killer Whales may not be able to adapt to their new hunting grounds.