Evening of Exploration

Last night three exceptional individuals were honored by the National Geographic Society at its first ever “Evening of Exploration” gala event. Among them was a personal example of mine, late underwater photographer Wes Skiles who was named as “Explorer of the Year”. The theme of the celebration was “Oceans,” and the event was attended by an all-star cast of explorers, including newly appointed National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence filmmaker James Cameron and marine ecologist Enric Sala.

Wes Skiles

Photographer Wes Skiles began to learn his craft in the most demanding environment on Earth: underwater caves. As a teenager he explored Florida’s underwater labyrinths to capture images of this never-before-photographed realm. He developed and refined the technique he became most known for: using multiple slaved strobes to dramatically illuminate and photograph this environment. Later, as explorations led Skiles to remote locations around the world, he strived to employ the latest technology, enhancing his ability to explore the environment and return with stunning images. He participated in caving and cave-diving expeditions in Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Australia, Antarctica and the Bahamas. As an expedition cameraman, Skiles specialized in capturing images of people and wildlife on the edge of extreme frontiers. His visual imagery provided the viewer with an intimate understanding and unique perspective of his subjects. Skiles worked as a freelance photographer and produced, directed and filmed over 100 television films, many of which have won international awards and acclaim. In July 2010, at the age of 52, Skiles died following the conclusion of a scientific research expedition off the east coast of Florida. The honoring of Skiles as an underwater photographer will hopefully invigorate a new generation of conservation photographers to explore the boundaries of our oceans and rivers. And in doing so, inspire others to care about our blue planet.

In 1994, Ray Anderson was 60 years old and at the top of his game as founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Interface, Inc., a modular carpet company that makes those clever carpet tiles that you may have underfoot in your office or coveted via the company’s residential brand, FLOR.

That was 17 years ago – before ‘green’ was the compelling business imperative that it is today (for reference, oil was then $18/bbl), and the environment was nowhere on Ray’s radar.  An Interface associate asked Ray to give a speech to a task force that was forming to answer customer concerns about environmental impacts, and though he had not a clue what he would say, he accepted.  As the date for the speech grew closer, he began to sweat — and then Paul Hawken’s book, The Ecology of Commerce, landed on his desk.  The rest is green business history — Ray read the book (he’s called it a ‘spear in the chest’ epiphany), his outlook was radically transformed, and he gave a speech that would put the petroleum-dependent carpet company on a path to zero environmental footprint.

What’s happened in the intervening years has made Interface the best practice example for green business, and Ray’s become a bit of an eco rock star. He ditched his gas-guzzling Jaguar in favor of a Prius, built an off-the-grid home, and today, at 76, his life is radically different than what he would have imagined for himself at age 60.  This is his story.