[NYTr] Arctic voice drowning in climatic shift

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by tsimonds - activ-l

BBC News - Oct 18, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7041913.stm

Arctic voice drowning in climatic shift

by Glenn Morris

It is time for the industrialised world to wake up and change its
behaviour before the Arctic, its people and its wildlife are lost
forever, argues explorer Glenn Morris. In this week's Green Room, he
shares his experiences of travelling by kayak along part of the
Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic.

=======
"It is as if we all know that a meteorite will hit Earth in about 10
years' time; yet we continue to behave as if by some miracle it might
just miss us."
=======

"It's so hot," an Inuit elder said, fanning herself while sitting on a
bench outside the Northern Stores in Paulatuk. Her face, etched with
lines, hinted at a past life that would be alien to the young people of
the hamlet today.

Her complaints about the heat were said in a way that might have been
comical if it were not for the sinister underlying reasons. I later
learned that she had been born in a snow house.

She had, no doubt, watched as her father had dragged a harpooned seal
across the snow, staining the ice crystals crimson in its wake.

He would have tenderly poured a little fresh water in the seal's mouth,
ready for the next life; held its claws and said "hello again" and
"kuana" (thank you) before dividing the meat.

Change for the people of the north is both fast and relentless. Colin
Adjun, an Inuit hunter, told us that he remembered winter temperatures
in Kugluktuk often dropping to between -50 and -60C; now they are more
likely to be between -25 to -30C.

The summers, too, seem much warmer. Before our journey, we had consulted
the Admiralty Arctic Pilot manual, which gave the upper summer
temperature for the part of the Canadian Arctic we were traversing as
21C.

Yet we experienced temperatures of 34C, and it was almost impossible to
sleep.

Changing landscape

Rising temperatures are having an effect on every aspect of life in the
Arctic. As the permafrost melts, homes and roads are affected.

Inuit hunters and other residents told us that new insects and flowers
are appearing and animals that previously lived in the lower environs
are now moving north.

During our journey we had often stared into the clear waters below the
kayaks and remarked to each other on the complete absence of life below
us.

Jack, an Inuit hunter and president of the hunters' association in
Kugluktuk, told us: "The waters are warming and the fish are moving
north".

We later discussed sport and the popularity of ice hockey in Canada.
Jack told us that until a few years ago, youngsters used to play on the
ice rink in Kugluktuk, "but now it no longer freezes over so the kids
can't play anymore".

The warming of the Arctic, the melting of the permafrost and all the
other changes to the environment and wildlife are causing considerable
concern among the Inuit.

But other issues such as mining, and the quest for energy sources as the
giant western economies move north, are equally powerful foes.

Losing control

The oil and mining companies now vie with each other for the opportunity
to drill in areas that were once inaccessible.

Shipping companies too are looking at the commercial viability of routes
through the once ice-covered Arctic Ocean, all without a care for how
their waste will form the epitaph of this pristine northern wilderness.

We met Tommy, an Inuvialuit, on the Mackenzie Delta. He told us how a
proposed pipeline would bring gas along the great Mackenzie Valley.

"Many people are against it," he said. "It will be bad for the land and
the animals."

I asked him what he thought. "I am for it," he said with a shrug. "It
will bring jobs.

"My brother is against it though," he added wistfully.

Like most tribal or aboriginal peoples, the Inuvialuit find themselves
driven into the modern economy and the world of consumerism.

Those hunters and trappers concerned about the damage to their lands
might voice concern and resist the pipeline, but their protests will
undoubtedly be crushed under the steel tracks of the bulldozers, as
they begin to smash their way inexorably through the willow and spruce
on their way to Inuvik.

The wind snatched at our paddles. We lost sight of each other in the
troughs, spray stung our faces and the crests of the waves broke over
the decks of the frail craft.

We decided to attempt a landing. With difficulty we managed to reach a
rocky beach. Large car-sized boulders were strewn across the shore.

There were huge cracks along the edge of the coast; sections were
falling away as the sea steadily broke down its defences. Ice that has
up until now moderated and placated the erosive power of the waves is
shrinking, and the coastline is changing.

Changes in the air

The winds are also changing, becoming stronger and more unpredictable,
according to the people we met. I talked to Mary, an Inuit elder living
alone in her tiny, sparsely furnished house.

She told me how her mother had taught her to sew skins and make
clothing. She told me stories of hunting and fishing, of a happy time
when wolves and caribou could be seen from the hamlet.

"You could tell the weather by the smell of the wind. The fragrance of
leaves and flowers meant rain from the south; the smell of sea meant
rain from the north."

She looked out of her window at the quad bikes whining down the dusty
roads. "The only smell now is petrol".

It seems now that records in relation to weather are being broken with
increasing frequency as the planet, like a giant waking from sleep,
begins to respond to the activity of mankind with hurricanes, heatwaves
and floods.

At the end of our journey, we heard reports of huge floods in the UK
which caused vast amounts of damage; but the UK was not alone.
Kugluktuk, which usually receives very little precipitation, was
deluged with a rainstorm.

VOICE OF THE INUIT PEOPLE

No-one could remember such rain. The residents called it: "the great
Kugluktuk Monsoon".

Roads were washed away and houses undermined. Their foundations buckled
as the floodwater cascaded through the town, sweeping rocks and road
signs towards the ocean.

As the Arctic Voice expedition progresses and we move east, our thoughts
and conclusions may change. But at this moment, I feel that we are
witnessing the destruction of a wonderful culture, a culture whose roots
lie in a deep understanding and respect for the land; a culture based on
sharing and sustainability.

It is almost as if we all know that a meteorite will hit Earth in about
10 years' time and entirely change our climate and wipe out countless
millions of people. Yet still we continue to behave as if by some
miracle it might just miss us. We are simply destroying our children's
future.

Forget the rhetoric, the niceties, the political soundbites, the
attempts to justify for economic reasons - every scientist, every
hunter, every elder I spoke to, when asked when something should be
done, were unequivocal in their response: "Now".

[Glenn Morris is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is also
the founder of Arctic Voice, an organisation dedicated to highlighting
the impact of climate change on the Arctic and its people

The Green Room is a series of opinion pieces on environmental topics
running weekly on the BBC News website]