Climate change is no theory to the Arctic's inhabitants: it is stark and dangerous
reality. Human induced climate change is undermining the ecosystem upon
which we Inuit depend for our physical and cultural survival.
Discussion of global warming all too often tends to focus on political,
economic and technical issues rather than on human impacts and
consequences. But Inuit and other northerners are already directly
experiencing its impact and we face dramatic problems with possible
social and cultural dislocation in the coming years.
We have closely observed the environment for many generations,
accurately predicting the weather to enable us to travel safely on the
sea ice to hunt marine mammals, walrus and polar bears. Nowhere
else does ice and snow represent mobility as it does for us.
They are our highways that lead us to our supermarkets --
the environment -- and link us to other communities.
Among the harm we have suffered from melting sea
ice and thawing permafrost are: damage to houses,
roads, airports, and pipelines; eroded landscape,
unstable slopes, and landslides; contaminated
drinking water; coastal losses to erosion of up
to one hundred feet per year; melting natural
ice cellars for food storage; melting permafrost
causing beach slumping and increased
erosion; increased snowfall; longer sea ice-
free seasons; the arrival of new species
of birds, fish and insects; unpredictable
sea ice conditions; and melting glaciers,
creating torrents in place of streams.
These monumental changes threaten
the memory of where we were, who we
are and all that we wish to become.
The Arctic is the early warning, the health
barometer for the planet. Whatever
happens in the world occurs here first. If
you wish to see how healthy the planet is,
come here to take its pulse. Science has
recently caught up with the changes our
hunters -- scientists in their own right --
have been observing for decades. In 2004,
the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)
released the world's most comprehensive
detailed regional assessment of climate
change, prepared by close to 300 scientists
from 15 countries and chaired by the United
States. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC)
and other indigenous organizations of the north
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OUR PLANET MAGAZINE
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CRYOSPHERE
a human issue
by Sheila Watt-Cloutier