Zoomed-In Climate Models Help Alaska Communities Plan for Uncertain Future
Special thanks to InsideClimateNews.org for letting us post this excerpt by Amy Nordrum Hunters in the Alaskan village of Wainwright, a community of about 550 Inupiat Eskimos at the lip of the Chukchi Sea, have long harvested bowhead whales from the ocean. Each spring, crews of 15-25 hunters set out in umiaqs—boats made from seal skins and caribou sinew. The hunters usually launch from Point Belcher, where the ice cracks open to expose the water in slivers called “leads.” Then the whalers follow these narrow channels to the sea. They may land whales as long as 55 feet, but a young…
Arctic Oil Spill Readiness Virtually Nonexistent
Report: Arctic Oil Spill Readiness Virtually Nonexistent (via Desmogblog) Thu, 2014-04-24 11:16Farron Cousins Sea ice in the Arctic Circle is currently melting at a pace far greater than scientists had originally projected. While this is bad news for the planet — sea ice helps reflect the sun’s rays and keeps the arctic…